Millions in Hidden, Extra Compensation for a Handful of Neurosurgeons, Exposes Severe Pay Disparity at UNM Hospital
More Than 2,100 Employees of the UNM Health System Made Less Than a Living Wage of $21 and Hour – While UNM Neurosurgeons Were Making $5,000 a Shift for On-call Pay
When the veil of secrecy is removed, the pay disparity between about a half dozen physician leaders of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine’s Department of Neurosurgery, and the health professionals who provide much of the direct care of patients in need of brain surgery, is beginning to look like the chasm between corporate CEO pay and workers.
UNM lists the “primary” or “base” salary of those who work at any of its related facilities on the UNM’s Sunshine Portal’s Online Salary Book.
But, as The Candle reported last week, for a handful of neurosurgeons at UNM, that annual salary listed on the UNM Sunshine Portal pales in comparison to the real money these doctors take home – and it doesn’t show up on the public website.
The only reason it is publicly known now, is that, after receiving a tip from a source about exorbitant extra pay to the highest paid of the surgeons, The Candle filed an Inspection of Public Records Act request for the base salary, incentive compensation, on call or call payout, and total compensation of key figures in the Neurosurgery Department.
The Candle also requested copies of employee contracts and addendums.
In addition to their $437,000 to $596,941 base primary salaries, the physicians shown below shared in more than $22 million paid in extra compensation to about a dozen in the Neurosurgery department during the last four years – between 1.9 times and 2.6 times their sunshine portal listed pay in FY 2024 alone.
(Note: There is a chart at the end of this reporting, for Fiscal Year 2024, which breaks out the various amounts in extra pay received by each of the above as well as several others physicians who have since left UNM, or had not completed a full year in fiscal year 2024.)
The Extra Compensation Not on the Public Portal, Puts UNM Neurosurgeons Among the Highest Compensated in an Academic or Hospital Employment Venue.
Through research and interviews with knowledgeable hospital sources, The Candle found that the compensation, enhanced by the high “on call” pay these doctors received annually, put their salary compensation amongst the highest in the United States – particularly among those neurosurgeons who practice at “teaching hospitals.”
As described further in this article, the amounts paid for “on-call” pay was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for each of the doctors – dramatically inflating their annual compensation, to amounts surpassing some of the highest amounts paid at other institutions.
According to the latest on line information from Salary.com, ” … as of July 01, 2025, the average annual salary for a Neurosurgeon in the United States ranges from $646,401 (25th percentile) to $865,401 (75th percentile), with a median annual salary of $721,001 and an hourly rate of $347. A Neurosurgeon’s salary is shaped by several key factors, including experience level, specific skills, industry differences, company size, and more. Below, we’ll explore how each of these influences compensation.”
Comparison of UNM Neurosurgeons’ Salary Related Compensation to Sampled Lowest, Median and Highest National Rates – FY 2024
| Name | Total FY 2024 UNM Salaries From IPRA Records | Compensation OVER Lowest USA Salaries* ($442,135) | Compensation OVER Median USA Salaries as Calculated by The Candle* ($658,567) | Compensation OVER Highest USA Salaries* ($875,000) |
| James Botros, MD | $ 1,046,152 | $ 604,017 | $ 387,584 | $ 171,152 |
| Chad Cole, MD | $ 1,594,436 | $ 1,152,301 | $ 935,868 | $ 719,436 |
| Sheila Eshraghi, MD | $ 962,373 | $ 520,238 | $ 303,805 | $ 87,373 |
| Michael Kogan, MD, PhD | $ 1,037,581 | $ 595,446 | $ 379,013 | $ 162,581 |
| Christian Ricks, MD | $ 1,255,053 | $ 812,918 | $ 596,485 | $ 380,053 |
| Peter Shin, MD, MS, MBA | $ 1,026,527 | $ 584,392 | $ 367,959 | $ 151,527 |
Excessive On-call Pay
As much as $5,000 a shift was routinely paid to physicians for on-call duty.
Sources familiar to on-call practices at hospitals, told The Candle that such an amount was “unreal!”
And, the on-call pay was provided whether or not the doctor was ‘called in.’
Typically, the neurosurgeon is to be available to be at the hospital within 30 minutes and/or available by phone … and cannot consume alcohol.
The Candle looked at the on-call pay provisions provided to nurses and support staff at UNM Hospital. Typically the employee will make about $4 to $5 an hour while on call. IF THEY ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT for work, then they will get paid at a rate of time and a half their regular hourly wage for the time they work.
In FY 2024 alone, according to the records supplied by UNM in response to The Candle’ IPRA request, these doctors received the corresponding amounts in Fiscal Year 2024 alone:
| Christian Ricks, MD | $ 675,125 |
| Chad Cole, MD | $ 451,760 |
| James Botros, MD | $ 421,045 |
| Michael Kogan, MD | $ 393,760 |
| Peter Shin, MD | $ 383,850 |
| Ariana Barkley, MD | $ 382,472 |
| Sheila Eshraghi, MD | $ 379,500 |
| Meic H. Schmidt, MD | $ 354,871 |
| Andrew Carlson, MD | $ 247,250 |
Despite The High Compensation Paid to UNM Neurosurgeons, Patients Are More Likely to be Treated by a Resident Physician in Training and Advanced Practice Providers
Resident physicians in training are the doctors that patients see the most of. There are over 700 resident doctors in training at UNM Hospital.
At UNMH, if you are a patient in need of neurological procedure or surgery which involves the placement of an external ventricular drain to relieve pressure on your brain, or a medical device that monitors brain function or activity, you are likely to receive direct medical care from a resident doctor in training with the assistance of an advanced practiced provider (which is also referred to as a physician assistant or advanced practice nurse), under the supervision of an attending physician who is a certified neurosurgeon.
Five of those resident physicians are neurosurgeons in training. They attend to patients and perform many of the procedures that are necessary.
Clearly the residents do so under the supervision of the attending physicians, but in many ways these residents are the backbone of the doctor care patients receive.
Resident physicians in training don’t get paid very well.
They are not paid by the hour, despite working close to eighty hours a week.
They get paid a stipend – ranging between $62,429/year for a first year resident, to $69,272/year for a fourth year resident – their compensation is the equivalent of working two full-time jobs at rates barely if not lower than a living wage of $21 an hour.
When looking at the chart below, it is obvious that something is out of whack …
UNM Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024)
| Name | Base | Incentive | Extra Shifts | Call Pay | Total |
| Ariana Barkley, MD (See Note Below) | $457,764 | $99,000 | $ 0 | $382,472 | $939,237 |
| James Botros, MD | $526,106 | $99,000 | $ 0 | $421,045 | $1,046,152 |
| Andrew Carlson, MD (See Note Below) | $632,413 | $140,250 | $ 0 | $247,250 | $1,019,913 |
| Chad Cole, MD | $596,941 | $538,166 | $7,568 | $451,760 | $1,594,436 |
| Sheila Eshraghi, MD | $437,123 | $145,750 | $ 0 | $379,500 | $962,373 |
| Michael Kogan, MD, PhD | $528,820 | $114,999 | $ 0 | $393,760 | $1,037,581 |
| Christian Ricks, MD | $480,927 | $99,000 | $ 0 | $675,125 | $1,255,053 |
| Matt Robinson, MD (See Note Below) | $111,232 | $26,500 | $ 0 | $47,270 | $185,002 |
| Meic H. Schmidt, MD, MBA, FAANS, FACS | $905,600 | $183,333 | $ 0 | $354,871 | $1,443,805 |
| Peter Shin, MD, MS, MBA | $542,677 | $100,000 | $ 0 | $383,850 | $1,026,527 |
(Notes: – Ariana Barkley, MD, Andrew Carlson, MD, and Meic Schmidt, MD, no longer work for UNM. The data listed for Matt Robinson, MD, represents compensation for a partial year.)