In 2022, plastic surgeons and orthopedic surgeons were the two highest paid physician specialists, earning $576,000 and $557,000 respectively, according to a 2022 report from Medscape. Additionally, they were two of the specialties with the lowest burnout rates for 2022, at 46 and 45 percent respectively.
The specialty with the highest burnout rate, emergency medicine physicians at 65 percent, received a mid-range salary at $373,000 a year.
However the lowest paid specialists, public health and preventive medicine physicians, had the lowest burnout rate, at 37 percent.
With the exception of gastroenterologists, oncologists and radiologists, all of the 10 highest paying specialities have a burnout rate of less than 50 percent.
Additionally, none of the highest paying specialties ranks in the top five specialties with the highest burnout rate.
Top 10 highest paid specialties and their burnout rates:
1. Plastic surgeons, $576,000: 46 percent
2. Orthopedic surgeons, $557,000: 45 percent
3. Cardiologists, $490,000: 43 percent
4. Otolaryngologists, $469,000: 49 percent
5. Urologists, $461,000: 47 percent
6. Gastroenterologists, $453,000: 52 percent
7. Dermatologists, $438,000: 49 percent
8. Radiologists, $437,000: 54 percent
9. Ophthalmologists, $417,000: 48 percent
10. Oncologists, $411,000: 52 percent