Are salaries going down?

A quick browse through the 'topics in healthcare' forum or a search for 'healthcare reform' will bring up quite a few threads regarding this topic. To summarize, nobody knows for sure (a lot of the legislation is still up in the air). The significance of the changes will vary by specialty, practice setting, region, patient demographic, etc.

First, there's an IDENTICAL thread on the first page of this forum. Please spend at least 10 seconds looking around the forum before posting a new thread.

Second, as aSag mentioned, it's impossible to say for certain. There are also many, many different factors that will impact salaries, e.g., specialty, location, practice type, etc.. Just because one physician is going to see a hit doesn't mean all, or even most, will.

That's why people say don't go into a career solely for money... chances are you'll never be satisfied! Someone once told me would you still want to be a doctor if you didn't get paid anything. Your answer to this question should determine whether you'll enjoy medicine as a career.

It depends on the specialty in my opinion and from talking to multiple medical directors and regional directors. Procedure based specialties may take a bigger hit.

4 lyfe said:

That's why people say don't go into a career solely for money... chances are you'll never be satisfied! Someone once told me would you still want to be a doctor if you didn't get paid anything. Your answer to this question should determine whether you'll enjoy medicine as a career.

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That's a pretty ridiculous test to determine if you should go into medicine (or any career). I'd much rather work out, play games, and hang out with my friends rather than work for nothing.

NickNaylor said:

That's a pretty ridiculous test to determine if you should go into medicine (or any career). I'd much rather work out, play games, and hang out with my friends rather than work for nothing.

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A better test would be let me kick you in the nuts every day for 4 years, then you give me $200,000. If once we are done you can still say "thank you may I have another!", you know your ready

4 lyfe said:

That's why people say don't go into a career solely for money... chances are you'll never be satisfied! Someone once told me would you still want to be a doctor if you didn't get paid anything. Your answer to this question should determine whether you'll enjoy medicine as a career.

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There would be very few doctors if premeds thought of it in those terms.

NickNaylor said:

That's a pretty ridiculous test to determine if you should go into medicine (or any career). I'd much rather work out, play games, and hang out with my friends rather than work for nothing.

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It's also a ridiculous test because one generally has to have a source of income in order to, well, survive.

Ontology said:

I'm not going into it for the money, but i would not be going into it if i got paid 100k, lets face it. I'm not working my ass off and studying this hard for 100k..that's why im asking. If u would work for 100k good for u ur better than me.

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That's fine. Everyone has their threshold of what they consider minimum reasonable compensation.

In north america, the only reason medicine is so competitive is because of the guaranteed high income + the prestige and respect. If salaries dropped low (actually low, not a 50k drop), average GPA scores and MCATs would go down in a linear fashion.

Here in Toronto, pharmacy has become much less effective once word has got around that "no more 100k starting salaries" and "no more standard jobs." Just evidence to show that it's all about money first, and then everything else. But why wouldnt it be? You only live once.