Medical residency salary depends on various factors such as year of residency, medical school

or university, field of medical specialty, geographic location and type of employer. According to
the BLS, the physicians offices pay the highest salary range of about $210,020 per annum and
an average hourly wage of about $100.97 per hour. An average salary for the lowest 10 percent
of resident physicians is less than $48,510 whereas the annual salary for the lowest paid 25
percent of them is less than $51,000. In addition, an average yearly salary for the highest 50
percent of them has been more than $53,000. Keep reading for more information about medical
residency salary and requirements.

Who is a medical resident ?

Resident physicians are the entry level specialists who provide assistance to the experienced
surgeons and physicians during medical procedures. Their job is to examine, diagnose, treat and
educate the patients. Some of the commonly performed resident physicians duties include
implementing the resident training programs, monitoring the patients recovery, updating patient
charts, interpreting tissue samples and blood tests, and performing various clinical with or
without a senior specialists guidance. There is a difference between resident physician and
fellow. Fellows have completed their residencies and are acquiring additional training above and
beyond residency.

How much does a medical resident make ?

Average Medical residency salary and wage
According to the BLS, the hourly mean wage earned by a resident physician is around $100.74
per hour which averages to an annual mean salary of around $51,340 per annum. PGY 1 salary
is $48,000, PGY 2 salary is $50,000, PGY 3 salary is $53,000 and PGY 4 salary is $55,000.

Medical residency salary in USA

A resident physician in the United States receives an average annual salary ranging from
between $41,526 $62,856. In addition, a bonus of about $5, 000 will be credited to his or her
account. In fact, a resident physician receives his or her total earnings ranging from between
$41,699 $62,647 per annum.

According to the BLS reports, the median hourly wage for resident is more than $80 per hour
which averages to a national mean salary of around $166,440 per year. The lowest paid hourly
wage received by the resident physicians is around less than $25.73 per hour, while the lowest 25
percent of them received less than $53.77 per hour. In addition, the hourly wage for the highest
paid 50 percent of them has been more than $80 per hour.
 medical residency salary

Medical residency salary in Canada

Based on the Canadian province, an average yearly salary for a resident physician ranges from
between C$27,000 C$30,000 per annum. Based on the residency year, a first year resident
physician earns around C$ 41 874 per annum; second year resident earns around $ 45 951;
3rd year resident earns around C$ 50 672; 4th year resident earns around C$ 54 370; 5th year
resident earns C$ 59 129; 6th year resident earns C$ 62 098; 7th year resident earns C$ 65 205;
and a 8th year resident earns C$ 68 463. In addition an average hourly wage ranges from
between C$52.50 to $105 per hour.

Medical residency salary in UK

According to all salary survey, the median and average expected salaries for a resident physician
in UK is around 24,000 per year. An average hourly wage for a resident physician is about 12
per hour. A resident physicians salary varies based on his or her age as the one in 20s earns up
to 18,000, in 30s earns about 23,520, in 40s and in 50s earns about 27,840 per annum.

Medical residency salary in Australia

On an average, a resident physician in Australia receives an annual salary ranging from between
AU$55,017 AU$96,450. In addition, a bonus of about AU$5, 918 will be credited to his or her
account. In fact, a resident physician in Australia receives his or her total earnings ranging
between AU$55,610 AU$103,900 per annum.

Resident physician requirements

It is mandatory for the resident physicians to possess a bachelors degree and M.D. or D.O.
degree from a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education
(LCME). The candidate usually acquires clinical experience during ones last two years of
medical study and by working in clinics or hospitals under the supervision of a licensed
physician. The resident physicians should pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination
(USMLE) conducted by the American medical board.

Read more about hundreds of different Healthcare salaries .

Conclusion about medical residency salary

Based on the year of residency training, the average annual salary for a resident physician with
no experience is around $41,000 per year. In addition, the first year resident physicians earned an
annual income of around $45,018; while the second years earned $47,214 per annum; and the
third years earned around $50,079 per year.

Read comments on Medical Residency

salary

What will you earn as a junior doctor?

Authors: Henry Murphy

Publication date: 13 Sep 2012

Henry Murphy looks at what junior doctors earn around the world

The industrial action over pensions by BMA members this June has sparked a
debate about the privileges of doctors. Some people have called doctors in
the United Kingdom greedy,[1] whereas others have defended doctors hard
work and argued that they deserve their generous pensions.[2]

In the UK it seems that junior doctors are the least happy with their financial
prospects when compared with their more senior colleagues. In the recent
BMA pensions ballot, 92% of junior doctors voted for industrial action,
compared with 79% of GPs and 84% of hospital consultants.[3] This might be
because junior doctors will be affected most by the proposed changes.

Why else might junior doctors in the UK be dissatisfied with their financial
situation, and how does it compare with that of our international colleagues?

United Kingdom
Current cohorts of junior doctors will graduate with a higher level of debt than
their predecessors: fees rose from 1000 to 3000 in 2006. In 2010 it was
estimated that UK medical students graduate with an average debt of
2390925% higher than that of non-medical graduates.[4] Since this
estimate, debts have risen slightly from 2010 figures, to 24092 currently.[5]

The financial situation is set to worsen dramatically for English graduates, with
tuition fees to rise again from 3290 to 9000 for students enrolled in 2012.
The BMA has estimated that these students will graduate with an average
70000 of debt from tuition fee loans alone.[5]

When UK medical students graduate, they are expected to begin repaying

their debts. Gradually decreasing income and mandatory expenditure,
however, have led some trainees to struggle with finances.

According to the BMA, junior doctors in the UK have taken a 10.9% pay cut
since 2000.[6] Salaries have risen but not at the same rate as inflation. This
means that while the cost of living is rising, doctors are being paid less. Junior
doctors basic pay in the UK is currently well below that of similar graduates,
such as those in the legal and financial sectors. Total earnings are similar,
however, as a result of overtime supplementation.[7] The BMA states that it is
not appropriate for doctors to have to work overtime or unsocial hours to
maintain a decent salary.[8]

Working conditions for UK doctors have improved because of working time

limitations in Europe, but the legislation has also affected pay and benefits.
The maximum overtime pay supplements are now illegal under the new
legislation, and, as a result, overtime increments to basic pay for junior
doctors have reduced from 85% in 2001 to 46% in 2008, when this monitoring
ended. It is estimated that this supplement has reduced further to 42% (Ford
J, Health Policy and Economic Research Unit, BMA, personal communication,
June 2012).

The UK government has admitted that it maintained junior doctors salaries at

a low rate because of the additional benefit of free hospital accommodation. In
2008, however, junior doctors were no longer required to live in the hospital
on an on-call basis under the new working hours legislation, so most lost their
entitlement to accommodation.[9] Free accommodation was worth 4000, yet
the government is refusing to increase our salaries by the same amount, said
Tom Foley, a 27 year old trainee doctor and BMA spokesman on medical
student finance.[10]

This situation has left some doctors in training struggling to pay postgraduate
fees, such as those for examinations.[11] These fees, some of which are
compulsory, reportedly cost junior doctors 17114 during their training, with
doctors in some specialties spending up to 24912.[12]

International comparison
Any comparison between nations is limited by cultural, healthcare system, and
political variables. For example, tuition fees and financial support vary
between medical schools in some countries. There is little standardisation in
defined training programmes for junior doctors in certain developing nations,
and many countries do not keep national statistics about pay.

United States

The Association of American Medical Colleges has compiled a report about

the gloomy and bleak financial situation affecting public and private
medical school graduates in the United States. They have found that tuition
fees at public medical schools have risen by an astonishing 11.1% since
2001. Projections estimate that the debt of private and public graduates will
reach $750000 (470000) by 2033.[13]

Junior doctors in the US, known as residents, are given a stipenda form of
allowance to offset expenses. The amount of stipend varies by region and by
type of hospital, but the average annual stipend for a first year resident in
2011 was $49000. When adjusted by inflation for that year, residents took a
$127 pay cut.[14] The stipend is considered a living wage, but it is far lower
pay than that of the average first year college graduate.[15]

Prospective US medical students on social media sites question how

residents are able to manage their finances. One user said: Just curious how
residents survive on [their average] salary . . . for 3-5 years, especially those
with big loans to pay off?[16]

Many US graduates choose to defer their federal loan repayments until after
the completion of their three year residency. Unfortunately this deferment is
associated with an accrual of interest on any amount over the $34000
subsidised by the US government. This means that, with deferment, the
current median debt of a 2006 public medical school graduate would increase
from $120000 to $151342, and that of a private medical school graduate
would increase from $160000 to $205707.

India

In India, the equivalent period after medical school final examinations is called
the internship. As this is considered an educational training period, students
undertaking their internship continue to pay tuition fees but are called junior
doctors, have clinical responsibilities, and are given a stipend. The amount of
monthly stipend given varies between regions, with junior doctors in West
Bengal receiving 14000 rupees (164) a month and those in Madhya Pradesh
receiving just 5000 rupees (59).[17] In comparison, a nurse in India receives
between 10000 and 50000 rupees, depending on experience.[18]

Strike action over pay is common in India. In 2011, junior doctors in the state
of Maharashtra went on a seven day hunger strike to demand an increase in
their stipend. At that time, interns received just 2550 rupees a month. Pankaj
Nalawade, president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors,
said, For a decent standard of living, a person should be earning at least 100
every day, but what they get is something between 80 and 85.
Medical education minister Vijaykumar Gavit assured the doctors that they
would be paid a higher amount. The promise went unfulfilled, however, and
the doctors were told five months later that their demands were
unjustifiable.[19] The deal was secured only after a year long dispute that
ended in May 2012.

The situation in India has led to a substantial number of doctors leaving the
country after training. Among developing countries, India is the biggest
exporter of trained doctors, with roughly 700 Indian medical graduates
migrating to the US every year. In the US, 4.9% of doctors were originally
trained in India, and in Britain the figure is 10.9%.[20]

At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the top ranked medical school in
India, nearly 54% of students graduating between 1989 and 2000 left the
country to work abroad. Shakti Gupta, the head of hospital administration at
the institute, said that a medical student at the institute pays annual fees of
about 4500 rupees but that training costs three million rupees. I think we
should ask them to come back and work in Indiaat least for some years,
Gupta said.[21]

Posts on online forums suggest that pay is one of the largest factors involved
in the Indian brain drain. Its definitely a huge concern, said one user. The
best brains in India are moving out of India as the odds of getting the same
pay package in India as they are offered in countries like America [and the]
UK are astronomical. Money is a big driving force for [the] brain drain.[22]

A recent decision by the Indian health ministry to require medical graduates to

return to India for two years has been met with a negative reaction.[21]

Sub-Saharan Africa

A recent survey of 148 medical schools in 48 sub-Saharan African countries

found that tuition fees are comparatively affordable, with 48% charging $1000
or less per annum.[23] This is because most medical schools are publicly run
and therefore supported financially by their governments. This might suggest
that graduate debt is less of an issue here than for other nations.

However, 27% of domestic sub-Saharan medical graduates leave their nation

of study within five years, mostly for countries outside of Africa. Many factors
can explain why doctors leave their native countries, but the medical schools
in the survey report that by far the biggest barrier to the retention of graduates
is low wages.[23]
Sub-Saharan Africa bears 24% of the worlds disease burden but has only 2%
of the worlds doctors. Research published in the BMJ calculated that sub-
Saharan African countries with a high HIV prevalence lose $2bn a year
through the migration of doctors, while destination countries benefit as they do
not have to pay for the education of their medical workforce. Savings of at
least $621m are estimated for Australia, $384m for Canada, $2.7bn for the
UK, and $846m for the US. This amounts to $4.55bn in total.[24]

Concerned about the impact of the brain drain on achievement of the United
Nations millennium development goals, members of the World Health
Organization signed a resolution in 2010 to ensure the ethical international
recruitment of health personnel.[25]

To deal with the problem locally, 69% of sub-Saharan medical schools require
doctors to do a period of compulsory or community service after graduation.
This can be paid or unpaid, meaning that some doctors are forced to work for
nothing after graduation.

International problem
It seems that junior doctors throughout the world are dissatisfied with their
pay. The decision to strike in the UK was the first for almost 40 years,
whereas dramatic strike action is more common in India, albeit at a regional or
local level. Doctors in sub-Saharan Africa vote with their feet by leaving their
country to seek better pay, at great cost to their home nations and at great
advantage to the developed world.

Competing interests: None declared.

From the Student BMJ.

References

1. Letters. Doctors greed matches bankers. Independent . Jun

2012. [Link] .

2. Coren V. Victoria Coren: Hard-working doctors earn

pensions. Question Time . Jun 2012. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-
18294656.
3. BMA. See the ballot results by branch of practice. BMA May 2012.
bma.org.uk/working-for-change/negotiating-for-the-profession/industrial-
action-pensions/ballot-results-list.

4. Wesleyan Medical Sickness. Junior doctorsdealing with debt. Jun

2012.
wesleyan.co.uk/moreinformationpages/juniordoctors/juniordoctorsdealin
gwithdebt.

5. BMA. Medical students from low income families facing 13,000 more
debt, warns BMA. BMA Nov 2011.
web2.bma.org.uk/pressrel.nsf/wlu/SGOY-
8N6MMR?OpenDocument&vw=wfmms.

6. BMA. Memorandum of evidence to the review body on doctors and

dentists renumeration. BMA, Oct 2011.

7. Amy R. Review body on doctors and dentists remuneration. 40th report

2012. Office of Manpower Economics, 2012.

8. Jaques H. How inflation has downsized your pay. BMJ Careers, Jun
2011. careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=20003302.

9. Moorthy M. BMA Junior Doctors Committee. BMA. Dec 2007.

10. Ives S. Burden of debt thats crippling junior doctors. Apr 2008.
guardian.co.uk/money/2008/apr/05/studentfinance.

11. Robinson F. Juniors cant meet professional training fees. Mar

2011. hospitaldr.co.uk/blogs/our-news/debt-ridden-juniors-struggling-to-
meet-professional-training-fees.

12. Jaques H. Junior doctors spend 17114 on postgraduate

training. BMJ Careers Oct 2011. careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-
article.html?id=20004902.
13. Association of American Medical Colleges. Medical school tuition
and young physician indebtedness. Oct 2007. [Link] .

14. Association of American Medical Colleges. AAMC survey of

resident/fellow stipends and benefits. 2011.
aamc.org/download/265452/data/2011stipendreport.pdf.

15. Wikipedia. Residency (medicine). 2007.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residency_%28medicine%29.

16. ValueMD. Surviving on a residents salary?

valuemd.com/residency-match-forum/109554-surviving-residents-
salary.html.

17. The Times of India. Medical interns to get higher stipends from
this session. 17 May 2012.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Medical-interns-to-get-higher-
stipends-from-this-session/articleshow/13179166.cms.

18. The Times of India. Poor salaries, bleak prospects, workload drive
women away. 2 Jan 2012. articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-
02/bangalore/30581008_1_nursing-shortage-nursing-college-
profession.

19. The Times of India. Hike in medical interns stipend remains a far
cry. 15 Sep 2011. articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-
15/nagpur/30160009_1_state-medical-interns-stipend-pravin-shingare.

20. World Health Organization. High-end physician migration from

India. Jan 2008. who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/1/07-041681.pdf.

21. Mudur G. Indian doctors criticise health ministrys plan to curb

medical brain drain. BMJ 2012;344:e3143.

22. Africa and the world. Brain drain in India and other Asian
countries. Nov 2008. africaw.com/forum/f2/brain-drain-in-india-and-
other-asian-countries-t1049/.
 23. Sub-Saharan African Medical School Study. 2010.
samss.org/samss.upload/documents/126.pdf

24. Mills EJ, Kanters S, Hagopiar A, Bansback N, Nachega J,

Alberton M, et al. The financial cost of doctors emigrating from sub-
Saharan Africa. BMJ 2011;343:d7031.
bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d7031.

25. World Health Organization. Global code of practice on the

international recruitment of health personnel. 2010.
who.int/hrh/migration/code/code_en.pdf.

Henry Murphy Clegg scholar BMJ

hmurphy@bmj.com

Cite this as BMJ Careers ; doi: