Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The disparity of pay among physicians is what is criminal. It's all part of a skewed reimbursement system that values procedures more than cognition and actually taking care of patients. And it incentives itself by just ensuring that more procedures are done, some unnecessarily because they pay so much. The technical skills and training to be a critical care doctor and a spine surgeon are not that different. And one doesn't work harder than the other. But one makes 5 times more. Or even 10 times more. It's ridiculous. And some of it is sour grapes, sure. But it's difficult when you see the same guy in the middle of the night and he makes orders of magnitude higher than you because of reimbursement schemes set up decades ago. When he's not working harder than you and didn't train any harder. Stupid.

You sound really bitter. Should have researched compensation before deciding on a specialty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH is a dual speciality doc (peds + ER) and he teaches. He makes somewhere between $350K - $400K. Hospitals all over the country are always after him but he has a cushy schedule that he loves - one that he knows he won't get anywhere else. He's also worked at the same place for over 20 years now. He's been good to them and they've been even better to him.

He's PEM-trained? Hmm, my spouse is in that field but doesn't make nearly that much--however, has not been out of training that long, and still does crazy clinical shifts and is therefore chronically sleep-deprived. I worry about burnout soon.

Anonymous wrote:Any radiologist?

Anonymous wrote:Any radiologist?

Anonymous wrote:DH is a dual speciality doc (peds + ER) and he teaches. He makes somewhere between $350K - $400K. Hospitals all over the country are always after him but he has a cushy schedule that he loves - one that he knows he won't get anywhere else. He's also worked at the same place for over 20 years now. He's been good to them and they've been even better to him.

Anonymous wrote:Doctors just don't want to embarass themselves. After all that education, they earn much less than the lawyers.

Anonymous wrote:This thread makes me embarassed to be a lawyer.

Anonymous wrote:This thread needs to go on. The practice of not discussing and revealing salary information only benefits corporations and hospitals. This needs to serve as a guide for all job seekers, young and old.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of the MDs should make more than these overpaid attorneys running around here. Thinking of attorneys in large firms and independent financial regulatory agencies.

Doctors should be paid more. Hospitals and insurance companies should earn less.

I could not agree more. My husband is an ortho surgeon. His implant reps often make more than he does in a surgery. That is ridiculous. Pharmaceutical and insurance companies are the ones who need to make less.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The disparity of pay among physicians is what is criminal. It's all part of a skewed reimbursement system that values procedures more than cognition and actually taking care of patients. And it incentives itself by just ensuring that more procedures are done, some unnecessarily because they pay so much. The technical skills and training to be a critical care doctor and a spine surgeon are not that different. And one doesn't work harder than the other. But one makes 5 times more. Or even 10 times more. It's ridiculous. And some of it is sour grapes, sure. But it's difficult when you see the same guy in the middle of the night and he makes orders of magnitude higher than you because of reimbursement schemes set up decades ago. When he's not working harder than you and didn't train any harder. Stupid.

You sound really bitter. Should have researched compensation before deciding on a specialty.

Anonymous wrote:I am a pediatric sub specialist. I was taking call every third night and weekend and would regularly get called into the hospital after hours to take care of sick patients. I did six years of post medical school training and do highly specialized work, but it isn't procedure heavy. Patient loads were heavy and there wasn't enough time to see everyone that needs to be seen in clinic because there simply weren't enough of us. I was doing work that literally less than 300 people in the country are trained to do. I was a relatively recent grad and my board certification number is in only in the triple digits, meaning that less than 1000 people have been certified in my field, ever.
So I'm working crazy hours, was always in the hospital, saw lots of patients and did highly technical things. There are a very small number of people who could do my job and my services were in high demand. Despite this, I was making less than $150K with six figure debt. And was being told that I wasn't seeing enough people to justify my salary. All because of a system that artificially kept down reimbursement based on a formula cooked up years ago.
It doesn't make sense from an economic, policy or societal perspective. And I got tired of seeing other people in the hospital night in and night out (because we were all taking the same crazy call) telling me thier high salaries were justified because they "worked so hard."
So I left. Even though I loved the work. I went to pharma. And I couldn't be happier. My lifestyle is better. I'm at home more. I have much less stress and I get paid significantly more.
And that's a tragedy. My colleagues are left to see even more patients and take even more call. And the patients suffer. And I was talented. I'm not trying to brag, but I was doing a lot more good for people then than I am now.
Our professional society is faced with a shortage and has regular meetings asking how to address it. The answer is so obvious. But the system prevents it from being implemented.

It truly is insane.