10 Most in Demand Medical Specialties in America

Graduates who choose one of these 10 most in demand medical specialties in America should not worry about finding a job. All listed medical fields face workforce shortage which will continue to increase in the following years so the demand will remain high.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the country will lack between 40,800 and 104,900 doctors by 2030. The physician shortage, which is caused by several factors  (aging population, insufficient number of federally supported residency training positions, growing number of doctors who are near retirement), seriously affects the quality of healthcare Americans receive. For many specialties waiting time for the first appointment has been steadily increasing over last years. Merritt Hawkins’s survey reports that the time to schedule an appointment has jumped by 30%, from 18.5 days in 2014 to 24 days in 2017, while in some cities such as Boston patients wait 52.4 days to see a doctor for the first time.

AAMC’s report breaks down expected shortage into four broad categories: primary care, medical specialties, surgical specialties, and other specialties. Primary care will see the highest shortfall as it will lack between 7,300 and 43,100 doctors. It is followed by surgical specialties which will have the deficit of between 19,800 and 29,000 surgeons. Shortage in the group of medical specialties ranges from 1,300–12,000, while other specialties will lack between 18,600 and 31,800 physicians. There are many reasons which dissuade medical students from certain specialties. Income that does not represent fair compensation for the work they perform,  loads of paperwork, overtime work, especially among these 10 Doctors and Specialists Who Work the Longest Hours, are some of the things that make certain medical fields less appealing.

In creating the list of 10 most in demand medical specialties in America we consulted a few sources. Every year Merritt Hawkins publishes the review of physicians and advanced practitioner recruiting incentives. The last report revealed that ten most recruited health care professionals were family medicine doctors, psychiatrists, internal medicine doctors, hospitalist, nurse practitioners, obstetricians and gynecologists, neurologist, orthopedic surgeons, urgent care professionals, and pediatrics.  To create this list we used data published by Merritt Hawkins in last five reports, as well as the number of job posts for different medical specialties on Indeed and Health E-Careers. We did not include on this list nurse practitioners and physicians assistants which appear on Merritt Hawkins’s rankings because our focus was on doctors.

Besides most in demand medical specialties, we give you information about their annual income and career satisfaction taken from last Medscape physician compensation report.

10. Neurology

The US will face a serious shortage of neurologists in the future. Although the number of brain doctors has expected to increase by 11% in the period between 2013 and 2025, reaching the figure of 18,060, it won’t be enough to satisfy growing demand for these specialists. Aging population and rise in the number of people suffering from Alzheimer and Parkinson disease on one side and decrease in the number of graduates who opt for neurology on the other will cause a lack of 3,380 neurologists in America.  Shortage of brain specialties also means that waiting time for the first appointment with a neurologist will continue to increase, which in turn interferes with quality of health care.  Neurologists earn $241,000 per year and more than half of them believe they are not fairly compensated. And now, let’s see what else we have in our list of most in demand medical specialties in America.

9. Orthopedic Surgery

The demand for orthopedics is mainly driven by the rise in the number of patients who need total knee and hip replacement. The demand for hip arthroplasties will rise by 174% and the demand for knee arthroplasties will jump by 673% by 2030. Currently, there are 19,145 orthopedic surgeons in the US and while different organizations predict that there will be a shortage of orthopedics in the following years, there are no exact numbers about the expected difference between future demand and supply. The deficit will be also partly caused by the fact that many orthopedic surgeons will retire as more than a half all orthopedics are 55 or older. According to Medscape, orthopedics is the highest paying specialty with an annual wage of $443,000. Despite this, less than a half of bone doctors are satisfied with the income.

8. Gastroenterology

The study conducted by the Lewin Group in 2009, predicted that America would need 1,550 additional gastroenterologists by 2020 because of the growing need for colorectal cancer screening. Although doctors recommend that people older than 50 years take a regular screening for colon and rectum cancer, which is the second most prevalent cause of cancer deaths in America, surveys show that many patients don’t follow physicians advice. Gastroenterology, the number 8 in our list of most in demand medical specialties in America is fourth highest earning specialty with an average annual wage of $380,000.

7. General Surgery

There will be a deficit of 41,000 general surgeons by 2025, which accounts for 33% of the total physician shortage in the future. The shortfall of general surgeons is especially evident in rural and underserved communities. Different solutions have been proposed but none has given desired results so far. Currently, there are 25,243 general surgeons in the US and over the past 20 years their number has been static despite population rise. According to Medscape, average salary of general surgeons is $322,000, and the majority of these specialists think they are not fairly compensated. Moreover, many general surgeons are not satisfied with their career – one-third say they would not choose surgery again while more than a half would not recommend the specialty to their children.

6. Obstetrics and Gynecology

Like all other specialties on this list of most in demand medical specialties in America, obstetrics and gynecology will lack workforce in the future. By 2020 America will have a shortfall of up to 8,800 OBGYNS while by 2050 it is possible that the country will face a deficit of 22,000 of these doctors. Currently, a single OBGYN is not present in nearly half of all counties in the US. In order to address the issue different solutions have been proposed including financial incentives for graduates who would pursue specialization in gynecology. Obstetricians and gynecologist earn $277,000 annually and they belong to a group of doctors who are the least satisfied with their income.

5. Hospitalist

Hospitalists, doctors who take care of hospitalized patients, rank as fifth on the list of 10 most in demand medical specialties in America. There are 44,000 these specialists in America, which is significant rise compared to 1990s when only 1,000 doctors worked as hospitalists. Besides inpatient care, hospitalists spend considerable time performing administrative work. According to Medscape report 56% of hospitalists spend 10-14 hours and more on paperwork weekly. The majority of them specialized in internal medicine and they earn $243,000 yearly which is more compared to internists who do not work as hospitalists. However, internal medicine doctors are the least satisfied group among all hospitalists – almost 80% say that if they had a chance, they would not choose the same specialty again.

4. Psychiatrists

With one in five adult Americans experiencing some sort of mental illness and 13.6 million people suffering from serious mental health conditions, there is a strong demand for psychiatrists. However, the demand has not been met. According to Merritt Hawkins’s “Psychiatry: The Silent Shortage”, 28,250 active psychiatrists working in the US can’t serve entire population’s need. More than half of the country experiences a shortage of mental health professionals and it seems that there will be not much change in the future. Psychiatry is one of the oldest specialties, with 59% doctors who are 55 or older. It is expected that more doctors will leave the field than enter, which will further expand the gap between the need and supply. Psychiatrists are seventh-lowest paid specialty with an annual salary of $226,000, but they are also fourth-most satisfied group of doctors when it comes to earnings. And now, let’s see the top three entries in our list of most in demand medical specialties in America.

3. Internal Medicine

In coming years America will lack internists as only 23% of students plan to practice internal medicine. The field that ranks third in our list of most in demand medical specialties in America, seems so unappealing to young graduates because it requires substantial knowledge to treat old people with complex conditions, as well as loads of paperwork. At the same time, the yearly income of $222,000 is sixth-lowest among all specialties, so medical students rather opt for more lucrative fields. Internists are second most unsatisfied specialists with their career – less than a half of internal medicine doctors is satisfied with the salary while only one quarter would choose the same specialty again.

2. Emergency Medicine

With the increase in emergency medicine residency programs in the last few decades the number of emergency doctors has grown. However, the rise hasn’t entirely followed the demand of the aging population. Although shortage in emergency medicine is not as critical as in other specialties, rural and underserved communities generally struggle with the lack of trained emergency doctors. Emergency doctors earn $322,000, and among listed specialties, they are the most satisfied with the income.

1. Family Medicine

Family medicine doctors are on the top of our ranking of 10 most in demand medical specialties in America. All three resources we consulted to create this list confirmed that primary care physicians are the most recruited doctors. There are around 111,000 family medicine doctors who cannot meet the need of the entire population. Like previously mentioned internal medicine, family medicine does not attract medical students with high paycheck. With an annual income of $207,000, these specialists are third lowest paid. Waiting time to see family medicine doctor for the first time is almost a month (29.3 days) which is a significant increase compared to 2014 when patients waited 19.5 days to schedule the first appointment.