5.0% identified as Black. Specialists The term, hospitalist, was introduced in 1996, to describe US specialists in internal medicine who work largely or exclusively in hospitals. Such 'hospitalists' now make up about 19% of all US general internists. There are three agencies or organizations in the United States which collectively oversee physician board certification of Doctor of Medicine and Osteopathic medicine in the United States physicians in the United States in the 26 approved medical specialties recognized in the country. These organizations are the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Medical Association; the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists and the American Osteopathic Association; the American Board of Physician Specialties and the American Association of Physician Specialists. Each of these agencies and their associated national medical organization functions as its various specialty academies, colleges, and societies. All boards of certification now require that medical practitioners demonstrate, by examination, continuing mastery of the core knowledge and skills for a chosen specialty. Recertification varies by particular specialty between every eight and ten years. Salaries Pay Gap by gender and race The average salary for white male physicians was $253,000 compared with $188,230 for black male physicians, $163,000 for white female physicians, and $153,000 for black female physicians. Medscape’s 2019 Physician Compensation Report found that "males out-earned their female counterparts in both primary care and specialist positions with men earning 25% and 33% more, respectively." The AMA has advocated to reduce gender bias and close the pay gap. The AMA said that “significant sex differences in salary exist even after accounting for age, experience, specialty, faculty rank, and measures of research productivity and clinical revenue.” A 2015 study of gender pay disparities among hospitalists found that women were more likely to be working night shifts despite having lower salaries. In 2018, the AMA delegates advocated for transparency in defining the criteria for initial and subsequent physician compensation, that pay structures be based on objective, gender-neutral objective criteria, and that institutes take a specified approach using metrics for all employees to identify gender disparity. The AMA has also advocated to move USMLE Step 1 to pass/fail to decrease racial bias. A 2020 study showed lack of diversity within specialities and that that underrepresented students were more likely to go into specialities that have lower Step 1 cut offs like Primary Care. Pay cuts due to COVID One in five physicians reported