Here is my latest version the Physician Specialty Pain Scale which is based off of the Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2018. If you are not familiar with this yearly report, it is a compilation of over 20,000 physicians in 29 specialties that includes information such as salary and hours worked.
In the past I used data from the “Overall career satisfaction” page but that was not included in this year’s report so this year’s Physician Pain Scale uses data from the “I would choose the same specialty” page found in the report. From the physicians that responded, orthopedists, plastic surgeons, and radiologists led all physicians in “re-choosing” their specialty. At the bottom of the pack for “re-choosing” the same specialty are rheumatology, public health/preventative medicine, and nephrology.
Check out my past Physician Specialty Pain Scales here: 2011, 2012, and 2015. Also check out my work featured on KevinMD