GW Report: Signs of Improving Job Market for New Nephrologists

GW REPORT: SIGNS OF IMPROVING JOB MARKET FOR NEW NEPHROLOGISTS

Increasing salaries reported for both US and international medical graduates

Highlights

• The American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the world’s largest organization of kidney health professionals, released a new report on the annual survey of nephrology fellows authored by George Washington University (GW) researchers.
• GW’s report finds an overall trend for a steadily improving job market and increasing salaries. Yet the job market was notably better for US medical graduates than for international medical graduates, who comprise a majority of nephrology trainees.

More than 40 million Americans have kidney diseases, the 9th leading cause of death in the U.S.

Newswise — Washington, DC (October 15, 2018) — The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) released an analysis of the society’s annual survey of nephrology fellows in training that finds signs of an improving job market and rising salaries for nephrologists entering practice. Authored by researchers from the George Washington University–Health Workforce Institute (GW-HWI), Report on the Survey of 2018 Nephrology Fellows is available online at http://www.asn-online.org/workforce.

“Among nephrology fellows who had searched for a job, perceptions of local nephrology job opportunities maintained the improvement of recent years for both US medical graduates (USMGs) and international medical graduates (IMGs),” said GW-HWI principal investigator Edward Salsberg, MPA. “Fellows’ anticipated salaries in 2018 were higher than in previous years; the median anticipated salary range for all demographic groups (by educational status and sex) was $180,000–$189,999—excepting male IMGs reporting a median of $190,000–$199,999—and the mean anticipated salary was $198,000, up from $187,000 in 2017.”  

The report is the latest in a series ASN has produced in collaboration with GW-HWI.

Yet the job market gains were better for USMGs than IMGs, added Salsberg, and lifestyle factors remained a concern for many fellows in training. Despite this, “a majority (78.8%) of fellows indicated they would recommend nephrology to current medical students and residents, a notable improvement over previous years.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• Fewer than two in five respondents (38.0%) who had searched for jobs reported having difficulty finding a satisfactory position, down from 45.6% in 2017.

• Frequency of overnight calls and weekend duties, and workday length were all ranked very important or important by >90% of fellow respondents.
• The percentage of respondents changing plans because of limited nephrology job opportunities in 2018 continued to decline, down to 28.9% from the high of 42.9% in 2015.

The report on the annual ASN Nephrology Fellows Survey comes in advance of ASN Kidney Week 2018, the world’s largest meeting of kidney health professionals being held October 23–28 in San Diego CA. Nephrology workforce research is one part of ASN’s commitment to empower current and future members of the nephrology workforce and advance their professional goals and success.

The views and findings in this report reflect the work of the GW Health Workforce Institute (GW-HWI) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASN or GW University.

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Since 1966, ASN has been leading the fight to prevent, treat, and cure kidney diseases throughout the world by educating health professionals and scientists, advancing research and innovation, communicating new knowledge, and advocating for the highest quality care for patients. ASN has nearly 20,000 members representing 131 countries. For more information, please visit www.asn-online.org or contact the society at 202-640-4660.

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