Doctors only work in scrubs (the clothing, not the TV show), right? Wrong – there are so many ways doctors can make their money. Yes, sometimes they’re in scrubs, but they’re not always running around hospitals in them.
Below, we’ll explore all the ways doctors can make their money.
Working in Hospitals
We’ll start with the obvious one where doctors are running around hospitals in scrubs. Employed doctors, earn a fixed salary plus pay incentive programs and extra pay for time spent working on additional tasks outside routine service.
Statistics provided by the American Medical Association (AMA) also state that the average salary for doctors in hospitals is about $300,000 even if this figure will shift depending on the physician’s specific field of work, the area where the practice is, and the doctor’s level of expertise. They can be employed by the hospital or through recruitment firms like MASC Medical – mascmedical.com.
The job role determines the salary more than who employs them. For example, a surgeon and a specialist will most likely earn more compared to a general practitioner.
Working in Clinics
Clinics are where the money is at – but it’s not easy to start or join a clinic. In a private setting, they can set their own hours, decide which patients to accept, and even demand wrong (and sometimes illegal prices) from their patients. Approximately, physicians in the private sector earn between $350,000 and $450,000 annually.
Still, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. They also have to deal with business management issues, which include managing administration, staff recruitment, and spending for business overhead such as rent and utilities and the rental or buy-out of information technology or medical equipment. Still, we’re sure anyone would do that for over $300k.
Still, if a doctor can secure a clinic job or, even better, start their own clinic, we don’t blame them. There’s so much money flexibility with finances and schedule.
Everything In Between
There’s an endless list of other ways doctors can make money. Some of the best include consulting, research, telehealth, event speakers, and lecturers.
Telemedicine is one of the most interesting right now – more people want flexible work and from home. Telehealth means doctors can see more patients without incurring the costs of establishing physical offices. It’s like private clinics for the same money without the overheads. Telehealth comes with good returns, particularly specialist consultant services – some physicians earn over $150 an hour in such engagements.
Another exciting one is travel medicine, but not as many people have the flexibility to do that. There’s a lot of money to be made with travel medicine, and it’s an almost 24/7 holiday. We can see why young doctors might be interested in this.
It’s easy to see how many ways there are for doctors to make money – and we’ve only scratched the surface. We will admit that hospital doctors have it the hardest. The schedules are more grueling, and there’s a lack of flexibility, but it’s the easiest job to find.
