10 specialties with the lowest pay increases in 5 years

The specialty with the lowest pay growth in the last five years increased by only $2,000 while the specialty with the highest pay bump increased by more than $100,000, according to Medscape’s “Physician Compensation Reports” for 2023 and 2018.

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Emergency medicine specialists earned an average of $350,000 in 2018. In 2023, that figure increased to $352,000, an increase of 0.57 percent. This was the lowest five-year salary increase among 29 specialties; the other 28 ranged from $133,000 to $10,000.

Here are the 10 specialties with the lowest pay increases in the last five years, starting with the specialty with the lowest increase:

Specialty

 Avg. pay in 2018 

 Avg. pay in 2023 

 Difference 

Emergency medicine

$350,000

$352,000

$2,000

Allergy and immunology

$272,000

$282,000

$10,000

Nephrology

$294,000

$312,000

$18,000

Rheumatology

$257,000

$281,000

$24,000

Ophthalmology

$357,000

$388,000

$31,000

Infectious diseases

$231,000

$262,000

$31,000

Psychiatry

$273,000

$309,000

$36,000

Family medicine

$219,000

$255,000

$36,000

 Obstetrics and gynecology 

$300,000

$337,000

$37,000

 Physical medicine and rehabilitation 

$269,000

$306,000

$37,000

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