Nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses who work in physician practices in the West region of the U.S. earn the highest salaries nationwide.
A salary survey by Physicians Practice provides a breakdown of salaries for 10 key positions employed in medical practices in six regions of the country, based on their level of experience. The survey is based on more than 1,000 responses from practice managers.
Starting salaries for nurse practitioners in the West average $95,071, compared with those in the Plains and Rockies region, who start off earning $80,833.
That’s also the case for physician assistants in the West, who average $93,417, compared to those in the mid-Atlantic area who earn starting average salaries of $80,750. Registered nurses with less than two years of experience earn $72,760 in the West, compared with those in the Southeast who earn the least with an average salary of $45,806.
Those staff members may also take on more responsibilities. The survey found that while physician practices are dealing with the regulatory burden of MACRA, most don’t plan to add any staff to handle the additional work. Most practice managers said they plan to train existing staff for any MACRA-related duties.
RELATED: Practices say they won’t add more staff for MACRA duties
The survey includes salary averages broken down by the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, South-central, Plains and Rockies and West regions of the United States. Salary information is also included for nurse managers, medical assistants, care coordinators, front desk staff, medical billers, billing managers and medical records clerks, so practices can compare to see how their salaries line up with others.
RELATED: The 5 best-paying jobs in healthcare
Of course, those salaries are nowhere near the folks at the top of salary heap: physicians. For instance, an orthopedic surgeon leads the list of the highest-paid healthcare jobs in 2017, earning an average of $475,000.