PA News Update!!!

Study Indicates No Wage Gap Between Female PAs and MDs in Primary Care

2012-07-19

James Potter, senior vice president, advocacy and operations
A new study by two Yale economists indicates that there is little difference in hourly career earnings between female PAs and that of female MDs in primary care. The research entitled, “Are Women Over-investing in Education? Evidence from the Medical Profession” by M. Keith Chen and Judith A. Chevalier was featured in a Forbes.com article by Gergana Koleva and published this month in the Journal of Human Capital. The analysis factored in the economic and time costs of completing medical school and residency training versus a typical two-year physician assistant program, the existing gender gap in post-degree earnings, and the tendency for women physicians to reduce work hours when they have children.

The Yale study argues that unless women physicians plan to work consistently more than 40 hours a week, there was little difference between the hourly career earnings of female physicians and those of female PAs in primary care medicine. In fact, the analysis suggests that the women PAs earn slightly more over the course of their careers.

The study used an economic measure known as net present value (NPV) to determine whether a long-term venture such as a medical career is worth the investment. The career NPV of women becoming a primary care physician was found to be about $1.67 million, whereas the career NPV for women becoming a PA in primary care was about $1.68 million.

The economists found that the career NPV of a male physician was significantly above that of a male PA in primary care medicine. Their analysis reported that the career NPV of a male primary care physician was about $2.3 million, while the career NPV for a male PA in primary care averaged $1.9 million.

         This is a great look for female practicioners! Who would have thunk!? I personally believe that when I get out in 2yrs I want to work super hard while I'm young, as I will be 25 yrs old. I would like to have a hectic work week so I can grab the experience, and the money which will soon come after.

         On a side note, I'm assuming that the female PA's are working a tad harder than the MD's, and what I mean by that is that  they are accumalating more hours per week, as stated by the article. So yes they are making more, but I wish men could say the same!! lol For males the difference between the PA and the MD is around $400,000 in NPV. That's a house, among many other things!