Plastic Vs Cardiothoracic Surgery

[chemamr]

Hi, I´m an IMG, i´m 26 years old, i made the whole first year (PGY1) in general surgery residency here in my country but i quit to prepare for USMLE. I passed step 1 with 206 at first attempt (I wasn´t expecting that, but it´s past). Now, i´m preparing for 2ck, i think i would probably get a good score. I´ll participate in match 2007.

I wanna be surgeon. I´ll apply for General Surgery and then i wanna be PLASTIC or CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON. My question is (of course, in my case)


- Which one is more COMPETITIVE (to get as a subspeciality)?

- More or less, how many hours a week does a surgeon in these fields work (each one; and i mean a staff surgeon, not as a resident)?

- Which one has more free time or less emergencies (in general; as a staff surgeon)?

- Any advice of the hospitals i could apply for general surgery (i think it must be a IMG friendly hospital with CT and plastic surgery residency??

-How about salary, how much approx does a plastic and a CT surgeon earn??


Thank you in advance, really, I NEED HELP. ANY ADVICE OR SUGGESTION BESIDES THESE QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME!

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[Pir8DeacDoc]

Just the observations of an MS-4 so take for what it's worth..


1. Plastics much tougher to get. Used to be that the best of the best went into CT but work hours are up and reimbursement and CABGs are down. I imagine there are plenty of slots for CT that remain open after the fellowship match.

2. CT has long/tough hours even as an attending.

3. What interests you in these two fields? Admittedly I'm naive but it seems like a weird combo to be interested in at least as far as patient populations go.

 

[chemamr]

thank you for your answer, do you know also about the other questions (how many hours a week approx, salary, etc, etc)???

Why are there empty spots in CT surgery??

About your question of the weird combo: simply that´s what i like, since i was a medical student i liked plastic surgery, i made 2 rotations there and it was very impressive for me, mainly the reconstructive surgery. And CT surgery (my father is CT surgeon in my country, but he got sick some years ago) is more clinical, more difficult, more challenging, i like too.

Any other replies???

 

[Blade28]

Just curious - you like these two fields, but have no idea about the lifestyle, compensation, or anticipated number of emergent cases?

How is it in your home country?

 

[TheThroat]

thank you for your answer, do you know also about the other questions (how many hours a week approx, salary, etc, etc)???

Why are there empty spots in CT surgery??

About your question of the weird combo: simply that´s what i like, since i was a medical student i liked plastic surgery, i made 2 rotations there and it was very impressive for me, mainly the reconstructive surgery. And CT surgery (my father is CT surgeon in my country, but he got sick some years ago) is more clinical, more difficult, more challenging, i like too.

Any other replies???

If you want salary quotes, just go to salary.com.:

$355,759 : CT surgeon national average.
$277,951 : plastics

 

[chemamr]

Thank you for your answers, yes, i like these 2 areas but obviously it´s very differente the lifestyle for a physician in my home country than in USA, here physicians, specialists, subspecialists dont´have a good job so some of them have to look for another profession even. So, I have an idea of these things but it would probably be very different and more reliable of a medical student or a resident of USA.

Any other data would be very helpful for me, really.

 

[CTSballer11]

Hi, I´m an IMG, i´m 26 years old, i made the whole first year (PGY1) in general surgery residency here in my country but i quit to prepare for USMLE. I passed step 1 with 206 at first attempt (I wasn´t expecting that, but it´s past). Now, i´m preparing for 2ck, i think i would probably get a good score. I´ll participate in match 2007.

I wanna be surgeon. I´ll apply for General Surgery and then i wanna be PLASTIC or CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON. My question is (of course, in my case)


- Which one is more COMPETITIVE (to get as a subspeciality)?

- More or less, how many hours a week does a surgeon in these fields work (each one; and i mean a staff surgeon, not as a resident)?

- Which one has more free time or less emergencies (in general; as a staff surgeon)?

- Any advice of the hospitals i could apply for general surgery (i think it must be a IMG friendly hospital with CT and plastic surgery residency??

-How about salary, how much approx does a plastic and a CT surgeon earn??


Thank you in advance, really, I NEED HELP. ANY ADVICE OR SUGGESTION BESIDES THESE QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME!

I virtually have no knowledge on the subject of plastic surgery. My uncle is a CT surgeon so I will try my best help you out. As far as competitiveness goes, CT surgery is not competitive at all. My uncle works hard and in his opinion CT surgeons work the longest and most irregular hours among all surgeons. I guess he may be somewhat biased but do not expect a cushy lifestyle as a CT surgeon. CT surgery will be your lifestyle and your family will come second, but you probably already knew that since your dad is one. I would imagine that a plastic surgeon who does cosmetics would not have to many emergencies to tend to, on the other hand a CT surgeon in America does not have this luxury. I cannot help you as far as residency training programs go. Salaries for the majority of CT surgeons have really took a hit in the last 10 years. My uncle tells me that the decline in salary has to do with a number of things.
1.Surgical volume is down due to invasive procedures to treat cornary artery disease. CABG used to be 80 percent of his practice and now he is forced to take on more thoracic cases along with more vascular cases to keep volume up.
2. Malpractice insurance is getting out of hand but one would think this would affect all specialties somewhat, same with a decline in compensation for certain procedures.

My uncle thinks CT surgery is in a bit of a crisis as a specialty and in his opinion unless there is a major attitude adjustment it will only get worse. Who knows though, in 10-15 yrs the baby boomers are coming and my uncle tells me that a large percentage of CT surgeons will be retiring in the next 10-15 years. This is just my uncles opinion I am sure some people will agree and some will disagree. Good luck to you.

 

[chemamr]

Hey CTSBaller11, thank you very much for that very valuable help. . It´s good to know people like you that wants to help other people.

According to your nickname, do you wanna be CT surgeon, too????

Approximately CTSBaller11, how many hours a week does a CT surgeon work???

ANY OTHER INFORMATION IS WELCOME !!!

 

[CTSballer11]

Hey CTSBaller11, thank you very much for that very valuable help. . It´s good to know people like you that wants to help other people.

According to your nickname, do you wanna be CT surgeon, too????

Approximately CTSBaller11, how many hours a week does a CT surgeon work???

ANY OTHER INFORMATION IS WELCOME !!!

My nickname is just a coincidence, lol. I am only in undergrad but I have spent a lot of time around my uncle and I am definately interested in surgery. Right now I am focusing my energy on getting into medical school.

The hours a week a CT surgeon works is influenced by a few different factors. ie: what kind of practice setting you work in ( HMO, private, academic). My uncle is in a private practice setting and he works anywhere from 70-85 hours a week. Some weeks are pretty wild and when he first started he regularly worked 90-100 hours a week. He is a bit older now and in a big group of surgeons so his hours have gone down, due to less call. I would definately keep an eye on the job placement of the future CT fellows, before doing a fellowship. Do you plan to return to your home country and practice with your father? If this is the case, then I would not worry about the job situation.

 

[chemamr]

Hey thank you for answer me. I´m doing a comparative chart of CT surgery Vs Plastic Surgery, you know, advantages and disadvantages, i think i´m almost done with it (and a lot is because of you).

Unfortunately my father is sick, 5 years ago he had several strokes, consecutively (all in 1 week and in both hemispheres), so he is alive but with many sequelae (you can imagine all the sequelae he has). It´s very sad, i don´t like to talk about it but you asked me. Thus my plan is to study and work in USA, i think i´ll be able to do it.

Ok, I think the last question I have for the moment is about salary, it´s always an issue. Do you know a webpage or something to check it out. TheThroat gave me this site www.salary.com, but do you have any other or is this very updated and reliable??. And how many does your uncle approx earn??. It´s not because the most important thing for me is the money, in fact you know there are many other specialities like derma, radiology, patho, and other nonsurgical areas that work a few hours a week and they earn a very good $; i really love surgery, i can be surgeon, only and i´ll be surgeon forever. The question is mainly because i have found very different amounts in different websites, not only in CT surg, in all the surgical areas. Thank you for your help !!

 

[chemamr]

By the way, Good Luck getting a medical school !

 

[CTSballer11]

Hey thank you for answer me. I´m doing a comparative chart of CT surgery Vs Plastic Surgery, you know, advantages and disadvantages, i think i´m almost done with it (and a lot is because of you).

Unfortunately my father is sick, 5 years ago he had several strokes, consecutively (all in 1 week and in both hemispheres), so he is alive but with many sequelae (you can imagine all the sequelae he has). It´s very sad, i don´t like to talk about it but you asked me. Thus my plan is to study and work in USA, i think i´ll be able to do it.

Ok, I think the last question I have for the moment is about salary, it´s always an issue. Do you know a webpage or something to check it out. TheThroat gave me this site www.salary.com, but do you have any other or is this very updated and reliable??. And how many does your uncle approx earn??. It´s not because the most important thing for me is the money, in fact you know there are many other specialities like derma, radiology, patho, and other nonsurgical areas that work a few hours a week and they earn a very good $; i really love surgery, i can be surgeon, only and i´ll be surgeon forever. The question is mainly because i have found very different amounts in different websites, not only in CT surg, in all the surgical areas. Thank you for your help !!

Sorry to hear about your father; I assume he is not practicing anymore?

You do not have to act defensive when you are asking about salary. Before you invest 7-9 yrs of your life in training, you should know all the pros and cons of your career choice. My uncle has told me that he is making over 500K. I understand that this is quite a lot of money but after a few years out of fellowship he was making twice that. One thing you should note is that my uncle has been practicing CT surgery for approx. 20 years. Thus, he has a strong referal base and is in a thriving practice. I mentioned earlier he has evolved from a coronary surgeon to a Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgeon. I imagine that many CT surgeons are not as lucky as my uncle and are losing many cardiac cases (CABG) to the invasive cards guys and did not take advantage of their training in thoracic surgery. Back when my uncle trained, fellowships offered training in Cardiac, Vascular, and thoracic, leaving many outs for future surgeons incase one of the above mentioned fields "dried" up.

 

[chemamr]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, my father can´t work anymore due to his multiple strokes, in fact he needs us to take care of him.

A lot of money, . $500,000, wow. Ok, i think i have completed my comparative chart, now it´s time for reflexion about my future choice.

Good luck to you in your plans!!