Salary Comparison: NP vs. PA vs. MD

Have you ever wondered how much less you as a nurse practitioner make than a physician practicing in your same specialty?  What about a physician assistant?  I receive a lot of questions regarding salary differences among different types of medical providers but have never taking a close look at the hard data.  Yesterday I did some number crunching and researched the average salaries of medical providers practicing in different specialties.

Based on national salary averages, here are my findings:

Keep in mind these numbers are based on national averages.  Salaries can vary significantly by region.  In some areas where nurse practitioners are more prevalent that physician assistants, salaries among NP’s may be higher than for PA’s and vice versa.  In other regions, salaries among nurse practitioners and physician assistants may be almost exactly the same.  Even within specialties and professions, salaries vary.  Dermatology clinics, for example, focusing primarily on aesthetics typically pay more to providers of all types than clinics sticking to a more medical model.

Do these salary figures fit your personal observations?