Long time lurker. First time poster, maybe.
This is sort of going to be a stream of consciousness post mostly focusing on private practice podiatry which is where most Pods end up.
I am currently an associate in a private practice. This is not my first private practice associate job either. I know that I am getting taken advantage of big time. I am between 2 and 5 years out of residency.
I would have to look for specifics but if I had to guess with my supposedly great bonus and base pay I would guess ill make around 150-180k pre tax. I am seeing 20+ patients a day. Surgery maybe averaging 3 a week. I went to a highly regarded program for training, no fellowship needed in my opinion.
My friends all have higher paying jobs. Mostly in the 200ish range base + production.
The difference in them and myself is that I am beholden to a geographic (saturated with Podiatry) area due to some family obligations. I have considered being a complete dingus and leaving all that behind just to make enough money to pay off my loans. Or joining as a military Podiatrist. Or getting out of Podiatry completely.
Pros of PP:
1. The other doctor/s in my practice are great. I respect them both personally and professionally.
2. My days are relatively stress free. I rarely take any sort of weekend call/work and I am home most days around 5:30pm. I have no issues getting time off thus far. This leaves ample time for family and friends.
3. I am serving a community I grew up in. It is rewarding.
4. I mostly have autonomy. See below.
Cons of PP:
1. The pay. Someone else is making a lot of money off of my hard work. It is not me. With my salary and the area I live in the house hunting process I underwent in the past year was absolutely miserable. I was almost embarrassed to turn in my salary to my lender while getting a physician loan. Having to lower my expectations when I am already not particularly materialistic was disappointing.
2. this is sort of a personal preference thing but I was trained at a large hospital where I was making a difference in peoples lives daily. I was helping to fix them on their worst days. Now, I am listening to complaints of fungal nails and mild heel pain. We have an ok mix of patients at this clinic and I know thats just part of Podiatry but I do wish I had more of the bigger issues sometimes.
3. My autonomy comes with caveats. I have to funnel things through the surgery center where I am highly discouraged from doing anything over a certain price with fixation etc. I can only use the in office products the owner deems acceptable/has deals on/etc.
4. We have no standing at the hospital system. The employed Pods at the hospital are wound care only and so by default they think we are too.
5. It could not be more of a pain in the butt to operate at our surgery center with how many corners are cut. Being in a small PP, this is how most things are.
Conclusion: Those thinking of going into Podiatry should really, really only do it if they just love the practice of Podiatry. There are a lot of cons. I think they root cause of many of these cons is simply allowing too many people into the profession. The top 20% of Pods are remarkable doctors. The bottom 60% of Pods wouldn't make it through medical sales rep training before getting fired. Thats for another topic I suppose though.
This is sort of going to be a stream of consciousness post mostly focusing on private practice podiatry which is where most Pods end up.
I am currently an associate in a private practice. This is not my first private practice associate job either. I know that I am getting taken advantage of big time. I am between 2 and 5 years out of residency.
I would have to look for specifics but if I had to guess with my supposedly great bonus and base pay I would guess ill make around 150-180k pre tax. I am seeing 20+ patients a day. Surgery maybe averaging 3 a week. I went to a highly regarded program for training, no fellowship needed in my opinion.
My friends all have higher paying jobs. Mostly in the 200ish range base + production.
The difference in them and myself is that I am beholden to a geographic (saturated with Podiatry) area due to some family obligations. I have considered being a complete dingus and leaving all that behind just to make enough money to pay off my loans. Or joining as a military Podiatrist. Or getting out of Podiatry completely.
Pros of PP:
1. The other doctor/s in my practice are great. I respect them both personally and professionally.
2. My days are relatively stress free. I rarely take any sort of weekend call/work and I am home most days around 5:30pm. I have no issues getting time off thus far. This leaves ample time for family and friends.
3. I am serving a community I grew up in. It is rewarding.
4. I mostly have autonomy. See below.
Cons of PP:
1. The pay. Someone else is making a lot of money off of my hard work. It is not me. With my salary and the area I live in the house hunting process I underwent in the past year was absolutely miserable. I was almost embarrassed to turn in my salary to my lender while getting a physician loan. Having to lower my expectations when I am already not particularly materialistic was disappointing.
2. this is sort of a personal preference thing but I was trained at a large hospital where I was making a difference in peoples lives daily. I was helping to fix them on their worst days. Now, I am listening to complaints of fungal nails and mild heel pain. We have an ok mix of patients at this clinic and I know thats just part of Podiatry but I do wish I had more of the bigger issues sometimes.
3. My autonomy comes with caveats. I have to funnel things through the surgery center where I am highly discouraged from doing anything over a certain price with fixation etc. I can only use the in office products the owner deems acceptable/has deals on/etc.
4. We have no standing at the hospital system. The employed Pods at the hospital are wound care only and so by default they think we are too.
5. It could not be more of a pain in the butt to operate at our surgery center with how many corners are cut. Being in a small PP, this is how most things are.
Conclusion: Those thinking of going into Podiatry should really, really only do it if they just love the practice of Podiatry. There are a lot of cons. I think they root cause of many of these cons is simply allowing too many people into the profession. The top 20% of Pods are remarkable doctors. The bottom 60% of Pods wouldn't make it through medical sales rep training before getting fired. Thats for another topic I suppose though.
