10 Highest paying medical specialties - Did I see this right? Radiation is #4

[RadOnc Guru]

Wow, reading all those posts from students that are so misinformed about the medical field. if you are looking for great compensation and a well balanced work life, Radiation Oncology is the field to pick. see Becker's article:

10 highest-paying medical specialties - Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis

Neurosurgery is the highest-paying medical specialty, according to Doximity's 2019 Physician Employment Report.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Lawpy]

Wow, reading all those posts from students that are so misinformed about the medical field. if you are looking for great compensation and a well balanced work life, Radiation Oncology is the field to pick. see Becker's article:

10 highest-paying medical specialties - Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis

Neurosurgery is the highest-paying medical specialty, according to Doximity's 2019 Physician Employment Report.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

You'll enjoy this forum: Radiation Oncology

 

[Dr. Doctor MD]

Wow, reading all those posts from students that are so misinformed about the medical field. if you are looking for great compensation and a well balanced work life, Radiation Oncology is the field to pick. see Becker's article:

10 highest-paying medical specialties - Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis

Neurosurgery is the highest-paying medical specialty, according to Doximity's 2019 Physician Employment Report.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

Rad Onc has always had sky high salaries and they used to be even higher 10-20 years ago, even now the average established Rad Onc is doing very well. The problem is the job market and future earnings. Doesn't matter if the jobs pay 600k if you can't find one. It's the gloom and doom about the future that has turned many people away from Rad Onc. Salary and Lifestyle are/were still unbeatable, unfortunately there will likely be downward pressure on salaries in addition to a further tightening job market. There is a reason why Radiation Oncology (very recently) used to be one of the most competitive specialties in all of medicine.

 

[Frazier]

The past and future have vastly different tones.

 

[9blade]

interesting list

 

[sella.turcica]

Interesting to see that peds specialties have seen such large pay increases

 

[CidHighwind]

OR, you could pick radiology or Derm and not have to worry about getting a job once you graduate.

 

[libertyyne]

OR, you could pick radiology or Derm and not have to worry about getting a job once you graduate.

still need a fellowship with rads, plus job markets are fickle mistresses, A few years ago there was a glut of radiologists and it was difficult finding a position and now they are back in demand. Who knows what the market will look like by the time the med students today will graduate from residency.

 

[slowthai]

still need a fellowship with rads, plus job markets are fickle mistresses, A few years ago there was a glut of radiologists and it was difficult finding a position and now they are back in demand. Who knows what the market will look like by the time the med students today will graduate from residency.

Yeah, and derm residencies are proliferating like cancer, not to mention PE takeover.

 

[Deecee2DO]

You'll enjoy this forum: Radiation Oncology

lmao I am literally reading it right now and some of these guys are talking about how they didnt do as well last year because they “only made 600K” and how its “not like the early 2000s” 🤣🤣

 

[CidHighwind]

Keep in mind Radonc is where the 260s/AOA/10+ pubs people went into. They look at it from what they missed out on (Derm, GI/Cards, Radiology, optho, etc where many are making that and more where they want to live) vs what they have now where there is a lot of uncertainty. Why risk uncertainty when you have a sure thing that has a better reward? Hence the doom and gloom.

 

[BorderlineQueen]

Yeah, and derm residencies are proliferating like cancer, not to mention PE takeover.

Same phenomenon happening with EM residencies. Except I think it will affect EM more as they can only really work in an ER or Urgent Care. Derm you still have other options like IP/OP.

 

[scoopdaboop]

still need a fellowship with rads, plus job markets are fickle mistresses, A few years ago there was a glut of radiologists and it was difficult finding a position and now they are back in demand. Who knows what the market will look like by the time the med students today will graduate from residency.

no specialty is perfect, barring derm + ortho. It seems to make the big bucks, you need to spend 5-6 years anyways.

 

[9blade]

Keep in mind Radonc is where the 260s/AOA/10+ pubs people went into. They look at it from what they missed out on (Derm, GI/Cards, Radiology, optho, etc where many are making that and more where they want to live) vs what they have now where there is a lot of uncertainty. Why risk uncertainty when you have a sure thing that has a better reward? Hence the doom and gloom.

I'm willing to guess that Derm Step1 average is around 250 and they also are AOA with multiple pubs.

Same phenomenon happening with EM residencies. Except I think it will affect EM more as they can only really work in an ER or Urgent Care. Derm you still have other options like IP/OP.

what's IP/OP?

 

[CidHighwind]

no specialty is perfect, barring derm + ortho. It seems to make the big bucks, you need to spend 5-6 years anyways.

Pretty much. 5-6 years is how much time you need to spend in a residency+fellowship nowadays. Just wait till hospitalist fellowships become mandatory..

 

[managedcarefin]

I'm willing to guess that Derm Step1 average is around 250 and they also are AOA with multiple pubs.


what's IP/OP?

inpatient/outpatient

 

[Rekt]

Same phenomenon happening with EM residencies. Except I think it will affect EM more as they can only really work in an ER or Urgent Care. Derm you still have other options like IP/OP.

Yep, 100%. Also, we're getting attacked under the guise of "Surprise Billing" constantly. We've held off again just yesterday, but it's eventually going to pass. 10-40% paycut depending on your payer mix.

 

[slowthai]

Yep, 100%. Also, we're getting attacked under the guise of "Surprise Billing" constantly. We've held off again just yesterday, but it's eventually going to pass. 10-40% paycut depending on your payer mix.

Alarming.

 

[sanfran256]

Same phenomenon happening with EM residencies. Except I think it will affect EM more as they can only really work in an ER or Urgent Care. Derm you still have other options like IP/OP.

I've heard the same thing about Hospital Medicine 🙁

 

[radsisrad]

Yeah, and derm residencies are proliferating like cancer, not to mention PE takeover.

In many places in the country, the wait time to see a dermatologist is 2-3 months.

Their market is fine.

 

[deleted978973]

Pretty much. 5-6 years is how much time you need to spend in a residency+fellowship nowadays. Just wait till hospitalist fellowships become mandatory..

Why would being a hospitalist need its own fellowship...

 

[WedgeDawg]

no specialty is perfect, barring derm + ortho. It seems to make the big bucks, you need to spend 5-6 years anyways.

lmao

The vast majority of medical students would be unhappy doing either of these specialties.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Why would being a hospitalist need its own fellowship...

I think those fellowships are more for family medicine graduates who didn't have enough inpatient experience.

 

[slowthai]

In many places in the country, the wait time to see a dermatologist is 2-3 months.

Their market is fine.

I'm thinking more long term, lol. Like mentioned earlier in the thread, who can predict how the market will look like in 10 years?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Why would being a hospitalist need its own fellowship...

Peds just made it so you basically have to do a peds hospitalist fellowship to work as a hospitalist (iirc). I’m guessing that’s what they were alluding to.

 

[karayaa]

Peds just made it so you basically have to do a peds hospitalist fellowship to work as a hospitalist (iirc). I’m guessing that’s what they were alluding to.

You now have to do a peds HM fellowship to become board certified in peds hospital medicine, but whether or not BC is required to work as a hospitalist will still depend on the hospital.

HM fellowships for IM are not (will not? not sure) required, but are useful for getting into academics/leadership positions

 

[Cath Up]

Yeah, and derm residencies are proliferating like cancer, not to mention PE takeover.

The wait to see a derm is great for derms but bad for anyone else. I say they could use an increase.

 

[slowthai]

The wait to see a derm is great for derms but bad for anyone else. I say they could use an increase.

With a corresponding salary decrease.

 

[Cath Up]

With a corresponding salary decrease.

Yes

 

[radsisrad]

The wait to see a derm is great for derms but bad for anyone else. I say they could use an increase.

With the greatest respect to our colleagues on dermatology, I agree.

Specialists ought to be paid well, but income should be determined by added value; not by intentional restrictions on access to appropriate care. Not to mention the fact that someone who's got a skin problem who would otherwise prefer a physician might just be ok with seeing a midlevel if the alternative is a 6-week wait.

 

[PhillyMed777]

not by intentional restrictions on access to appropriate care. N

This is incorrect for many hospitals.
At my own very large university program and multiple others, I personally know programs that have been trying to expand derm slots only to be shut down year after year by gme.
If you actually worked with this directly youd be more aware of this as a reality.

Many of the same university programs (including mine) keep focusing on expanding surgical and hospital based procedural specialities because that expands their revenue many times over. Derm does not make the hospital much money.

The idea that we are specifically restricting spots is untrue and founded in some kind of jealousy if I had to guess, with so many programs expressing interest in growing.

Next, we should never accept a program that is subpar for training in the name of expansion. There are many possible hospitals out there that simply dont have the appropriate infrastructure to have a derm program. On the whole, physicians have such a poor grasp of derm,the last thing we need are badly trained derms out there.

 

[PhillyMed777]

In many places in the country, the wait time to see a dermatologist is 2-3 months.

This is not totally accurate.
I am a part of an extremely high volume academic medical center.
Yes the wait is 3-4 months but for Non urgent things!
We work very hard to work in anything that is more concerning as soon as possible.
This is extremely important for training. Residents cannot see a bland case load consisting of easy bread and butter. You need to see the vast array of difficult to manage cases. If the wait was nothing, the case complexity would die. My education would die. There needs to be an appropriate triage process, where complex things or urgent things (with higher learning potential) is emphasized.

Yes there are boat loads of private practices doing just bread and butter, but that's not right for training (and unique for derm because clinic could easily fill with softball bread and butter)

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to pre-med

 

[Deecee2DO]

no specialty is perfect, barring derm + ortho. It seems to make the big bucks, you need to spend 5-6 years anyways.

orthos work like dogs (anecdotal experience). Yes it pays extremely well but at the cost of lifestyle in my opinion

 

[CidHighwind]

orthos work like dogs (anecdotal experience). Yes it pays extremely well but at the cost of lifestyle in my opinion

But most orthos love their job. They only dislike the clinic days and the note taking. So IMO that’s a better job than working on SNF placement for half your inpatient list.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

orthos work like dogs (anecdotal experience). Yes it pays extremely well but at the cost of lifestyle in my opinion

Is it true, if you work as Ortho at hospital with Trauma center you get fewer calls?

 

[Deecee2DO]

Is it true, if you work as Ortho at hospital with Trauma center you get fewer calls?

Not sure but i guarantee you @OrthoTraumaMD knows

 

[deleted962973]

orthos work like dogs (anecdotal experience). Yes it pays extremely well but at the cost of lifestyle in my opinion

Just wondering why that would be, since the vast majority of orthopaedic procedures are non-emergent/elective? Is it the intensity of the surgeries themselves that makes the field difficult in terms of lifestyle?

 

[Dr. Doctor MD]

Just wondering why that would be, since the vast majority of orthopaedic procedures are non-emergent/elective? Is it the intensity of the surgeries themselves that makes the field difficult in terms of lifestyle?

I think this is a common misconception of the old generation of surgeons. Yes, Ortho residency is still brutal, but when you join a private group and can do elective scheduled surgeries only and split call with a dozen doctors, your lifestyle will be good as you want to to be. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum is Ortho Trauma, which is obviously much less amenable to lifestyle due to the nature of the work.

Bottom line: in this day and age orthopedic surgery can have as good or as bad of a lifestyle as you want to after residency.

 

[Cornfed101]

I think this is a common misconception of the old generation of surgeons. Yes, Ortho residency is still brutal, but when you join a private group and can do elective scheduled surgeries only and split call with a dozen doctors, your lifestyle will be good as you want to to be. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum is Ortho Trauma, which is obviously much less amenable to lifestyle due to the nature of the work.

Bottom line: in this day and age orthopedic surgery can have as good or as bad of a lifestyle as you want to after residency.

Also, I think ortho attracts people that enjoy a little craziness. I shadowed an orthopedic spine surgeon that would take more trauma call than everyone else because it was his "hobby"

 

[deleted688779]

Also, I think ortho attracts people that enjoy a little craziness. I shadowed an orthopedic spine surgeon that would take more trauma call than everyone else because it was his "hobby"

Idk but the ortho I shadowed had this weird grin and chuckle as this kid was screaming during a procedure

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Not sure but i guarantee you @OrthoTraumaMD knows

Lol yes I do know. It really depends on the practice. A trauma center is usually an academic place with more people to share call. Additionally, the trauma doctors generally take more call than others, so if you are not a trauma surgeon, you generally don’t have to deal with stuff. You just get it through the night if you are on call, and put it into the trauma room for us the next day.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Lol yes I do know. It really depends on the practice. A trauma center is usually an academic place with more people to share call. Additionally, the trauma doctors generally take more call than others, so if you are not a trauma surgeon, you generally don’t have to deal with stuff. You just get it through the night if you are on call, and put it into the trauma room for us the next day.

That's what my son said 🙂 He shadowed Trauma surgeons recently (and Orthos prior to that).

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

That's what my son said He shadowed Trauma surgeons recently (and Orthos prior to that).

By trauma surgeon I mean ortho trauma, such as myself. I’m speaking specifically about orthopaedic call. Generally, “trauma surgeon” is a term used for a general surgeon who does trauma, but I was referring to it in the ortho sense because I was asked specifically about orthopaedic trauma which is my specialty. All orthopaedic trauma surgeons are orthopaedic surgeons as well.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Sorry double posted in error

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I think this is a common misconception of the old generation of surgeons. Yes, Ortho residency is still brutal, but when you join a private group and can do elective scheduled surgeries only and split call with a dozen doctors, your lifestyle will be good as you want to to be. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum is Ortho Trauma, which is obviously much less amenable to lifestyle due to the nature of the work.

Bottom line: in this day and age orthopedic surgery can have as good or as bad of a lifestyle as you want to after residency.

This. Ortho is very much a work hard, play hard field. It attracts a lot of blue collar people who just like working a lot. The kind of people who go, “why wouldn’t I work 80 hours and make 800k?”

It definitely affords the ability to have a good lifestyle if you want it to, most people in ortho just choose not to.