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Job outlook for internal medicine doctors in the United States
Are internal medicine doctor jobs in demand?
Internal medicine doctor job and salary trends over time
Internal medicine doctor jobs over time
Internal medicine doctor job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3,417 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 1,046 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 5,417 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 3,152 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 3,524 | 0.00% |
Average internal medicine doctor salary over time
Internal medicine doctor salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $155,640 | $74.83 | +2.5% |
| 2024 | $151,861 | $73.01 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $149,299 | $71.78 | +0.8% |
| 2022 | $148,093 | $71.20 | --1.8% |
| 2021 | $150,742 | $72.47 | --0.1% |
Internal medicine doctor jobs by state
Most common states for internal medicine doctors
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 61 | 9% |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 107 | 8% |
| 3 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 87 | 7% |
| 4 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 42 | 6% |
| 5 | Vermont | 623,657 | 35 | 6% |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 336 | 5% |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 296 | 5% |
| 8 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 259 | 5% |
| 9 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 165 | 5% |
| 10 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 101 | 5% |
| 11 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 470 | 4% |
| 12 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 318 | 4% |
| 13 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 182 | 4% |
| 14 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 122 | 4% |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 39 | 4% |
| 16 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 31 | 4% |
| 17 | New York | 19,849,399 | 507 | 3% |
| 18 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 338 | 3% |
| 19 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 291 | 3% |
| 20 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 268 | 3% |
Most common cities for internal medicine doctors
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lancaster | 1 | 2% | $139,758 |
| 2 | Medford | 1 | 2% | $168,361 |
| 3 | Duluth | 1 | 1% | $171,287 |
| 4 | Little Rock | 1 | 1% | $170,338 |
| 5 | Norman | 1 | 1% | $159,610 |
Internal Medicine Doctor job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of internal medicine doctor experts
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
University at Albany, SUNY
University of Arizona
Virginia Commonwealth University
East Tennessee State University
Abram Brummett Ph.D.
Assistant ProfessorOakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Department of Foundational Medical Studies
What general advice would you give to an Internal Medicine Doctor?
Abram Brummett Ph.D.: One thing I am seeing my medical students have success with is delving into ethics issues that arise in the medical specialty that interests them. This work often comes up in their residency interviews, which may impact their future training opportunities and eventual salary. I am very proud of the ethics research our students are doing at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.
What Internal Medicine Doctor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Abram Brummett Ph.D.: It's possible to have perfect medical knowledge and still be a bad doctor. This is because every clinical encounter is a moral encounter--one where patients need a physician who is professional, compassionate, and humanistic. Medical texts will not develop these critical characteristics, they will come through activities like engagement with the arts, community service, and maintaining a life outside of medicine. The excellent physician never forgets this.
What will help Internal Medicine Doctors increase their earning potential?
Abram Brummett Ph.D.: Thoughtful use of AI to enhance patient care is likely to be a critical skill for physicians to develop in the next 3-5 years. Newer physicians who may already have more familiarity with technology are well positioned to be pioneers in this process. It's not merely a skill to develop, but a potentially fruitful area of research to cultivate.
What type of skills will young Internal Medicine Doctors need?
Dr. Cecilia Levy: I think most importantly, right now, are computing skills and data analysis skills, which are usually covered in advanced experimental/computational physics classes. These give students opportunities to work as data scientists or in various analysts jobs. It's particularly important this year, where the job market is highly impacted by COVID: any job that can be performed from home is a plus. For the coming years, the beauty of physics is that it trains students in many different areas: some will become technicians; others will become teachers. Others will go get a job in the industry, work in a lab, or become analysts. Some will use physics to go into banking or enter med school or law school. But regardless of where they end up, I do think that strong computing and analytical skills are the sine qua non requirement.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Internal Medicine Doctors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Cecilia Levy: I don't think so. As with everything, cities and higher population density areas offer more opportunities.
How do you envision technology impacting Internal Medicine Doctors in the next 5 years?
Dr. Cecilia Levy: Things change a lot and fast, and physicists tend to be aware of new discoveries. Usually, these can then be integrated into upper-level classes. As far as technology, physics is not engineering, but advances in technology can also be discussed in class. As far as impacting the field, there is always the possibility that new technological advances become very useful and incorporated into experiments. However, physics is a very, very broad field, and people specialize in many different areas. Some overlap very little. So some areas will be more impacted than others by a different technology, and experimental physics is probably more generally impacted than theoretical physics.
What experience really stands out on Internal Medicine Doctor resumes?
Charles Wolgemuth: Whether a student is applying to graduate school or to industry; work and/or research experience really stands out. From what I understand, specifics like which school someone attended, what grades they got, or what awards they received are secondary to having evidence that they can apply their education in a work environment.
What Internal Medicine Doctor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Charles Wolgemuth: This is, of course, going to depend on the specific industry that a student is applying to. However, one skill that I have heard that is largely sought out is problem-solving. Any activities that allow a graduate to improve their problem-solving abilities will be beneficial, especially if the activity provides a demonstrable outcome to highlight the graduate's problem-solving abilities. In addition, computers continue to play a larger role in most industries, and the ability to code is a skill that will be more and more sought after.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Internal Medicine Doctors in the next 3-5 years?
Charles Wolgemuth: This, too, is going to be highly dependent on the specific industry. Automation is definitely going to impact more and more industries. A current technology that has been gaining a lot of ground in this area is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. However, my own feeling is that these techniques are going to quickly run up against their limitations and may not continue to grow (though that may be more like 10-15 years in the future, not 3-5).
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Internal Medicine Doctor job market given the pandemic?
Supriyo Bandyopadhyay: The job market in physics and related fields will shrink worldwide, certainly in the U.S. academia, in the near future, because of the economic downturn brought about by COVID. It is not that the research funding in the U.S. has dried up, but most universities rely on student tuition as a steady revenue stream, and that has been adversely affected. Universities are experiencing hiring freezes, which does not bode well for Physics Ph.D.s. Industrial and government labs are not inundated with funding either. Increasingly, physics graduates in the U.S. should look overseas, where there may find better opportunities.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Internal Medicine Doctors in the next 3-5 years?
Supriyo Bandyopadhyay: Quantum computing technologies, particularly those that can accelerate drug discoveries through vastly increased computational prowess, nanotechnologies that can impact the health sector, etc., will become more popular in the field of physics because of the job opportunities that they will offer. Clean energy technologies, technologies that pertain to renewable resources, will also become more important and prevalent. Science, like most other fields, is driven by demand. Technologies that are in demand will grow.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Internal Medicine Doctors in the next 5 years?
Supriyo Bandyopadhyay: This depends on how we handle the pandemic and other future world events (e.g., wars, conflicts, economic recession, etc.). If there is stability, the demand will grow. Otherwise, it will shrink. I expect the demand to grow rapidly in newly industrialized nations, if there are no unforeseen events, and the pandemic is brought under control.
What type of skills will young Internal Medicine Doctors need?
Dr. Reid B. Blackwelder: A constant need is for graduates to have an ingrained approach to having the legendary "bedside manner," which is best exemplified by the comfort with patient-centered communication skills. Attending to rapport, active listening for cues and clues, obtaining the patient's perspective of illness, and comfort in recognizing and responding to emotion are essential abilities.
In this new age, being able to translate those skills into telehealth visits will be essential.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Internal Medicine Doctors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Reid B. Blackwelder: Family physicians actually are the most recruited specialty, according to Merritt-Hawkins, for the last 14 years! So family physicians can find a good job in communities with needs easily. Family physicians do tend to locate in rural and underserved areas, more than physicians in other specialties.
How do you envision technology impacting Internal Medicine Doctors in the next 5 years?
Dr. Reid B. Blackwelder: As noted, telehealth will now be a routine part of providing care. However, this will be limited by another kind of patient access challenge. Many of the current patients cannot do a full telehealth visit because they do not have the right phone, computer, or internet access.
It's suspected telehealth will open the door to various medical smartphone apps.
I call current systems "EBRs" - Electronic Billing Records. They have nothing to do with health! We need an electronic record that actually focuses on health and not like current systems, which are all about billing. Physicians do more chart care than patient care. This has to change.