Inflation Outpaces Academic Surgeons’ Salaries

Flores-Pérez PS, Futela D, Rancu AL, et al Academic Surgeon Financial Compensation in the US: Trends from 2017 to 2023. J Am Coll of Surg. 2025; in press. 

Academic surgeons not only provide patient care, they also spearhead research and trainees’ education often without compensation or recognition of their value.

For this study, Flores-Pérez and colleagues collected total annual compensation data from 2017 to 2023 for full-time surgery department faculty from the American Association of Medical Colleges Faculty Salary Survey. The 2023 data included 12,443 faculty in academic surgery departments.

Their analysis showed an average compounded salary growth rate of 2.9%—less than the inflation rate for that same period. It also found persistent disparities when the data were reviewed by sex and race/ethnicity identifiers.

The authors wrote that these salary trends threaten the sustainability of academic surgery and risk undermining the healthcare system’s ability to meet future demands. They called for further investigation to understand root causes and create targeted solutions for helping ensure the ability to recruit and retain a skilled workforce dedicated to patient care, surgical education, and innovation.