Plastic Surgery Inquiry

[KalicoKat]

Hello to one and all,

After reading the posts now, I know that once done with residency and internship that the salary of a military physician is not comparable to a civilian physician. With that said, I was curious if any knew how much one would make as a plastic/reconstructive surgeon in the military?

Also I've seen the various posts about how current military surgeons are not practicing their specialities...from your experiences, would this be the same for a reconstructive surgeon in the army?

Thanks so much...

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[Capt_Mac]

Hello to one and all,

After reading the posts now, I know that once done with residency and internship that the salary of a military physician is not comparable to a civilian physician. With that said, I was curious if any knew how much one would make as a plastic/reconstructive surgeon in the military?

Also I've seen the various posts about how current military surgeons are not practicing their specialities...from your experiences, would this be the same for a reconstructive surgeon in the army?

Thanks so much...

Plastic surgeons deploy as general surgeons. However, they are pretty busy doing the whole plastics and reconstructive thing at the MTF's. This is at least my observation from our MTF. As a plastic surgeon you will make about 110K / year. Honestly, there is no way that you will make as much in the military as you do on the outside. There is no 3/3 program and you must maintain board certification as a general surgeon.

 

[KalicoKat]

Thanks for the information.

Is this the salary including the BAH and the food stipend?

I've been accepted to the army and have been weighing the pros/cons of entering. In terms of plastic surgery, the army would have many more opportunities to do the reconstructive side in comparison to the civilian sector. Plus I know that they desperately need plastic surgerons. However, for the amount of education that I put in, the pay is not competitive at all. I have to think about things.

Any thoughts?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Thanks for the information.

Is this the salary including the BAH and the food stipend?

I've been accepted to the army and have been weighing the pros/cons of entering. In terms of plastic surgery, the army would have many more opportunities to do the reconstructive side in comparison to the civilian sector. Plus I know that they desperately need plastic surgerons. However, for the amount of education that I put in, the pay is not competitive at all. I have to think about things.

Any thoughts?

If finances are your primary concern, stay civilian. You will be able to complete your training faster, on average, have a vastly wider choice of pathways to board eligibility, have no interrupted training, and at least be able to decide where you will start practice. On your own, unless you are getting hospital support, things will be slow, but you will probably be able to generate a revenue stream adequate to make a living, as long as you choose your location wisely to keep your medmal costs low. Military pay, except perhaps compared to the first year income of solo private practice, isn't competitive.

 

[Capt_Mac]

If finances are your primary concern, stay civilian. You will be able to complete your training faster, on average, have a vastly wider choice of pathways to board eligibility, have no interrupted training, and at least be able to decide where you will start practice. On your own, unless you are getting hospital support, things will be slow, but you will probably be able to generate a revenue stream adequate to make a living, as long as you choose your location wisely to keep your medmal costs low. Military pay, except perhaps compared to the first year income of solo private practice, isn't competitive.

Here, Here! If $$ is your primary concern, and frankly, that is okay then go through the civilian route. Then here, if reconstructive is your goal, trauma doesn't pay very well.

1) Civilian you can go through a 3/3 program and get out of training faster.
2) You will make about 3-4 times what you will make in the military, thus vastly outweighing the financial perks while in medschool
3) You can always sign up after you finish training and keep your options open

I am a general surgery resident in the Army and most of the reconstrutive stuff at my MTF is done by either the plastics guy in the burn unit or by the orthos (much to the glee of the plastics department). I am planning on applying for a plastics fellowship next year. When applying for a military funded fellowship, the problem is not getting into a program, the problem is getting the military to give you a slot and fund it. Hopefully, with increased attrition from deployments, there will be less surgeons with deployments under their belts to compete against for plastics slots.

 

[KalicoKat]

Capt Mac: Do you know if the plastic surgeon is content and satisfied with his work?

I do want to enter into the reconstructive aspect of plastics rather than elective cosmetic. If I could be content/satisfied with what I was doing and learning new things that I would not be able to learn in the civilian sector, I would not worry myself with the money.

 

[Capt_Mac]

Capt Mac: Do you know if the plastic surgeon is content and satisfied with his work?

I do want to enter into the reconstructive aspect of plastics rather than elective cosmetic. If I could be content/satisfied with what I was doing and learning new things that I would not be able to learn in the civilian sector, I would not worry myself with the money.

Honestly, he is very content. He is a 0-6 and gets to do a lot of cool reconstructive cases. In addition to doing the burn reconstructions, he also takes care of the burn patients in the ICU. He is a great guy and I enjoy working with him.

 

[Galo]

Honestly, he is very content. He is a 0-6 and gets to do a lot of cool reconstructive cases. In addition to doing the burn reconstructions, he also takes care of the burn patients in the ICU. He is a great guy and I enjoy working with him.

This it totally variable. On the flip side, the plastic surgeon at my last hospital came back in after being in private practice, and was doing as little as possible in reconstructive, and NO cosmetics. THis is in comparison to the two young guys who had left the military who were doing primarily cosmetics.

You are invariably going to run into the problems all subspecialists run into. You will be undersupported, and eventually find a decreasing patient population to operate on. Who knows what the climate will be like in 6 years?? My advice, is go civilian, get good training in ALL aspects of plastic surgery, and if you still want to join the military after that, then by all means do an investigation into the current situation, and make a more informed decision.

 

[Capt_Mac]

This it totally variable. On the flip side, the plastic surgeon at my last hospital came back in after being in private practice, and was doing as little as possible in reconstructive, and NO cosmetics. THis is in comparison to the two young guys who had left the military who were doing primarily cosmetics.

You are invariably going to run into the problems all subspecialists run into. You will be undersupported, and eventually find a decreasing patient population to operate on. Who knows what the climate will be like in 6 years?? My advice, is go civilian, get good training in ALL aspects of plastic surgery, and if you still want to join the military after that, then by all means do an investigation into the current situation, and make a more informed decision.

Yeah, so Galo if you read my other posts on this subject I was saying the same thing. I was merely responding to the one question about the ONE guy who actually likes doing burn reconstructions and is turned off by the cosmetic aspects. Not all of us are government plants trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.

 

[Galo]

Yeah, so Galo if you read my other posts on this subject I was saying the same thing. I was merely responding to the one question about the ONE guy who actually likes doing burn reconstructions and is turned off by the cosmetic aspects. Not all of us are government plants trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.

Easy there. I'm not trying to refute you or fight with you. I have plenty of nemesis here already. I'm just paraphrasing in my own way.

For sure you will find quality people that want to do nothing but work. Its specially those who will find themselves increasingly frustrated with a system that is not designed to facilitate those desires.

We are in agreement.

 

[briannarenee316]

I am also very interested in doing plastics/reconstructive...

Are there any of you who have experience with this specialty in the Navy?

Would the Army or Navy have better opportunities to enter this specialty?