future of the field -- it's all relative, right?

[Robert Loblaw]

Is it me, or are the most depressed folks here the one's that picked anesthesia for the 40hrs/400K deal that was so popular a few years back? I'm I wrong (or way too optimistic) to be happy with a 50-60hr work week and 250-300k for my adult life? After all, you could work 50-60hrs per week as a junior exec for corporation and make a measly $125k.

My father, now 60, is a physician, and to him, medicine is not what it used to be, i.e. he can't make the same killing he did twenty years ago, but it's still a pretty nice killing. Not that the rest of you are being greedy, but those of us entering training now will never know the difference, so it will not be so bad to "only" make 250k in our late thirties.

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[huron]

Is it me, or are the most depressed folks here the one's that picked anesthesia for the 40hrs/400K deal that was so popular a few years back? I'm I wrong (or way too optimistic) to be happy with a 50-60hr work week and 250-300k for my adult life? After all, you could work 50-60hrs per week as a junior exec for corporation and make a measly $125k.

My father, now 60, is a physician, and to him, medicine is not what it used to be, i.e. he can't make the same killing he did twenty years ago, but it's still a pretty nice killing. Not that the rest of you are being greedy, but those of us entering training now will never know the difference, so it will not be so bad to "only" make 250k in our late thirties.

When is wanting to paid fairly for the work you do, being greedy. If you are making only 250K per year and working full time you are being forced to give a large chunk of your earning to the non working absentee owner A$$hole who holds the contract.

Everywhere I look anesthesia groups are run by a$$holes or crooks, I have done some locums and every where you go there is another unbelievable story about how the dishonest leader of a group stole from the people doing the work.

 

[Khalid]

Is it me, or are the most depressed folks here the one's that picked anesthesia for the 40hrs/400K deal that was so popular a few years back? I'm I wrong (or way too optimistic) to be happy with a 50-60hr work week and 250-300k for my adult life? After all, you could work 50-60hrs per week as a junior exec for corporation and make a measly $125k.

QUOTE]

You make a good point RL, and perhaps you're right assuming the most depressed folks are the ones who had overly inflated dollars/lifestyle ratio in mind when picking anesthesia. My wife and I went through the same decision matrix when choosing anesthesia.

Bottom line is that if you're comfortable with 55-60 wk and around 250k-300k, you will not be disappointed for the forseeable future.

However, salary figures thrown around here, at least for the years I've been on the board anyway, are ALL OVER THE PLACE. With all the different staffing models and group structures, I have no idea any longer what a good vs bad salary is (With some of the LARGE salaries you see cited on here, me thinks they're probably Independent Contractor positions and they leave out the fact they're paying their own malpractice, health, and retirement--but thats just a guess.)

 

[VolatileAgent]

salaries are indeed "all over the place". that's largely based on the immediate need of particular practices in particular regions of the country.

i think that if you choose to practice in a large metropolitan area (i'm talking top 25 cities in the u.s.) or a suburb of the same, you are going to have to work hard to maintain the lifestyle you want. this is because these are the areas being targeted by anesthesia management companies.

as i've stated before, the playing field is going to drastically change by the year 2015. therefore you need to adopt a long view before choosing this field. this means you have to want to go into it because you genuinely like and enjoy the aspects of anesthesia care, not that you are going to be making $400k for an unlimited amount of time. there are always going to be choice jobs out there, but they won't be in the areas that most people want to live.

so, in closing, i'd suggest that you do as much anesthesia in med school as you can. this will give you a flavor, it won't be exactly what your life will be like, about what the anesthesiologist does.

but, the fact is, everyone is working harder for less money in medicine. you will be expected to do more for less compensation and on a lower budget. this is a by-product of medicare and greedy insurance companies and plaintiff's attorneys who convince the public to believe ALL doctors are overpaid (because they really don't want then to understand what we do and how hard we work... and instead only focus them on our rare errors, many of which are not any one person's fault).

choosing medicine - any field - will have it's challenges and rewards, in whichever form they take. don't choose anesthesia because of perceived lifestyle benefits. you will be sorely disappointed if you do.

 

[veetz]

When is wanting to paid fairly for the work you do, being greedy. If you are making only 250K per year and working full time you are being forced to give a large chunk of your earning to the non working absentee owner A$$hole who holds the contract.

Everywhere I look anesthesia groups are run by a$$holes or crooks, I have done some locums and every where you go there is another unbelievable story about how the dishonest leader of a group stole from the people doing the work.

Sorry to say buddy, this is life! People at the top of any successful business or corporation are benefiting from their employees. You'd experience the same issue in any profession. BUT, just b/c someone at the top is making money secondary to your sweat, doesnt make that person an A-hole. Its just that person somewhere along the line was deemed appropriate to head the show and you weren't!! Stop being so bitter. If you don't like working for someone, start your own business!