The medical profession has been changed radically by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many nurses, overburdened by caring for the sick, have left the profession. The shortage could last for years. A number of doctors have been “burned out” by extreme caseloads and caring for the sick and dying. The effect has been particularly harsh for emergency room and critical care physicians.
Other doctors have been badly damaged financially, which has pushed thousands of them out of the profession. Doctors who perform procedures may not have seen patients for months due to the seriousness of the virus. Some doctor’s offices were closed for weeks or months, undermining savings.
One thing has not changed. Doctors are among the best-paid people in America. Doctors with specialties often show up on federal government data on the highest-paid Americans. Usually, their annual compensation runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars. For some specialties, like cosmetic surgery, the number can be much higher.
If doctors are the highest-paid people in almost every hospital, who are the lowest paid? Health Affairs and Medscape recently released a list of hospital employees by pay. Data was pulled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results were covered by Becker’s Hospital Review.
As might be expected, the highest-paid employees in hospitals are chief executive officers. They make $633,520 per annum. CEOs at large hospitals make an average of $1,100,320.
Out of the 55 jobs covered by the report, janitors and cleaners made $29,972. They were barely edged out by orderlies, who make an average of $29,990
This is the average pay for the 20 lowest paying jobs at American hospitals:
- Janitors and cleaners: $29,972
- Orderlies: $29,990
- Nursing assistants: $30,310
- Cooks: $30,451
- Security guards: $31,470
- Pharmacy technicians: $36,740
- Emergency medical technicians, paramedics: $36,930
- Phlebotomists: $37,380
- Medical records and health information technicians: $45,240
- Surgical technologists: $48,530
- Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians: $57,800
- Healthcare social workers: $60,840
- Dietitians: $61,650
- Radiology techs: $61,980
- Public relations specialists: $62,800
- Registered nurses: $77,600
- Nuclear medicine technologists: $78,760
- Physical therapists: $95,620
- Medical and health service managers: $119,450
- Nurse practitioners: $120,680
Click here to see in which state nurses make the most money.
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