New data from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)’s DataDive Management and Staff Compensation highlights a 19 percent increase in total compensation for nursing staff between 2015 and 2017.
Due to a shortage of physicians across the nation, medical institutions and practices are relying heavily on non-physician providers, including nursing staff — increasing their demand. MGMA reports nurses saw their average salary increase from $48,000 to $57,000 over the two-year period.
“We’ve seen this trend continue across medical practices for several years now: demand for qualified staff is growing, while supply is shrinking,” said Ken Hertz, Principal Consultant at MGMA in a prepared statement. “Aging staff across the healthcare industry are retiring at a higher rate than new ones are being trained to replace them. While medical practices of all sizes are struggling to keep up, many are trying to stay ahead of the curve by offering higher wages and more incentives to attract and retain the talent they need.”
Total compensation for nonclinical staff is also on the rise — of the 12 staff positions reported, 11 have seen an increase in compensation. General accounting positions have seen the largest increase, nearing 23 percent.
Other specialties with notable salary increases include radiology and imaging (13 percent) and medical support services (17 percent). Surprisingly, administrative positions in managed care saw salary decrease by almost 12 percent.
The 2018 MGMA DataDive Management and Staff Compensation includes data provided by 139,000 professionals from more than 2,600 organizations.
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.