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To the Editor: In 1989, a study described a linear correlation between the median income of physicians in a specialty and the percentage of residency positions for that specialty filled with US graduates (r = 0.85).¹ Since that time, decreasing numbers of graduates of US medical schools are choosing primary care specialties (family medicine, pediatrics, and general internal medicine), the disparity in income between primary care and subspecialties persists, and student debt has risen to a median of $140 000 for the class of 2007.² Because of these trends, this study examined whether there is an association between specialty selection and anticipated income using contemporary data.

Methods

The percentage of US allopathic medical school graduates choosing a particular specialty in 2007 was obtained from the results of the National Residency Match Program.³ The mean annual salary in 2007 for physicians in different specialties (overall mean and starting salary) was obtained from the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS
ebell@uga.edu
University of Georgia
Athens

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