LOOKING AT SHIFT work data from the 2023 Today’s Hospitalist Compensation & Career Survey, we found hospitalists’ pay is affected by several factors related to the type of shifts they work, the length of those shifts and more. Here’s a look at the impact that shift type and quantity have on hospitalist pay.
Compensation by shift type
Nocturnists led the pack when it came to pay, reporting a mean compensation of $360,372. Hospitalists working seven-on/seven-off, for example, reported a mean compensation of $339,381, making that type of day shift the highest paying for the specialty. Hospitalists working other day shifts reported being paid less—but at $334,603, the difference was fairly small.
Those numbers tell only part of the story, however, because hospitalists working seven-on/seven-off said they work fewer shifts per month (14.9) than hospitalists who work some other type of daytime schedule (15.7 shifts per month). That means that the latter are working more shifts per month for slightly less pay.
When we dug deeper into the data to look at shift length, hospitalists working seven-on/seven-off said their shifts averaged about 11.4 hours. Hospitalists working other types of shifts, by comparison, said their shifts averaged 10.7 hours. They may be paid slightly less, but they’re also working fewer hours.
Nocturnists said their shifts averaged 11.6 hours, making their combination of hours and pay the best of the specialty.
Compensation by shift length
Hospitalists working 12-hour shifts reported the highest mean compensation: $339,314. Just over half of respondents (56.7%) worked shifts that average 12 hours in length.
Hospitalists working eight- to nine-hour shifts reported earning a mean of $338,671. Far fewer hospitalists (12.3%) said they work these shorter shifts. And hospitalists working shifts of 10 or 11 hours reporting making $335,583. Just over one-quarter of survey respondents (25.9%) said they work these shifts.
Compensation by shifts per month
Our survey found that on average, hospitalists work 15 shifts a month. Our data found that hospitalists working 14 to 16 shifts a month earn an average of $329,539.
So what do hospitalists who work more than the average earn? Survey data indicate that hospitalists working 20 shifts per month reported an average pay of $434,024. That’s a whopping 32% increase—or an extra $104,000—over hospitalists who work close to the mean number of shifts.
Hospitalists working slightly more than average—17 to 20 shifts per month—reported an average pay of $366,867. That’s $37,000 more (or 11%) than hospitalists working near the average of 14 to 16 monthly shifts.
For more on hospitalist compensation by shifts per month, see our previous coverage.
Full- vs. part-time pay
Finally, and perhaps not surprisingly, hospitalists reported huge pay differences for working part time vs. full time.
Full-time hospitalists, for example, reported earning an average of $339,438. Part-time hospitalists, by comparison, said they made $250,692.
One interesting wrinkle in our data: Part-time hospitalists reported a sizeable pay increase from our 2022 survey to our 2023 survey. While full-time hospitalists reported a 0.6% increase in their mean pay, part timers said they were making 10.9% more than in the previous year.
For more on hospitalist shifts and compensation, check out our 2023 Compensation & Career guide here.
I once worked as a nocturnist at a facility that had a 14-hr night shift and a ten hour day shift. The national company that had that contract wanted to “standardize” the contracts – and pay both shifts THE SAME AMOUNT. When I commented on this disparity, they were baffled that that particular hospital had that sort of shift difference (and no, I never slept either) – but would not budge. That kind of turn around gives one an hour to do sign out and get home, 8 hours of sleep, fast exercise, shower, and get back to work. It’s… Read more »