Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Radiologists and other imaging professionals are enjoying boom times, with salaries growing faster than they are in most other medical specialties. But the soaring job market has a downside, too, as staffing shortages begin to affect the quality of care being delivered, especially in underserved areas.
That dichotomy is evident this week in a trio of stories we’re featuring in our Imaging Center Digital Community. The first two articles discuss the rapid rise in radiologist salaries, with one study showing an 11% increase and another pointing to 6% growth. Both surveys were conducted by healthcare recruiting firms.
One survey found that radiologists have the second-highest average salary among a broad range of medical specialties (after orthopedic surgery), and that some healthcare facilities have had positions open for well over a year. The second survey ranked radiologists as the highest-paid specialists, and found that the search firm publishing the study conducted more job searches for radiologist positions than any other specialty, including orthopedic surgery.
Meanwhile, the staffing shortages that are feeding the boom times are making it more and more difficult for some healthcare providers to stay fully staffed. Another article we’re featuring this week discusses job opportunities for radiology professionals in the U.S. Indian Health Service, which is implementing a number of incentives to help close a 12% vacancy rate among clinical staff.
The incentives include student loan repayment assistance of up to $20,000 a year for two years, and even housing assistance in some cases. Radiologists working with the IHS tout the challenging nature of the work and the satisfaction derived from helping a population in need of high-quality radiology services. To read all about it, go to our Imaging Center Digital Community, at http://centers.auntminnie.com.
