$45K Starting Salary for VA Neuroradiologist!?

[PublicHealth]

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/ge...&sort=rv&FedEmp=N&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[(nicedream)]

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/ge...&sort=rv&FedEmp=N&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y

Yeah, that's pretty high. My friend's a radiologist and he only makes like 30k.

 

[Sinnman]

So tell me again how great socialized medicine will be for us.

 

[tiene dolor?]

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/ge...&sort=rv&FedEmp=N&vw=d&brd=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y

sounds reasonable to me.

 

[skypilot]

They won't even settle for a general radiologist. The candidate also has to have a fellowship in Neuroradiology. I wonder why this vacancy hasn't been filled?

 

[LoneSEAL]

They won't even settle for a general radiologist. The candidate also has to have a fellowship in Neuroradiology. I wonder why this vacancy hasn't been filled?

yeah, to add insult to injury, the job seeker also needs to be able to do the " Full spectrum of Neuro-interventional procedures, including intra-cerebral angiography, myelography and other spinal Neuro-interventional procedures as well as basic neuro-interventional procedures"

What a joke. They are looking for a frickin interventionalist too. LOL.

I guess we get a glimpse of the future of medicine, for ALL specialties, not just radiology: demand more, pay less.

 

[f_w]

VA pay is poor, but not that poor. The 45k get into this ad because it is written by some lowly HR worker ant who has no clue of what he is actually recruiting for. He looks into some goverment table under the column 'physician', multiplies it with some regional adjustment factor and puts it into the ad. The 45k is either for resident positions or possibly for the type of GPs that used to work at VAs in the past. In reality, the VA pays something like $110k for a 4 day work-week. (still good luck finding a NeuroIR for that kind of money)

 

[Atlas]

So tell me again how great socialized medicine will be for us.

Second that!

 

[PublicHealth]

In reality, the VA pays something like $110k for a 4 day work-week. (still good luck finding a NeuroIR for that kind of money)

Oddly, physicians are compensated rather poorly in the VA, but clinical psychologists are typically hired at the GS-13 level ($80-110K range). This is significantly more than what psychologists make in other hospitals, which is usually in the $55-70K range. Considering that nearly all psychologists have minimal to no educational debt, this is not a bad gig.

 

[radonc]

have you ever worked in a VA? they dont do jack there...its probably one of the easiest jobs to do as a physician in any field...

 

[f_w]

It is goverment at work. They look at your training and throw you into a payscale. For them it doesn't make a difference whether you went to grad school or medschool. The market doesn't enter into their equation (except over the mechanism of 'specialty pay')

 

[blocks]

That is a misprint....they are actually offering 45 million.

 

[southerndoc]

That is a misprint....they are actually offering 45 million.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Why didn't I choose rads instead?

 

[pikachu]

it's because the rewards of working with the patient population at the VA far outweigh any such tiny discrepancy in your salary.

 

[1SwtWrld]

VA pay is poor, but that not poor. The 45k get into this ad because it is written by some lowly HR worker ant who has no clue of what he is actually recruiting for. He looks into some goverment table under the column 'physician', multiplies it with some regional adjustment factor and puts it into the ad. The 45k is either for resident positions or possibly for the type of GPs that used to work at VAs in the past. In reality, the VA pays something like $110k for a 4 day work-week. (still good luck finding a NeuroIR for that kind of money)

Ya.....somethings wrong with this ad. My dad is a Physical Therapist at a VA and gets paid around 80K with excellent benefits. Im positive most of the physicians make more than him.

 

[f_w]

Im positive most of the physicians make more than him.

Somewhat more. As I mentioned, VA docs in radiology make between 110k and 180k depending on where they are located, whether they work 5/8 or 8/8 and whether they receive 'chief grade' pay. Also, seniority plays into federal goverment salaries. You dad in all likelihood has plenty of service years (they count military service and work for other federal agencies).

 

[MacGyver]

Somewhat more. As I mentioned, VA docs in radiology make between 110k and 180k depending on where they are located, whether they work 5/8 or 8/8 and whether they receive 'chief grade' pay. Also, seniority plays into federal goverment salaries. You dad in all likelihood has plenty of service years (they count military service and work for other federal agencies).

So that means not a single radiologist works at the VA, correct? Who would be stupid enough to take a 200% paycut to work at the VA when you can easily clear 300k in private practice?

 

[1SwtWrld]

So that means not a single radiologist works at the VA, correct? Who would be stupid enough to take a 200% paycut to work at the VA when you can easily clear 300k in private practice?

It can be very low stress......A primary care doc I know at the VA works 4 days a week seeing only 8-10 patients a day, no malpractice worries either. Thats a far cry from the busy life of a doc in the community. They also offer guaranteed retirement and other great government benefits, but im sure it isnt anything that couldnt be compensated for with 2-3x the salary. I guess its just a personal choice lifestyle/security vs. $$$$$.

 

[toofache32]

Are we talking about Virginia or old gomers?

 

[f_w]

So that means not a single radiologist works at the VA, correct? Who would be stupid enough to take a 200% paycut to work at the VA when you can easily clear 300k in private practice?

Oh, there are plenty of radiologists at the VA. Right now they are recruiting for about 15 positions nationwide, but most VAs have a decent staffing level.

You get paid for 40 hours/week, and this is all you are expected to show up for. Many VAs are hooked up to residency programs which helps to keep night and weekend call at a minimum (also, generally the acuity of VA patients is lower further reducing your call workload).

There are just not too many private practice gigs that allow you to work in as sedate of an environment as your typical VA. If you work part time for a private practice (which would be the equivalent of a full VA job), you are typically not a partner and therefore your income is also limited. Other factors reducing the financial gap between a VA and lets say an academic radiology or part-time private practice position are:
- that you don't have to worry about building up a need for 'tail insurance'. The federal goverment indemnifies you for your VA work, so you can potentially take a year off without having to worry about a 50k malpractice bill.
- you get some federal retirement benefits which are on top of your salary.

Still, it is not my cup of tea. But there are enough older guys who are financially secure enough to afford a VA gig.

(Someone mentioned it in jest, but I have experienced dealing with the VA patient population as indeed more fulfilling than the normal university hospital crowd.)

 

[freshity]

i agree the va patient population is a true pleasure, but i don't think many radiologists would be able to comment either way on that (non-interventionalists, that is). perhaps they just enjoy them from a well-described distance. indirect contact, that is.

 

[f_w]

but i don't think many radiologists would be able to comment either way on that

Still plenty of GI work at most VAs, plenty of ultrasounds. Of course you interact less with patients in DR than in primary care for example, but the times you do deal with them they are usually interesting.

 

[Yoyomama88]

What is the avg salary for a neuroradiologist? Do they make significantly more than a general radiologist?

 

[colbgw02]

What is the avg salary for a neuroradiologist? Do they make significantly more than a general radiologist?

For people starting out, it's hard to say, mostly because finding a job right now as a general radiologist is exceedingly difficult.

Most of you have very little idea how VA salaries for physicians work. In reality, the lowest salary (which includes base pay and local pay supplement) any VA radiologist is getting is around $200K, and that's probably for a relatively small, low-acuity location. I mean, I'm sure there's an exception to prove the rule, but the point is that these website job descriptions are highly inaccurate. Bonus money, which doesn't enter the retirement calculus, often pushes that number higher. Fellowship-trained radiologists at university-associated VAs, particularly if they have some experience, are getting in the high $200Ks or close to $300K, also before bonus money.

 

[deleted525628]

You invoke the necronomicon to ask a mundane question like this?!?!

 

[thesauce]

It you post a new thread, they say "do a search" and if you do a search and post in an existing thread, they chastise you for necrobumping

 

[Winged Scapula]

It you post a new thread, they say "do a search" and if you do a search and post in an existing thread, they chastise you for necrobumping

The point of the admonition to "do a search" is that you will generally find our answer and not actually have to post at all.

 

[thesauce]

The point of the admonition to "do a search" is that you will generally find our answer and not actually have to post at all.

I'll give you that although in cases like these the answer may have changed significantly since the last thread was created (I don't know...I didn't search

 

[DermViser]

What is the avg salary for a neuroradiologist? Do they make significantly more than a general radiologist?

You know this thread was started NINE years ago right? Hope your question was worth it.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I'll give you that although in cases like these the answer may have changed significantly since the last thread was created (I don't know...I didn't search

Absolutely. The caveat to "do a search" is if there has been a significant amount of time since the last thread and the answer to your question may change over time, then it's fair to ask again or bump an old thread.