Influence of Income Amongst Members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Little has been written about the influence of income in plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS), likely because the controversial nature of the subject. However, income may have important influences on career satisfaction, burnout and quality of life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of income in PRS. METHODS: As part our National Burnout Survey of American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) members conducted between September 2010 and 2011, we evaluated the influence of income. Surgeons were asked to report annual income and rank perceived stressors at work in addition to completing validated measures of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), quality of life (SF-12 Health Survey), and answering a standardized questionnaire regarding career satisfaction (1). RESULTS: Of the 5,942 surgeons invited, 1,754 (29.5%) actively practicing ASPS members completed the survey. Income was reported to be the third (of 12) greatest stressor at work (58.2%), behind work-personal life balance (77.2%) and time demands (66.3%). There were significant association between burnout and income, with burnout being significantly greater in surgeon making less than $200,000 or greater than $500,000 per year (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). Career satisfaction had a direct relationship with income up to $750,000 annual income (correlation co-efficient 0.79, p<0.01), above which career satisfaction significantly decreased (p<0.05). This mirrored the relationship between annual income and hours worked per week (p<0.01). There was no significant relationship between income and quality of life. CONCLUSION: There is a strong association between income, burnout and career satisfaction. Interestingly, it appears that surgeons are willing to accept some level burnout for an increase in annual income; however, there is no discernible relationship between income and quality of life.