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Physician Employment
Physicians and surgeons held about 633,000 jobs in 2006; approximately 15
percent were self-employed. About half of wage–and-salary physicians and
surgeons worked in offices of physicians, and 18 percent were employed by
hospitals. Others practiced in Federal, State, and local governments,
including colleges, universities, and professional schools; private
colleges, universities, and professional schools; and outpatient care
centers. According to 2005 data from the American Medical Association
(AMA), about one half of physicians in patient care were in primary care,
but not in a subspecialty of primary care. (See table 1.)
Table 1. Percent distribution of
active physicians in patient care by specialty, 2005
| |
Percent |
|
Total: |
100.0 |
|
Primary care |
40.4 |
|
Family medicine and general practice |
12.3 |
|
Internal medicine |
15.0 |
|
Obstetrics & gynecology |
5.5 |
|
Pediatrics |
7.5 |
| |
|
|
Specialties: |
59.6 |
|
Anesthesiology |
5.2 |
|
Psychiatry |
5.1 |
|
Surgical specialties, selected |
10.8 |
|
All other specialties |
38.5 |
|
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A growing number of physicians are partners or wage-and-salary employees
of group practices. Organized as clinics or as associations of physicians,
medical groups can more easily afford expensive medical equipment, can share
support staff, and benefit from other business advantages.
According to the AMA, the New England and Middle Atlantic States have the
highest ratio of physicians to population; the South Central and Mountain
States have the lowest. D.O.s are more likely than M.D.s to practice in
small cities and towns and in rural areas. M.D.s tend to locate in urban
areas, close to hospitals and education centers.
Source: Bureau of Labor
Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook
Handbook, 2008-09 Edition
Physician Employment
Physician Training
Physician Job Outlook
Physician Income
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