I have been in private private practice supervising CRNAs for the past few years and considering a move to academics ( moving to a warmer state due to wife's job), significant pay cut but better benefits . Anybody do a similar move, more job satisfaction teaching residents ? having more control over what happens in the OR vs supervising 4 rooms ? I know the grass is always greener on the other side, thoughts ?
From private practice to academics
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It depends. Many academic places have hybrid residents and CRNAs. You won't be supervising 4 CRNA rooms in academics often because the acuity level is much higher.
Senior academic attending tend to cherry pick the best CRNAs and residents. So you may be left with not so cream of the crop CA-1 rather than CA-3 s as well.
It's all politics are many academic places.
Advantage of academics is generally better hours, although you have more "meetings" to go to as well. So you may not have any clinical duties at 3pm. You may have a meeting at 4pm so can't go home early.
Senior academic attending tend to cherry pick the best CRNAs and residents. So you may be left with not so cream of the crop CA-1 rather than CA-3 s as well.
It's all politics are many academic places.
Advantage of academics is generally better hours, although you have more "meetings" to go to as well. So you may not have any clinical duties at 3pm. You may have a meeting at 4pm so can't go home early.
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I find academics an interesting option. I just don't know that I'd be all that good in that environment. The minutiae seems a be daunting to me.
I'd be interested in hearing your perspective.
I'd be interested in hearing your perspective.
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I'm just afraid of having to work with lazy folks.
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You also have to be able to relinquish control to let residents grow.
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That would be fine by me.
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I was a happier person in academics. Less money, but I didn't feel like the hospital's bi$&h. In PP, I fear I may one day have a stroke from all the imbeciles that dictate how I do my job. I am getting to the point where no amount of money replaces being able to walk with my head high and look myself in the mirror.
D
deleted171991
You can be certain that will be the case. Unfortunately, it's not much different in any bigger corporate environment, i.e. AMCs. The chairman's butt-kissing lazy academics, many of whom waste a bunch of trees during their lifelong "research", will always be more appreciated than the hard-working clinical ant. You can't put the long list of happy patients in a CV, can you?
Whom do you think your chairperson will appreciate more, you or the BS spewer with 100 publications in her CV? Unless you are ready to start "publishing", and eating the academic BS, you should think twice about joining academia.
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It probably depends on the academic department you join. I have NO desire to do basic/bench research and publish on most topics. Of course I will never become a professor (which is fine by me) but, my chairman does not penalize those who are clinicians only. I do a lot with the residency and have written a few articles/book chapters on topics I find interesting but I don't feel like I have to publish in order to keep my job. I also feel like my chairman values my contributions to resident education.
I've never been in private practice so I have nothing to compare it to. I certainly can't put my list of happy patients on my CV but I do feel that it is valued in our department. Sure there are lazy people who want to spend all their time doing research … or sitting in their office. These people certainly wouldn't make it in private practice but usually I'm not at all effected by them in scheduling, getting out, etc.
I think there is a move to academics. According to our chair, there has been a dramatic increase in applications in the last year. I guess there could be many reasons for this - speculation would be that many are thinking of making the move you are thinking of making. Best of luck.
I've never been in private practice so I have nothing to compare it to. I certainly can't put my list of happy patients on my CV but I do feel that it is valued in our department. Sure there are lazy people who want to spend all their time doing research … or sitting in their office. These people certainly wouldn't make it in private practice but usually I'm not at all effected by them in scheduling, getting out, etc.
I think there is a move to academics. According to our chair, there has been a dramatic increase in applications in the last year. I guess there could be many reasons for this - speculation would be that many are thinking of making the move you are thinking of making. Best of luck.
D
deleted171991
The side-effect on having these many applications from clinical people is that academia is becoming the new form of AMC, where the "partners" are the university and the career academics, and the "employees" are the purely clinical faculty. They can afford to be abusive to people because they know there are more suckers waiting. Just my 2 cents.
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Thanks for the pointers. To be clear, I'm not seriously thinking about academics, that would mean that I would have to leave my dream job. Just a thought that enters my mind from time to time.
Loveumms, the big difference btw academics and PP is that in PP you will find yourself all alone frequently. You must be good at everything. For instance, not long ago we had a lady fall off her horse transfered to us. She broke her neck at C4/5 with a big step off. I needed to get her intubated and placed in tongs and reduced all while awake at 2am. Nobody around for help. Btw, she did great and walked out of the hospital 2 days later with no deficits.
Loveumms, the big difference btw academics and PP is that in PP you will find yourself all alone frequently. You must be good at everything. For instance, not long ago we had a lady fall off her horse transfered to us. She broke her neck at C4/5 with a big step off. I needed to get her intubated and placed in tongs and reduced all while awake at 2am. Nobody around for help. Btw, she did great and walked out of the hospital 2 days later with no deficits.
The way anesthesia is going. It's becoming less and less common to be "all alone" in private practice anesthesia. My first 4 years of private practice was close to 90% MD only anesthesia. So yes I was "all alone" especially on call at 2am
The past 6 years have been the care team model. So even when I work by myself. It's rare for me to be "all alone".
It's quite a shame for many new grads. Many won't enter private practice all alone. You grow a lot as a clinician the first couple of years doing solo anesthesia. I think the care team model takes more chances at difficult airways than would happen if we were doing solo anesthesia.
I suspect many new grads will end up joining care team models.
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