Physicians often get fed up with their current working conditions and think about packing their bags for greener pastures. The frustrations of long hours, pressure from administrators, and ungrateful patients can cause anyone to think about a change of pace. But where would you go?
What factors go into to making a city or state a great place to work? The answers may vary from person to person. For some it would be proximity to family. For others it might be the climate, or the cost of living, or the culture, or the opportunities for recreation. Each year Medscape ranks the “Best and Worst Places to Practice Medicine,” using some of these factors as well as average compensation for physicians, population growth, cost of housing, and the medical malpractice environment. How does your state rank on the list? Looking for a better practice environment? Check out the list.
According to the Medscape report, Apex, North Carolina is the best place to practice medicine in the U.S. Money magazine also ranked Apex as the “Best Place to Live in the U.S.” Medscape says Apex has affordable housing, double-digit job growth, and a cost of living below the national average. “Physicians are attracted to North Carolina, with its six research hospitals and 100 community hospitals,” according to the report. In addition, like North Carolina Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Ohio, and Colorado are all states with cities that rank among the top 10 places to practice medicine.
Where’s the worst place to practice medicine? Because of low compensation and high medical malpractice payouts, Albuquerque, New Mexico ranks as the worst place to practice medicine. Of course all of the worst places have their positive points, but many factors placed them in the bottom of the ranking. West Virginia, D.C., and Mississippi were also at the bottom of the list.
So imagine where the perfect place for you to practice medicine would be, and see if it’s on the list. Maybe you’ll find out you’re already there!
Medscape is a free online news and educational site for physicians and healthcare professionals. It is a part of WebMD, and offers medical content, review articles and more.
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