MONEY -- Primary care doctors were offered an average base salary of $173,000 in 2009 compared to an average base salary of $189,000 offered to certified nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs. Projections for 2010 indicate that the average base salary for family physicians will be about $178,000 compared to $186,000 for CRNAs.
"It's the fourth year in a row that CRNAs were recruited at a higher pay than a family doctor," said Kurt Mosley, staffing expert with Merritt Hawkins & Associates.