ERdoctor.com: on ER doc salary

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gostudy

gostudy

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Good to see that after a long shift I can come home to read this fine article...but what is the cost of, er, you know, helping others (said like a med school interview);)
 
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All true. In fact, the same people who run the Christian Children's Fund are setting up a relief program for starving ER docs. I usually check back into our ED after work with a fake complaint just to score a sandwich before the long hitchhike home.
 
Ah, didn't search hard enough, he changed websites.
 
I moonlit yesterday.. the money is good..realistically I think anyone in residency knows you can easily come out and make no less than 180K per yr first yr out. I can work 12-12's my first yr out here and make ~275K.

I get what he is saying I have a ton of debt but I have a nice car, nice house etc.
 
EctopicFetus said:
I moonlit yesterday.. the money is good..realistically I think anyone in residency knows you can easily come out and make no less than 180K per yr first yr out. I can work 12-12's my first yr out here and make ~275K.

I get what he is saying I have a ton of debt but I have a nice car, nice house etc.
Click to expand...

Just think about if you supplemented that with some full time work at UPS . . . :D
 
I do love driving.. i dont know about the tight, short shorts..
 
WTF?

"ER medicine "ER doctors" This is sooooo 1980s -

"Average career for emergency medicine 9 years" - where is this coming from? The old "ER" docs with IM or FP training?
 
I'm no pollyanna, and the article is interesting, but let me point out one thing: many of us would kill ourselves in these "better" jobs.

Driving a UPS truck may be lucrative but the work would suck. Day in and day out driving around a big brown monster, open doors in the winter/summer. Lifting heavy **** all day. No thanks.

Don't even get me started on dentistry.
 
12-12's? Is that twelve 12hour shifts per month?

Naive pre-med here, but $275K seems like a large compensation for 39 hours per week. How much additional time do you think you'll spend over the 39? Finishing with patients, attending continual education, meetings, etc? Basically total work hours? And what kind of benefits come with a position like that?

I'm applying this cycle. While in school I want to find a specialty that I naturally enjoy but that also leaves enough time for a life outside of medicine. I know I have a long time to think about it but I can't help investigate now. Can anyone comment about their job/lifestyle in EM?
 
tdittyx2x3 said:
12-12's? Is that twelve 12hour shifts per month?

Naive pre-med here, but $275K seems like a large compensation for 39 hours per week. How much additional time do you think you'll spend over the 39? Finishing with patients, attending continual education, meetings, etc? Basically total work hours? And what kind of benefits come with a position like that?

I'm applying this cycle. While in school I want to find a specialty that I naturally enjoy but that also leaves enough time for a life outside of medicine. I know I have a long time to think about it but I can't help investigate now. Can anyone comment about their job/lifestyle in EM?
Click to expand...
That's only $160/hour, which is not unheard of for EM. Some EM docs make nearly double that in fee-for-service groups.

12 12's per month comes out to 1,728 hours/year. I think I remember reading that the average work hours for emergency physicians is about 1,700 hours/year.
 
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southerndoc said:
That's only $160/hour, which is not unheard of for EM. Some EM docs make nearly double that in fee-for-service groups.

12 12's per month comes out to 1,728 hours/year. I think I remember reading that the average work hours for emergency physicians is about 1,700 hours/year.
Click to expand...

Agreed. That comes out to 33 hrs/week, which is in that 33-35 hrs/week that seems to be commonly reported. The small democratic group I'm joining in July averages 33.5 hrs/week with some of the younger guys snapping up a few extra shifts to bump their hours up around 38.
 
AmoryBlaine said:
I'm no pollyanna, and the article is interesting, but let me point out one thing: many of us would kill ourselves in these "better" jobs.

Driving a UPS truck may be lucrative but the work would suck. Day in and day out driving around a big brown monster, open doors in the winter/summer. Lifting heavy **** all day. No thanks.

Don't even get me started on dentistry.
Click to expand...

:thumbdown: You don't like lifting heavy objects and the UPS workers don't want to go to school "forever". UPS is not for everyone just like ER medicine is not. I'm sure people talked so much **** about medicine, also. Especially these rich bastards called Investment Bankers. "I can't be an doctor and deal with these crazy patients. Ill, I don't want to mess with blood and vomit. How could they deal with that? No thank you. They go to school like forever. They get paid minimum wages compared to us."
 
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AmoryBlaine said:
I'm no pollyanna, and the article is interesting, but let me point out one thing: many of us would kill ourselves in these "better" jobs.

Driving a UPS truck may be lucrative but the work would suck. Day in and day out driving around a big brown monster, open doors in the winter/summer. Lifting heavy **** all day. No thanks.

Don't even get me started on dentistry.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding, driving a UPS truck would rock. Working outside, meeting new people who don't insult, assault, vomit or code on you. Get to drive that big ***** rig and work-out at the same time. If they provide the uniform I'm seriously interested.
Also I'm told the ladies love the UPS men.
 
EctopicFetus said:
I moonlit yesterday.. the money is good..realistically I think anyone in residency knows you can easily come out and make no less than 180K per yr first yr out. I can work 12-12's my first yr out here and make ~275K.

I get what he is saying I have a ton of debt but I have a nice car, nice house etc.
Click to expand...

The going rate around here is $150/hour (as an independent contractor.) At 12/12s (144 hours/month) that works out to $21,600/month. Multiply by 12 months for $259200.

Partners can usually do a little better.
 
His article fails to mention that EM is guaranteed work with generally guaranteed pay.

I am guaranteed I will get 12 hours of work any day I want to work and I don't have to worry about where my next "job" is coming from.

The life coach, lawn mower, mechanic, etc don't have this luxury. If I could be guaranteed 12 hours of life coaching work at $160/hour for twelve hours a day for 12-16 days out of the month, I would do it. But I'd rather just take my $150+/hour and just grab another chart.

Don't forget that alot of EM jobs (like mine) also offer the retirement, health insurance, and other benefits as well.

I like to bitch as much as the next guy, but overall, we have it pretty damned good in EM.
 
ActiveDutyMD said:
The going rate around here is $150/hour (as an independent contractor.) At 12/12s (144 hours/month) that works out to $21,600/month. Multiply by 12 months for $259200.

Partners can usually do a little better.
Click to expand...

AGREED, we have some of the most lucrative jobs in the country here in AZ. the numbers I quoted before were IC jobs for a large corp. Partners in some of the local eds make 400+. no where in soAz are the partners making under 300..

decent cash if you ask me.
 
My only worry is about my student loans. I enjoy EM so much. I worked in an ER/trauma center for 4.5 years during undergrad. I had a lot of exposure to many specialties and honest discourse with many physicians. The only thing that interests me right now is EM. I may change my mind, but right now I look forward to a career in EM. As long as I can pay back my $300,000 ($60K/yr plus interest) and live comfortably, not extravagantly, I'll be fine. Sounds like that is going to be doable.
 
From what I've read so far, an EP can work from 8-18 shifts per month, average about 12. Work 8, 10, or 12 hours per shift. Average for compensation is about $120/hr?

So does this mean someone can make 8*8*12*120 = $92,000 working two eight hour shifts a week? Seriously?

Maybe this is a more realistic example: 10shifts*10hours*12months*$120 = $144,000. Seems like a lot of money for 25hrs/week.

Does working fewer hours have an effect on compensation and are their opportunities out there for such few hours?
 
tdittyx2x3 said:
Does working fewer hours have an effect on compensation and are their opportunities out there for such few hours?
Click to expand...

Yes, because typically most groups require a minimum number of hours to be full time. Part time employees typically do not get the benefits like health insurance, retirement and pay bonuses. In groups with full and part timers, the full-timers make anywhere from $10-$100 more per hour when you consider benefits.
 
Ah, I used to tell mysef "I'll only work two days a week and live off of $100k." But now that I have one child, a wife that doesn't work (by choice, mostly mine), and a second one due any day now, it doesn't quite plan out like it did as a pre-med.

I am taking a fee for service private group (partner after two) job in December, and will be working ~ 13-14 shifts a month (of varying lengths, 6 hours up to 13 hours dpeneding on where/time of day). I will be making ~50-90% MORE than I am making now in academics. I do not mind working "half a month" or so, and if need be, I can always pick up an extra shift or two to make 4-5k more a month.

I do bitch. Just not on SDN. And not often in general. But like it was said before, we have it damn good in EM. Plus our nurses a super cool!

Q
 
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