Dive Brief: Medscape's new report examining physician debt and net worth suggested physicians are "often better planners and smarter with their money than some people might think." The study says 60% of the 19,000 physicians surveyed across 26 specialties report they live below their means and are in good financial shape. The majority (73%) had no major losses over the past year, but of those who did, 10% attributed it to practice issues, 12% to poor investments, and 3% to divorce. Dive Insight: The highest and lowest earning specialties were mostly consistent from previous years, with orthopedists ($443,000) and cardiologists ($410,000) remaining the top two, now followed by dermatologists ($381,000). The bottom three specialties remained ther same: pediatricians ($204,000), endocrinologists ($206,000), and family physicians ($207,000). According to the survey's findings, female physicians earn 24% less than male physicians, and correspondingly, their net worth is lower. While almost half (49%) of male physicians reported a worth of $1 million or more, just a third of female physicians do. At the same time, there was little difference between male and female physicians when it came to debt and expenses, with the top three sources being mortgages, car loans, and children's tuition. The report noted the median medical school debt for the class of 2015 was $183,000 and that those paying long term interest may pay more than $400,000. Medscape noted differences in student loan debt among specialties, and says it is not known why some specialists erase that debt more quickly, as there is no relationship with earnings. A third of emergency medicine and family physicians reported they are still paying off student loans, while at the lower end, just 16% of gastroenterologists and rheumatologists report they are still doing so. The report also noted some differences among specialists in their investment track records, with no correlation to earnings. Those who say they have never made investment mistakes include 69% of pediatricians at the top, followed by 67% of neurologists and 66% of infectious disease physicians. At the opposite end, those reporting the most mistakes were urologists (43%), plastic surgeons (44%), and orthopedists (46%). Source
