Would you choose anesthesiology again?

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Would you choose anesthesiology again?

  • Yes, I love anesthesiology.

    Votes: 78 60.0%

  • No, I’d choose a different specialty.

    Votes: 15 11.5%

  • I would not go into medicine

    Votes: 37 28.5%
  • Total voters
    130
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.
 
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anbuitachi said:
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.
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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.
 
Dr. Anonymouss said:
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.
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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.

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.
 
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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.
 
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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!
 
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anbuitachi said:
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.
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Teaching is pretty regulated and they get paid like poop. Plus it’s not flexible at all.

But yeah I’m glad I’m in my specialty that is broad and I can have many different types of physician Jobs that do pay well (but will never make as much money as you all) and offer differing levels of flexibility. I do feel bad for the people in medicine who have such a narrow scope. My friends husband finished a fellowship within a fellowship and then there were like 3-4 jobs in the whole country for him. Sucks.
 
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anbuitachi said:
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.

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.
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You can split 24 hrs to 12 hrs. Much more sane. Anesthesia groups are going away from 24 hrs
 
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invitro said:
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!
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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.

True Academics (that I know of) is approaching high 300s for most places but calls are usually q12/-15. With one weekend w month. Hustle a little taking extra weekend call can push salary to 420 ish
 
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Yes. Other specialties suck
 
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aneftp said:
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.
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Guess it's perspective but it seems that $597K/yr is ballpark top 1% in the US for income..."wealth" is a different story...
 
Dr. Anonymouss said:
I am glad to hear this lol
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10 years in I think radiology is a good field which wasn't always the case (graduated into an abysmal job market, life s*cked)...Every job has its pros/cons. Just need to pick your poison. At the end of the day most US physicians have it pretty good in the grand scheme of things
 
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anbuitachi said:
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.
Click to expand...
Yeah some days I regret passing up that career in white collar crime. :)


Usually when we have this thread and people are pining and waxing philosophic about how they coulda shoulda been an i-banker, we aren't staring down the barrel of a bear market and recession. The last decade and a half has been a truly historic bull market, with just a couple of blips (which really only served to give starry-eyed youngsters a false sense of what "risk" is). Sweet, sweet, summer children ...

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that a whole lot of recently-minted i-bankers and real estate agents are going to have a rough go of it in the next decade. But we, of course, are going to be Just Fine.
 
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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!
 
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BLADEMDA said:
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!
Click to expand...
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.
 
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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.
 
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Drwine said:
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.
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2 weeks!! Congratulations!

How old are you if you don’t mind answering?
 
Drwine said:
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.
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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.

as an aside I still remember showing my very senior colleague how to use the then new Narkomed anesthesia machines.
 
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DrOwnage said:
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 #$%^...
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They’re incredibly rugged machines built like W123 series Mercedes.
 
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nimbus said:
They’re incredibly rugged machines built like W123 series Mercedes.
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Yes. Low tech. High reliability. Easy to trouble shoot. But also bad compared with contemporary safety features.
 
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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.
 
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DrOwnage said:
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 #$%^...
Click to expand...
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.
 
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Angus Avagadro said:
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.
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Agree. Not many specialties where you can launch a case and kick back for a few hours in low intensity cases. It’s pretty darn good.
 
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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.
 
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BLADEMDA said:
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.
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maybe academic? but i dont think our current salary > peak anesthesiology salary if you adjust for inflation
 
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BLADEMDA said:
That is still my favorite anesthesia machine of all time and I trained on machines much older than the Narkomed models.
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images.jpeg-1.jpg
 
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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.
 
anbuitachi said:
maybe academic? but i dont think our current salary > peak anesthesiology salary if you adjust for inflation
Click to expand...


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.
 
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amyl said:
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.
Click to expand...
Not with my -11 diopter eyes 😞

One trick pony here.
 
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BLADEMDA said:
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.
Click to expand...
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 tracks
A good partnership track that is what they were making. I bet you the Charlotte group were making that, and all the practices in NYC and Long Island I bet you it was close to that. That is more than anyone can make now. What is different now vs then is that there is much more consolidation in everything which is bad for everyone involved except the consolidator.

This was my anesthesia machine in all of residency. Never saw another one:

aaa5e1c1-32c6-43d2-b4fd-04715dd25724.jpg
 
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amyl said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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Absofrigginlutely. Best field in medicine. What I would never want to be is a neurosurgeon, or a surgeon in general. Or a hospitalist. Or any of that other crap really. Im full time pain and wouldnt change it for anything. What I will say is that if I could go back I would find the cheapest legitimate medical school in the world to go to though. That ish was a colossal waste of money. I even tell my son, target the cheapest decent schools. Its basically all the same crap these days.
 
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BLADEMDA said:
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.
Click to expand...

coffeebythelake said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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Go into medicine? yes. Go into Anesthesia? Absolutely.
 
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nimbus said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.

If I were to work just as hard today as I was doing in 2000 I would guess my income to be in the $750K range in 2022.
 
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