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Healthcare Executive Compensation Plummets 13%

News  |  By HealthLeaders Media News  
   August 08, 2016

While executive pay sunk, compensation growth for nurse practitioners and physician assistants outpaced that of physicians from 2015 to 2016, survey data shows.

Increasing demands on the healthcare industry make it a job seekers' market, with physician assistants and nurse practitioners in particularly high demand, according to Health eCareers' 2016 Healthcare Salary Guide.

In fact, compensation for NPs and PAs has risen more than that of physicians from 2015 to 2016, the survey of 19,754 healthcare professionals reveals, while healthcare executives and nurses have seen a decrease. Average pay changes were as follows:

  • Physicians and surgeons—$255,648, a 2.5% increase
  • Healthcare executives—$134,632, a 12.9% decrease
  • Physician assistants—$105,856, a 4.3% increase
  • Nurse practitioners—$100,549, a 5.3% increase
  • Healthcare IT—$91,251, a 2.2% increase
  • Registered nurses—$61,875, a 3.1% decrease

"This [trend] could, at least in part, be attributed to the physician shortage, which is causing healthcare providers to hire NPs and PAs in larger numbers, and having to pay them more to be competitive," Bryan Bassett, Health eCareer's managing director, said in a news release.

Overall, 87% report that their salary is the same as or higher than it was the year prior. Nonetheless, just 57% said they were happy with their current jobs and employers, while 43% reported actively looking for better opportunities.

Top desires for new positions included higher compensation, more rewarding or challenging work, better working hours, and the desire to work for a different organization. Eighty-six percent of job seekers surveyed said they were very confident or somewhat confident about finding a new position within a year.

Despite the stiffening staffing competition, employers' use of incentives such as increased compensation, more paid time off, and flexible work hours rose only 1% over the past year, from 60% to 61%.


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