Achieving job satisfaction requires more than hefty paycheck.
In a 2020 survey of 69 ASC leaders, OR Manager found that 59 percent earn $100,000 or more annually, with one-third of respondents earning between $120,000 and $149,999. Fifty-five percent of ASC leaders surveyed plan to retire in 2029 or later, but 28 percent plan to retire between 2020 and 2024.
Why are so many ASC leaders planning on leaving the industry?
Leading isn't easy, but leading a medical facility during a pandemic comes with a host of challenges.
Medscape's 2022 "Physician Burnout & Depression Report" states that 58 percent of physicians working in outpatient clinics are burned out. The people leading those clinics are not exempt from the stress, either.
"The biggest thing that concerns me is probably the same thing many of my ASC colleagues are concerned about. They consist of governmental overreach, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, staffing shortages and patient safety," Andrew Lovewell, administrator at the Surgical Center at Columbia (Mo.) Orthopaedic Group and CEO of the Lodge at Keene Street, told Becker's in January. "With vaccine mandates from CMS being upheld in many states by the Supreme Court, I have a huge concern about retraining staff and ensuring that I can provide the best care to my patients. All our staff are tired from the pandemic, and adding another layer of complexity with vaccine mandates doesn't do us any favors. I know, like many ASCs, we have excellent staff that do a great job with our patients and physicians, and if they continue to be bombarded with more strenuous federal requirements, we will undoubtedly lose some of them."
ASC leaders are trying their best, but the unpredictability of the pandemic doesn't make it easy.
"It's like no other, this last year and a half," Carla Lauenstein, RN, administrator of Southwest Lincoln (Neb.) Surgery Center, told "Becker's ASC Review Podcast" in January. "You basically take your ASC administrator playbook and you just throw it out the window. You have your day to day, [the routine] you typically follow, and then you just have these curveballs that come thrown in. What I've tried to do is really be as communicative as I can with my staff, let them understand that this is an evolving situation."
Out of the ASC leaders surveyed in the OR Manager report, 53 percent reported being satisfied with their total compensation. Most work decent hours, with 74 percent working fewer than 50 hours a week.
Regardless of the positives of the job, ASC leaders have a lot on their plate, and no amount of perks will make those issues disappear.