Healthy pay in medical jobs
The median pay of Chattanooga workers increased by $1.35 a week last year but remained nearly 16 percent below the national average, according to newly released government figures.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates workers in the six-county Chattanooga metropolitan area were paid a median annual salary in 2016 of $41,940 — $7,690 less than the U.S. median annual pay of $49,630.
The average hourly wage in metro Chattanooga in May 2016 rose by 51 cents an hour from the previous year to $20.16. But local pay still averaged $3.70 an hour less than the U.S. median hourly pay of $23.86.
The BLS found that 19 of the 22 major occupational
groups in Chattanooga had significantly lower wages than the U.S. averages, including those in arts, design, entertainment, sports, media, management, health care practitioners and most technical jobs.
But those with medical degrees continued to enjoy healthy pay levels in Chattanooga, both compared with other workers and with the national averages.
The prescription for higher pay in Chattanooga seems to be to pursue a medical career. Six of the top 10 paying jobs are medical professionals.
BLS figures indicate the median annual pay for Chattanooga pediatricians of $254,760 last year was 38 percent above the U.S. median, while obstetricians and gynecologists in Chattanooga were paid a median annual salary of $264,260, or nearly 13 percent more than the U.S. median.
Health care officials and industry groups said pay levels can differ based upon local health care needs, specialties and workloads, not just an area’s cost of living or average pay.
“As the regional medical hub, with major medical centers including a major teaching hospital, Chattanooga attracts and retains some of the nation’s most highly skilled and experienced physicians,” said Rae Bond, executive director for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, which represents most local physicians.
“As in any industry, the best and the brightest command the highest compensation. We are fortunate to have a higher-than-average caliber of physicians in an extremely competitive and demanding health care sector.”
Lisa McCluskey, a vice president of marketing for CHI Memorial Health Care System, said the higher pay for some specialists in Chattanooga may simply reflect the supply and demand of the area. Tennesseans, in general, have higher rates of obesity, strokes and other health problems requiring more medical attention and care.
“We have noted that some specialists salaries are higher in the Southeast than in other parts of the country, and the reverse is true as well,” she said. “Some specialties have fewer numbers of physicians completing fellowship training than others, making those specialties in higher demand across the country.”
Chattanooga doesn’t have a medical university graduating physicians to directly train local doctors, although the local hospitals have a number of internship programs and a half dozen local colleges and universities have nursing programs.
Vying for such talent are three competitive hospital networks, along with health insurers, nursing homes, rehabilitation hospitals and a variety of medical practices.
Erlanger spokeswoman Pat Charles said physicians are more apt to align with larger practices or work for hospital networks as the cost of medical equipment and support services increases with more technologically advanced methods of health care.
“In the context of the health care market both locally and nationwide, you are seeing more and more medical professionals joining different groups and practices in an effort to seek opportunities for alliances and stability,” she said. “A lot of what is going on is due to a volatile changing market and physicians looking for business scale.”
Nationwide, the top 10 paying occupations were all in the medical and health care industry, according to BLS.
But Chattanoogans also appear to covet health care for their pets.
Veterinarians in Chattanooga fared better than the U.S. average, earning a median pay of $117,150, or 16.4 percent more than the U.S. average.
“A lot of what is going on is due to a volatile changing market and physicians looking for business scale.” — ERLANGER SPOKESWOMAN PAT CHARLES