Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/821337
79 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY AMA: 92% of Millennial Physicians Cite Work-Life Balance as a Priority By Alyssa Rege F ifty-six percent of millennial physicians providing at least 20 hours per week of patient care said they were unhappy with the current state of medicine, according to a survey conduct- ed by the American Medical Association. The AMA, in partnership with online physician panel M3 Global Re- search, surveyed 200 physicians age 35 and younger on a variety of issues, including administrative burdens, career aspirations, the role of technology in medicine and overall work-life balance. The findings concluded younger physicians are increasingly dissatis- fied with tasks that inhibit their ability to interact with their patients. Here are six takeaways from the survey. 1. Thirty-four percent of respondents said the reality of practicing medicine is worse than they anticipated. 2. Despite their frustrations, 83 percent said they are committed to their medical careers and actively want to contribute to the field over the course of their working lives. 3. Roughly four out of five individuals surveyed said they hope to seek out non-patient care-related fields, potentially in addition to their full-time work. 4. Forty-two percent of millennial physicians surveyed listed entre- preneurial endeavors among their career aspirations, followed by healthcare consulting (41 percent), health system executive lead- ership roles (34 percent) and academic research (19 percent). 5. Roughly 62 percent of physicians cited the use of EHRs as imper- ative in providing quality patient care. 6. Ninety-two percent of those surveyed said maintaining a work- life balance was important, but only 65 percent said they felt they had achieved a proper balance between the two at this point in their careers. n 6-Year-Old Loses Leg After Strep Throat Complication By Brian Zimmerman P hysicians at Akron (Ohio) Children's Hos- pital were forced to amputate the leg of a 6-year-old girl suffering from a rare compli- cation linked to strep throat, according to a report from NBC4. After Matt Puma, the girl's father, was diagnosed with strep throat in early March, the girl and the rest of the family were tested for the infection. Six- year-old Tessa Puma tested positive for strep throat though she had not displayed any symptoms. She was treated with a 10-day regimen of antibiotics. Then, on March 25, she began exhibiting flu-like symptoms. On March 29, she was was diagnosed with influenza A after being taken to the emergen- cy room at Twinsburg (Ohio) Cleveland Clinic, ac- cording to the Akron Beacon Journal. Two days lat- er, the girl experienced severe pain and swelling in her left leg. Her parents then took her to Akron Children's Hospital. After an MRI, the 6-year-old girl was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, com- monly referred to as flesh-eating bacteria. Necrotizing fasciitis can occur when Streptococ- cus bacteria, which typically affects the throat and tonsils, migrates into the bloodstream. Physicians believe this is how the girl developed necrotizing fasciitis. Her leg was amputated from the knee down to protect her from the condition. In March, reports surfaced of a Michigan man requir- ing partial amputations of his left hand and both feet due to complications related to strep throat. n 7 Statistics on NP, PA Job Satisfaction & Salary By Heather Punke N urse practitioners and physician as- sistants both report high job satisfac- tion and growing salaries, according to a survey from PracticeMatch. In fact, just 6 percent of NPs and PAs said they were unsatisfied with their careers. PracticeMatch, which provides resources like job boards, career fairs and candidate leads to organizations that employ clinicians, sur- veyed 532 NPs and 558 PAs for its survey. Here are seven statistics and key points on ad- vanced practitioners' job satisfaction, signing bonuses and salary trends. 1. irty-eight percent of NPs and 44 percent of PAs are very satisfied with their careers, and one-third of each group said they were satisfied. 2. Signing bonuses have become more common in recent years, but still are not widespread — 14 percent of respondents with fewer than 10 years of experience received a signing bonus. 3. Signing bonuses for NPs were higher than for PAs, at $11,000 and $8,000 on average, re- spectively. 4. Roughly half of respondents saw their salary increase from 2015 to 2016. irteen percent saw their salaries increase by 4 to 7 percent, and 12 percent saw an increase of 8 percent or more. 5. Only 15 percent of respondents said they were extremely satisfied with their income, a quarter said they were very satisfied and most (44 percent) said they were merely satisfied. 6. Fieen percent of PAs and NPs were not satisfied with their salary. 7. PAs and NPs with 11 to 20 years of experi- ence made the most in base pay of any group, with a salary average of $119,330. Advanced practitioners with 10 years of experience or less earned an average of $103,120, and those with more than 20 years of experience had a base pay of $104,510. n