
Gender, careers and pay
It's only a matter of time before female physicians outnumber men, say medical school heads who are seeing more women in their programs. Although women have broken the gender barrier in medicine, they may want to keep going in to nursing, because nurse practitioner salaries grew faster than primary care physicians' pay--nearly 5% compared to nearly 3%. Physicians can take some comfort that their average pay is more--$191,000 compared to more than $85,000--unless they're women, who among all the life sciences average $13,000 less than their male counterparts in comparable positions and with similar experience. (WCSC TV, Fierce Practice Management, Academic Medicine)
Mandatory flu vaccines
The flu fight is gearing up again, as slightly more than half of health care workers in California received flu vaccines last year. While public health agencies and medical societies are seeking stronger compliance, the state is having trouble fully accounting for just how many workers even had vaccines. (Los Angeles Times)