Trends in US medical school faculty salaries, 1988-1989 to 1998-1999

Expansion of managed care, intensified price competition, and the introduct ion of the Medicare Fee Schedule have all affected physician compensation d uring the past decade. We examine trends in the salaries of medical school faculty, particularly MD clinical faculty, based on a more extensive salary database than has been used previously. Data collected through the Associa tion of American Medical Colleges' Faculty Salary Survey for the academic y ears 1988-1989, 1993-1994, and 1998-1999 were analyzed, and inflation-adjus ted salary growth rates for clinical and basic science faculty during two 5 -year periods, 1988-1993 and 1993-1998, compared across faculty ranks, depa rtments, and various school characteristics. The comparison showed that, between 1988 and 1998, the actual median clinic al faculty salary increased from $101 000 to $150 000, and the actual media n basic science faculty salary increased from $52 000 to $78 000, Bivariate and multivariate analyses showed that the proportionate change in real mea n salary (base year, 1988) in each 5-year period was related to department and faculty rank for clinical faculty (P<.001) and faculty rank for basic s cience faculty (P<.001). The inflation-adjusted annualized compound growth rate of clinical faculty salaries declined from 1.9% per year(1988-1993) to 0.2% per year (1993-1998), while the growth rate of basic science faculty salaries increased from 0.3% per year (1988-1993) to 1.3% per year(1993-199 8). From 1993 to 1998, inflation-adjusted annualized salary growth rates in several clinical departments were negative (anesthesiology, -1.1%; obstetr ics and gynecology, -0.5%; radiology, -0.4%; and neurology, -0.1%) hut were positive for family practice (+2.7%), Significant differences in salary gr owth related to school characteristics leg, geographic region, public vs pr ivate, community based vs non-community based, and research intensity) were specific to particular study periods. Overall, while actual average medica l school faculty salaries are increasing, the real growth rate of average c linical faculty salaries is declining and that of basic science faculty inc reasing.