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Attending physicians only please.
Attending physicians only please.
Interesting. I know medicine has a lot of BS involved in it, but at the same time I wonder if a job like anesthesiology with better work life balance and high compensations makes up for the headaches that come with the job. I mean no matter what job one has there is always BS and headaches. It’s just one of those “grass looks greener on the other side” kinda things when you think about doing something else. But it’s still nice hearing peoples perspectives on their situation and if they are genuinely happy with all things considered.if i have to choose within medicine. i would choose anesthesiology again. if i can start over from way earlier. i would not choose medicine
i prefer to have a wfh flexible job 40 hrs a week or so and get paid handsomely.
Interesting. I know medicine has a lot of BS involved in it, but at the same time I wonder if a job like anesthesiology with better work life balance and high compensations makes up for the headaches that come with the job. I mean no matter what job one has there is always BS and headaches. It’s just one of those “grass looks greener on the other side” kinda things when you think about doing something else. But it’s still nice hearing peoples perspectives on their situation and if they are genuinely happy with all things considered.
yes but i do think medicine has more bs involved that others because we are more regulated ( i cant think of any other industry where admins increased many many times more than physicians in past few decades). also the job is just not flexible. maybe there are flexible jobs out there but its probably rare. also lack of ability to WFH. itd be amazing if i can sit in another low tax state working for big companies all over the world. but i cant, and need to be nearby.
You can split 24 hrs to 12 hrs. Much more sane. Anesthesia groups are going away from 24 hrsyes but i do think medicine has more bs involved that others because we are more regulated ( i cant think of any other industry where admins increased many many times more than physicians in past few decades). also the job is just not flexible. maybe there are flexible jobs out there but its probably rare. also lack of ability to WFH. itd be amazing if i can sit in another low tax state working for big companies all over the world. but i cant, and need to be nearby.
these days other major sectors can wfh. many of my finance friends, hedge fund, corporate law, cs are all WFH or partially WFH, with better hours and just as good pay. yes every job has problems. but i dont think its all grass is greener on other side. when friends hear about my job they are shocked. such as lack of paternity leave. they all get minimum 6 weeks paternity leave in companies. and they are SHOCKED i have to work 24 hours in a row for call. one CS friend responded with "ok maybe my calls arent so bad and i should stop complaining. my call is just answer a couple of phone calls on average at night from home". none of them think 24 hour work in a row is humane and should be accepted.
also the culture sucks in terms of wellbeing. thats why burnout is so heavy in medicine. and my pay isnt inflation adjusted. almost everyone i know in other big industries received much bigger than average raises this year due to inflation.
If u are getting close to 600k in true academics. Especially children hospital. That’s amazing. Hopefully ur hours aren’t approaching 60 a week or you are doing 2 weekends a month.Yup without a doubt. It appears that it is it rare to find a job (as an employee) that pays >550k in the real world with the stability that medicine offers and the satisfaction of helping people through difficult situations everyday.
Disclaimer: I work at an academic children’s hospital so I am definitely biased in this opinion. Also, inflation is real and has dramatically changed what the value of a dollar is pre and post 2020. It may be different for people in private practice.
Regardless, I never thought that my salary would ever approach 600k as a doctor in academics. Crazy!
I am glad to hear this lolYes. Other specialties suck
Only thing medicine allows is a stable upper middle class income. And yes. I consider 200-500k upper middle class even if the liberals consider it rich. Rolling out of bed as a 9-5 office worker making 100-150k with a 4 year degree (yup. That’s average these days) is a lot less stressful than ur butt on the line with medicine.
I am glad to hear this lol
just know that you are on a internet forum of anesthesiologists. basically attendings willing to take time out of their day to post here. probably dont hate anesthesiology that muchI am glad to hear this lol
Yeah some days I regret passing up that career in white collar crime.if i have to choose within medicine. i would choose anesthesiology again. if i can start over from way earlier. i would not choose medicine
i prefer to have a wfh flexible job 40 hrs a week or so and get paid handsomely.
The above may or may not be true, but 1st one must make sure you are good fit for anesthesia. I can tell you from being around a bit, This job aint for everyone~ A lot of nuances must be appreciated to be successful and if those nuances are not appreciated it can make your life really, really bad.Some on this board consider me a pessimist. Maybe they are right. What I can tell you is the job market for anesthesiologists is the best I have seen since around 1998-2000. You can literally print money by working as a general anesthesiologist. The average locums working 45 hours per week is making well over $550K 1099 in 2022. Yes, 45 hours per week! If you are willing to take call and work harder the income climbs to $700k. This is truly a great time to be looking for a job as an anesthesiologist. I haven't seen numbers/pay this good in 20 years.
So, if you are willing to actually do cases or cover multiple CRNAs/AAs the world is your oyster. I don't know how long this gravy train will last but I can tell you there are multiple job offers for every resident who completes his/her program.
For those who are stuck in low paying jobs all I can say is you are being fed a lie. The job market is wide open and if you quit tomorrow there would be a dozen locums agencies calling you for jobs. Even AMCs are paying $350 per hour for weekends out there. Hospitals know they can't replace the existing groups without paying larger stipends. All I can say is know your worth by just doing a month or two of short term locums so you can open your eyes!
Anesthesia was my second choice and I have no regrets. Unlike medical school there are no Guadalajara residencies that lead to practice in the US. Everything is a trade off but if I had matched in my first choice I would not have been able to take 3 week ski trips and the other extended travel that I was able to do. When I was looking into the specialty an anesthesiologist who started in 1959 told me that if I did anesthesia I would make a very good living and the ignore doom and gloom. He used the drama around Medicare in 1965 as an example. I am retiring in 2 weeks but will initially pick up a few days from soon to be former colleagues as we mutually agree.
based on his profile picture. im guessing 422 weeks!! Congratulations!
How old are you if you don’t mind answering?
The oldest attending I ever worked with as a colleague started practicing anesthesia in 1941. I was a new graduate from residency and he was retired but helping out 2 days per week. He not only lived through Medicare he was on it for a long while. The next big govt program will be single payer at some point but this specialty won’t do well in that scenario. You would counter with the likelihood of a major financial adjustment by CMS or hospital based employment with a guaranteed salary. I’m inclined to believe these days the hospitals will need to accept the fact that they need to pay us fairly even if it costs them money directly out of their pockets.Anesthesia was my second choice and I have no regrets. Unlike medical school there are no Guadalajara residencies that lead to practice in the US. Everything is a trade off but if I had matched in my first choice I would not have been able to take 3 week ski trips and the other extended travel that I was able to do. When I was looking into the specialty an anesthesiologist who started in 1959 told me that if I did anesthesia I would make a very good living and the ignore doom and gloom. He used the drama around Medicare in 1965 as an example. I am retiring in 2 weeks but will initially pick up a few days from soon to be former colleagues as we mutually agree.
One of the plastics places I go to still uses a Narkomed 2B. I remember walking in my first day (after training on drager apollos), and I was like oh #$%^...Narkomed anesthesia machines
One of the plastics places I go to still uses a Narkomed 2B. I remember walking in my first day (after training on drager apollos), and I was like oh #$%^...
They’re incredibly rugged machines built like W123 series Mercedes.
Sounds like a bicycle.Yes. Low tech. High reliability. Easy to trouble shoot. But also bad compared with contemporary safety features.
That is still my favorite anesthesia machine of all time and I trained on machines much older than the Narkomed models. As far as safety goes they are still very safe machines for most patients except the most critically ill ones we take care of today. The Ventilator, settings, modes of vetilation, etc are too simplistic for today's sickest patients.One of the plastics places I go to still uses a Narkomed 2B. I remember walking in my first day (after training on drager apollos), and I was like oh #$%^...
Sounds like a bicycle.
The Narkomed 2B was a tank and felt indestructible. I may be getting a bit old to even move one of these bad boys.A very heavy bicycle. No plastic, no carbon, only heavy gauge steel.
I'd do it again. Physiology, pharmacology and the critical care aspect of anesthesiology is what I liked best. I enjoyed the procedures and regional anesthesia. Medicine just generally sucks right now. Been out of the OR for awhile and was teaching. I wouldn't do rads. Pretty much only academics make radiology rounds, so you sit in a dark cubicle eating lunch at your desk and having no human contact. That might be a plus for some, but not me.
So, I recall 1998-2000 pretty well. Back then you could get a job at most practices and the pay was very good. Fast forward to 2022 and hospitals are paying out their noses to get providers at a level even GREATER than 20 years ago. I have NEVER seen pay for the average, general anesthesiologist this high in my entire career. If you are sequestered somewhere you may be oblivious to the market forces out there. I have seen PARTNERS quit their jobs to take locums assignments if the group was earning less than 50th percentile MGMA income. I am seeing CRNA rates at $200 per hour plus bonuses or housing stipends.
Several smaller hospitals are offering more hourly pay today for coverage than I ever thought possible in 2022. There is no need to bill for your own cases when facilities are paying this much money per hour. Let them take on the risk of collections and negotiations with insurance companies because you will walk away risk free with a guaranteed high hourly rate.
That is still my favorite anesthesia machine of all time and I trained on machines much older than the Narkomed models.
I did this in residency.You can split 24 hrs to 12 hrs. Much more sane. Anesthesia groups are going away from 24 hrs
maybe academic? but i dont think our current salary > peak anesthesiology salary if you adjust for inflation
Not with my -11 diopter eyes 😞If I had it to over again I’d be a pilot - it’s a Cush job and a great market at the moment.
If I couldn’t I’d be a vet… if I still had to do medicine I would be an anesthesiologist again.
Bro.. That's a bong.
I dont know if you are serious. I was in residency in those years and I distinctly remember a pvt practice that was in my area and the partners were making if not a 1M per year, pretty close to it. Over 500-600 was not unheard of and pretty common at partnership tracksSo, I recall 1998-2000 pretty well. Back then you could get a job at most practices and the pay was very good. Fast forward to 2022 and hospitals are paying out their noses to get providers at a level even GREATER than 20 years ago. I have NEVER seen pay for the average, general anesthesiologist this high in my entire career. If you are sequestered somewhere you may be oblivious to the market forces out there. I have seen PARTNERS quit their jobs to take locums assignments if the group was earning less than 50th percentile MGMA income. I am seeing CRNA rates at $200 per hour plus bonuses or housing stipends.
Several smaller hospitals are offering more hourly pay today for coverage than I ever thought possible in 2022. There is no need to bill for your own cases when facilities are paying this much money per hour. Let them take on the risk of collections and negotiations with insurance companies because you will walk away risk free with a guaranteed high hourly rate.
If I had it to over again I’d be a pilot - it’s a Cush job and a great market at the moment.
If I couldn’t I’d be a vet… if I still had to do medicine I would be an anesthesiologist again.
So, I recall 1998-2000 pretty well. Back then you could get a job at most practices and the pay was very good. Fast forward to 2022 and hospitals are paying out their noses to get providers at a level even GREATER than 20 years ago. I have NEVER seen pay for the average, general anesthesiologist this high in my entire career. If you are sequestered somewhere you may be oblivious to the market forces out there. I have seen PARTNERS quit their jobs to take locums assignments if the group was earning less than 50th percentile MGMA income. I am seeing CRNA rates at $200 per hour plus bonuses or housing stipends.
Several smaller hospitals are offering more hourly pay today for coverage than I ever thought possible in 2022. There is no need to bill for your own cases when facilities are paying this much money per hour. Let them take on the risk of collections and negotiations with insurance companies because you will walk away risk free with a guaranteed high hourly rate.
Agreed. I have friends and neighbors in aviation. It has changed also. One friend lost a 7 figure pension when US Air awarded Pilots pension to creditors during 2nd bankruptcy. Now , the Majors bought out many pilots for early retirement during Covid resulting in the current manpower shortage. Flights are full so there is nowhere to rebook you if you miss a connection due to weather or crews run out of hours. They tell me it is also a real **** show for them as well as for passengers. We recently had to rebook a trip to Scotland ,which we have been trying to take for 3 yrs, because our flight to ORD was delayed, then missed LHR flight. No room on other flights for 2 days.its a great market right now because of the labor shortage, but make no mistake,
pilots have a **** job compared to the good ol' days.
look at what the regional carrier pilots make, its like $20 an hour
the aviation situation is
much worse than what physicians have experienced in the last 20 years.
Absolutely true. My income in 2000 was much greater than today in absolute dollars adjusted for inflation. CRNA costs are 2.5 X what they were in 2000. IN addition, CMS reimbursement is down by a ton adjusted for inflation. That said, the average person coming out of residency can literally earn great money without a partnership track at all. So, even though I was making more money in 2000 I still think the overall environment to be treated fairly from day one is better today. If one were to equate sunshine with making money the weather is still looking pretty good out there circa 2022.This is true. Pre-NAPA NSLIJ folks we’re making 600-700k+ in the 1980s. They had airplanes, Ferraris, and mansions in Sands Point. That’s not possible on $600-700k nowadays.