The results are in: 2008 Residency Coordinator Salary Survey

By: Julie McCoy August 22nd, 2008

For those of you who missed it, the results of our 2008 Residency Program Coordinator Salary Survey are in! ResidencyManager.com’s blogger, Ruth Nawotniak, provides some commentary on the results.

Residency Coordinator Salary Survey Summary

In the July issue of HCPro’s monthly newsletter, Residency Program Alert, we reported our annual salary survey to find out how much residency program coordinators are making. We had 102 respondents from all over the country. We know you’re curious for the results, so have a look.

The following is the breakdown of respondent salaries:

8% earn less than $30,000
40% earn $31,000-$40,000
30% earn $41,000-$50,000
20% earn $51,000-$60,000
3% earn $61,000-$70,000

According to Ruth Nawotniak, MS, C-TAGME, surgery residency program coordinator at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, there are many factors that influence coordinators’ salaries, including:

Institution type
Whether the coordinator position is viewed as administrative or administrator role
Location or region
Education level

The type of institution you work at—public or private—has the biggest impact on your paycheck. Private institutions have control over salary distribution, where public facility incomes may be dictated by the state, explains Nawotniak.

Here is a breakdown of where residency coordinators are working:

64% work at academic or university-affiliated facilities
27% work at community-based facilities in rural, urban, and suburban areas
4% work at military medical facilities
2% work at specialty hospital, such as children’s hospitals or psychiatric facilities
3% listed other

Job location has a big impact on coordinator salaries. About one-quarter of survey respondents reported salaries more than $51,000, and data indicates that may be attributed to location. For example, thirty-four percent of coordinators in the Northeast—the largest number compared to other regions—reported salaries in the $51,000-$60,000 range. The lowest can be found in the West where 0% of respondents earn $51,000-$60,000, and the most (50%) are in the $31,000-$40,000 category.

If you’re looking for a raise, you are likely to expect it within the first 12 months of your start date. Residency coordinators most often earn a pay raise within the first year of employment, at a 3%-4% increase. Here are the official numbers:

How long did it take you to get a raise?

Six months:12%
One year: 63%
Two years: 14%
Never: 11%

How much was your raise?

2% or less raise: 25%
3%-4% raise: 56%
5%-6% raise: 7%
7%-8% raise: 0%
9%-10% raise: 1%
10% or more raise: 1%
None: 11%

With as many factors that contribute to varying salaries, these are few that did not appear to affect income:

Gender
Age
Medical specialty
Title
Number of residents overseen
Term of employment

Although our data do not suggest that certification by the National Board for Certification of Training Administrators of Graduate Medical Education Programs (TAGME) directly affects salary pay, eight percent of respondents reported that they are certified, and 26% said they’re not certified but would like to be if it were available in their specialty.

The coordinator’s role is constantly evolving and expanding. To get the salary you want and deserve, don’t be afraid to show off your hard work and let your facility know that you’re a crucial part of the team. Do not be afraid to speak up, ask questions, and contribute ideas, says Nawotniak.

Note: Our data round up to the nearest whole percentage.