Plastic Surgeons least satisfied docs?

[Leo Aquarius]

Overall career satisfaction is lowest among plastic surgeons. What's up with that?

http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2014/public/overview#25

Just curious.

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[droliver]

Reimbursement for traditional plastic surgery procedures is very, very poor. Out of all the surgical specialties, we don't really have a short duration and high volume procedure to churn the wheel (unless you do a lot of hand surgery) so our salaries have taken a huge hit over the last 2 decades that really can't be made up by volume.

 

[MsMD1]

.....only 1% of plastic surgeons replied to the survey......
I don't exactly think you can extrapolate the overall career satisfaction amongst plastic surgeons nationwide based on the response of 1% of plastic surgeons

 

[Leo Aquarius]

.....only 1% of plastic surgeons replied to the survey......
I don't exactly think you can extrapolate the overall career satisfaction amongst plastic surgeons nationwide based on the response of 1% of plastic surgeons

Incorrect.

1% of those surveyed were plastic surgeons. In other words, plastic surgeons comprised 1% of respondents. Given that 24,000 doctors responded to the survey, about 240 plastic surgeons provided - independently - the lowest scores for the profession of plastic surgery. This is compelling.

By the way, 240 = 3.5% of all plastic surgeons since there are 6,822 total active plastic surgeons. While 3.5% is still small, the fact that 3.5% gave such low scores and your moderator was quick to offer an explanation is proof to me that something's seriously wrong with the direction of plastic surgery.

 

[ram006]

something's seriously wrong with the direction of plastic surgery.

Something is wrong with the value placed on procedures performed/services provided by plastic surgeons not necessarily the direction of the field(unless, of course, what you meant by direction of the field was compensation). This is the case in most surgical specialties as well as the primary care fields, not just PRS. It blows my mind open heart surgery reimburses similarly to a hip replacement. There are tons of examples we could find to make that point.

Recently, I had the fortune/misfortune (however you want to look at it) to hear a congressman speak on the recent SGR patch. It was truly disheartening to see how clueless and apathetic he/she was... troubling times, indeed.

 

[Slack3r]

So is the low satisfaction mainly due to the steady decline of salary and lack of procedures to make up the difference? Anything else in particular that makes PRS rank dead-last on most satisfaction surveys?

Sorry for the bump.

 

[plasticsur]

The surgeons I have worked with are very disgruntled with the reimbursement. Plastic surgery is not what it used to be. When the economy changes, people do not have money for cosmetic procedures. Dermatologists, internists, dentists, ENT, OMFS, and others in the medical profession are competing for the same very small patient population...mostly women 30-50 who want to improve their appearance, must have an interest in going under the knife, and must have money. Reconstructive procedures take 8-12 hours and are not well reimbursed. The plastic surgeons I know just finished paying off their loans at over 45 years old. Not to mention the overhead for malpractice, licensure, building cost/rent, advertising, an office staff (billing/coding/secretaries/nurses/PAs). There appears to be a large salary, but there is tremendous overhead. People don't realize this until they have committed themselves to medical school, residency, and fellowship. I am a happy resident, but only because I love surgery. If you love anything other than surgery, I would choose another field. If you're entering the profession for money, this is definitely the wrong field. The training and cases are very long and reimbursement continues to go down. Career satisfaction is low because people have a misconception of what they are getting themselves into. If you want lifestyle, dermatology, radiology, and anesthesiology are fantastic. If you like surgery, then I would make sure you are committed and wouldn't want to do anything else in the world (business, consulting, research, medicine, etc).

 

[DermatoFIGHT]

The surgeons I have worked with are very disgruntled with the reimbursement. Plastic surgery is not what it used to be. When the economy changes, people do not have money for cosmetic procedures. Dermatologists, internists, dentists, ENT, OMFS, and others in the medical profession are competing for the same very small patient population...mostly women 30-50 who want to improve their appearance, must have an interest in going under the knife, and must have money. Reconstructive procedures take 8-12 hours and are not well reimbursed. The plastic surgeons I know just finished paying off their loans at over 45 years old. Not to mention the overhead for malpractice, licensure, building cost/rent, advertising, an office staff (billing/coding/secretaries/nurses/PAs). There appears to be a large salary, but there is tremendous overhead. People don't realize this until they have committed themselves to medical school, residency, and fellowship. I am a happy resident, but only because I love surgery. If you love anything other than surgery, I would choose another field. If you're entering the profession for money, this is definitely the wrong field. The training and cases are very long and reimbursement continues to go down. Career satisfaction is low because people have a misconception of what they are getting themselves into. If you want lifestyle, dermatology, radiology, and anesthesiology are fantastic. If you like surgery, then I would make sure you are committed and wouldn't want to do anything else in the world (business, consulting, research, medicine, etc).

Very honest post. IR continues to destroy financially because the procedures can be quick and technology changes so fast that they can't cut their reimbursement fast enough.
Surgeons are being hung out to dry by reimbursements. It is a shame but the truth. Cosmetic/aesthetic competition is fierce. Not everyone in each state wants cosmetic work done unless you are in the hubs like beverly hills. Also, people want less down time and less time off from work. This has changed the cosmetic focus to less invasive procedures. Everyone is getting into cosmetics, there is a local pediatrician running a med spa! If you think people will go to you just because you are a surgeon you are incorrect. Look at the people on the news getting back alley fillers with caulking and such. People do not care like they may have in the past.

Overhead is very high. When you do anything cosmetic your malpractice goes up. Don't forget about taking call for the hospitals. As a newer guy/gal entering practice you are up against people who have solidified themselves into those areas about 20-30 years ago. Plastic surgery is a very amazing field; however, you need to understand the other side of medicine to fully appreciate why people are disgruntled and I do not blame them.

 

[MOHS_01]

Our experience mirrors yours; overhead is climbing steadily while reimbursements have been hammered. Compounding the problem is the proliferation of high deductible plans - people simply will not (cannot?) afford the out of pocket portion leaving us with a large amount of uncompensated care. My charges per procedure have remained constant for almost 10 years now; total charges were up 30% 2014 vs 2012 yet collections are down 4%. I have now reached my cap on how much I can do (unless I start scheduling surgeries on Saturdays) so I suppose the more for less trend shall continue....