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Explaining The Latest AAMC Resident/Fellows Stipend Report

resident sitting on a chair

The AAMC just concluded its newest survey regarding the salaries of both fellows and residents in 2024, with some significant updates.

The AAMC Residents and Fellows Stipend Report is released yearly and provides insights into the financial landscape of graduate medical education. The AAMC has been conducting this research since 1968, helping compile decades of comparative data. This, in turn, is used to track trends in compensation and benefits for medical trainees.

This year’s report showcased an increase in for both residents and fellows, a welcome respite in this current inflation. But let’s discuss it all in detail.

  • The 2024 stipend findings for residents and fellows.
  • Regional and institutional salary changes from the 2023 report.
  • Benefits offered to medical trainees

Salaries: What’s New In 2024?

In July 2024, the AAMC surveyed 827 institutions accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Of these, 349 institutions contributed comprehensive data to the report.

(Note: The AAMC ensured that these figures were unweighted, calculating averages at the institutional level to maintain impartiality and avoid distortions caused by larger programs.)

The report revealed significant regional differences in stipends:

  • Southern U.S.: The lowest stipends, with Year 1 salaries starting at $62,000 and reaching $84,000 by Year 8.
  • Western U.S.: The highest stipends, with Year 1 salaries starting at $75,000 and rising to $109,000 by Year 8.

The results showed an increase in average stipends across all training years. The national mean for Year 1 residents and fellows was approximately $66,000, with incremental increases of $2,000–$3,000 for each subsequent year.

For example, Year 2 stipends averaged $68,000, Year 3 reached $71,000, and by Year 8, stipends capped at $90,000. In the 75th percentile, Year 8 trainees earned up to $95,000.

While 95.9% of institutions reported a base stipend for all specialties, 68.6% provided higher salaries for chief residents. Interestingly, 13.9% reported paying some residents and fellows more than their chief residents.

Among the institutions paying above the chief resident salary, key beneficiaries included:

  • Faculty-level residents and fellows (14 institutions).
  • Trainees with H1-B visas (7 institutions).
  • Those with prior GME experience (4 institutions).
  • Residency association officers (3 institutions).

When asked how stipends were determined, 151 institutions reported relying on standardized set amounts, while 18 used a formula-based approach. Set amounts remained the most common method.

How Did We Fare From Last Year?

The 2024 AAMC Residents and Fellows Stipend Report reflected positive changes, particularly in stipend increases and inflation-adjusted wages. These were the two key changes from the Report.

  1. Higher Stipends: The average Year 1 stipend rose by $2,912, from $63,800 in 2023 to $66,712 in 2024.
  2. Wage Adjustments: In 2023, 62 institutions adjusted salaries to account for inflation, which has been rising exponentially post-pandemic. This number grew significantly in 2024, with 243 institutions implementing adjustments.

While the rise in salaries and expanded benefits is encouraging, challenges remain.

What About The Benefits?

One big topic we’ve been seeing in employment finance is unionization. Unions aren’t popular amongst the medical fraternity, which is why only 13.2% of sponsored institutes stated employing a resident and fellows union. That’s only 45 out of 295 institutes overall.

But there were other benefits to smooth the deal for future residents and fellows.

Base Medical Insurance

100 institutes stated that they cover 100% of the premium for medical coverage for their employees. 56 institutes also agreed to cover the resident’s spouse or domestic partner and children.

Around 255 institutes stated that they cover a fraction of individual medical insurance in a group plan. This included the following:

  • Prescription drugs
  • Mental healthcare
  • Behavioral care

82 institutes revealed they also covered dental in the same plan, while 46 institutes went the extra mile to include a gym membership.

All 336 institutes covered inpatient and ambulatory services in their medical coverage contract for residents and fellows, and 334 also offered added mental health services.

Additional Benefits

323 institutes also offered a ‘flexible benefits’ plan that could be customized to the resident’s preference. However, only 207 institutes could fully cover lifetime insurance premiums for their employees.

In this current housing market, it is unsurprising that only 4 out of 334 institutes were willing to offer fully paid housing for its residents. However, they were more lenient regarding fully paid parking, on-call meals, and scrubs/lab coats provisions.

Many of these institutes were also happy to help with higher education costs, such as the USMLE prep and test fees, licensing fees, and specialty board fees, which were 189, 202, and 84, respectively.

Of course, you had the usual paid leave offered by 296 institutes, specifically for medical or caregiver leave. Across 334 institutes, the same number of days were presented, which is around 29 days out of the entire year.

But what about life after practicing medicine? 333 institutes did comment that they offer retirement plans to their residents and fellows, with 265 emphasizing a defined-benefit retirement plan.

It will be critical to monitor how these trends evolve, especially in light of the proposed physician pay cut. The findings underscore the importance of continued investment in graduate medical education to support residents and fellows.

However, only time will tell how next year will go for the next generation of medical professionals.

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