Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Being A Female Doctor Instead Of Male Costs $2 Million In Career Wages
The New York Times: Women Earn $2 Million Less Than Men In Their Careers As Doctors
Female doctors make less than their male counterparts starting from their very first days on the job, according to a large new study. Over the course of a 40-year-career, researchers estimated, this pay gap adds up to at least $2 million. The survey of more than 80,000 physicians, published on Monday in the medical journal Health Affairs, is the largest analysis to date on physician salaries and the first to estimate the cumulative impact of pay gaps in medicine. (Ghorayshi, 12/6)
Stat: Gender Gap In Physician Salaries Adds Up To $2 Million In Lifetime Earnings
Women may now equal or outnumber men in medical school classes, but their lifetime earnings as doctors still fall far short of parity. A persistent 25% pay gap between female and male physicians adds up to $2 million over a medical career, a new analysis calculates, after accounting for specialty, hours, location, and years of experience. The study, published Monday in Health Affairs, echoes other research in academic medicine but also charts a similar gulf in community settings. Its authors believe their work is the first to put a dollar sign on the cumulative impact on income for physicians wherever they practice. (Cooney, 12/6)
In updates on the nursing shortage —
The Washington Post: Nurses Are Leaving Staff Jobs During Covid And Tripling Salaries To Travel
Wanderlust, and the money to fund it, made Alex Stow’s decision easy. After working a couple of years in an intensive care unit, he signed up to be a travel nurse, tripling his pay to about $95 an hour by agreeing to help short-staffed hospitals around the country for 13 weeks at a time. “Travel” proved a bit of a misnomer. His current assignment is in Traverse City, Mich., only a few hours from his old full-time job in Lansing — close enough that he still works per-diem shifts at his previous hospital. Now Stow, 25, is buying a truck and a camper and preparing to hit the road. He’ll work where he wants and take time off to see the country between nursing assignments. (Bernstein, 12/6)
Modern Healthcare: University Of Maryland Medical System To Spend $5.1M To Recruit Staff
The University of Maryland Medical System on Monday said it launched a $5.1 million recruitment effort to attract nurses and other bedside staff as the pandemic continues to put pressure on medical staffing. The campaign, called UMMS Community College Tuition Assistance Incentive Program, began in December and is targeted at recent graduate from two-year state schools, the system said in a news release. "In the spirit of community, we have enhanced our partnerships with community colleges whose health professions programs are an excellent workforce resource. including schools across Maryland and with Delaware Technical Community College," Lisa Rowen, a registered nurse and UMMS senior vice president and chief nurse executive, said in a news release. (Christ, 12/6)
In other news about medical personnel —
New Hampshire Public Radio: New Hampshire Seeks Outside Help With Autopsies
The state medical examiner’s office is asking for help to address a rising number of autopsies and other duties. At a time when deaths by drug overdose and COVID-19 are rising in New Hampshire, the state has been down a medical examiner for more than a year, straining the office’s ability to investigate a range of deaths. A contract up for a vote by the Executive Council this week would pay a New York doctor $18,000 to help with autopsies and other tasks in the state’s medical examiner’s office. (Rogers, 12/6)
Houston Chronicle: Exclusive: CEO Of Astroworld Medical Provider Recalls Moment When Routine Festival Spiraled Out Of Control
Alex Pollak was feeling pretty confident in the moments before Travis Scott stepped out on the stage at NRG Park last month. He’d spent hours walking across the venue, checking on his EMTs and doctors, who were roaming the pit and staffing ParaDocs Worldwide’s medical tent. The crowd was full of energy, he recalled, but nothing seemed particularly unusual compared with other concerts his company had worked over the years. But as Scott appeared on stage, just after 9 p.m., what appeared to be a routine music festival would begin to spin out of control. (Barned-Smith, 12/6)
