As doctors continue to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and administer vaccines, personal finance website WalletHub has released its report on 2021's "Best and Worst States" for doctors. 

To identify the best and worst states to practice medicine, analyst Jill Gonzalez said WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia on metrics such as the average annual wage of physicians, number of hospitals and the quality of the public hospital system. Physician burnout was also monitored, which was very prominent in 2020. That means doctors have these feelings of exhaustion, cynicism and frustration related to their work.

New Jersey is the fifth worst state for doctors, according to the report. Gonzalez said the data is strictly from the perspective of doctors themselves. For doctors in New Jersey, they have a lot of work, high punitive state medical boards, and high medical liability insurance premiums.

"There is a lot of competition in New Jersey right now for doctors. It's a smaller state. It's densely populated. There might be more people wanting jobs there than there are necessarily jobs to fill," said Gonzalez.

Because competition is super high in the Garden State, Gonzalez said it might be smart for new doctors or for doctors who want a change of pace to look outside of New Jersey.

As far as punitiveness of a state medical board, it is not good for doctors but it is good for patients. Patients want a state medical board to be punitive in case anything happens on an operating table. Gonzalez said it's almost like a double-edge sword. A lot of times when things are very good for doctors, they're not usually beneficial to patients.

Montana is the best state for doctors, according to the survey. There is less competition, more opportunity and less punitive medical board for doctors. Minnesota is the second best state to practice medicine, followed by Idaho, Wisconsin and Kansas.

Rhode Island is the worst state to be a doctor. Alaska comes in second, followed by New York, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey.

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.

 

 

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