Bascom Palmer Fellow Salary

[Wedgebuster]

I am trying to decide the viability of different fellowships. I wish salary was not an issue, but with children to support it definitely is for me. I can not train at a low-paying fellowship.

Bascom Palmer is one of the only places that does not publically list their fellow salary. All they say is that " Salary and benefits will be commensurate with the other fellowships offered throughout the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute." However, the salary is not listed for any fellowship.

Can someone with knowledge/experience help me here? Does BPEI pay fellows based on the PGY scale, or is salary significantly less?

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[Apple99]

I think they pay around $40K. It is florida so cost of living is lower but not that much lol.

 

[DrZeke]

It is not The panhandle. It's Miami. Cost of living is not San Francisco, but it's more than a small town or small city. My friends and I paid between 1000 and 1500 for 1 bedroom by the hospitals in nice buildings

If they follow the pgy salaries it's in the 50s-60s.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Its 40, they're not on PGY scale.

 

[DrZeke]

40 is pretty rough living there with a family

 

[eyeguy85]

BPEI pays ~$42k for fellows but you can make extra $$$ taking overnight call in the ED. I know of a fellow there who made upwards of $25k taking call shifts.

 

[DrZeke]

Are most fellowship salaries this bad?

 

[100D]

Most fellowships are not PGY based, so you will usually take a pay cut.

There are sometimes mechanisms like above to make extra cash, in addition to awards with stipends like the Heed fellowship etc.

 

[backrow]

Are most fellowship salaries this bad?

Some are, some aren't.

Some pay PGY scale and some that should don't. It's always interesting when residents stay on at the same place and all the sudden take a 15 thousand dollar pay cut....ouch.

 

[DrZeke]

Yes. Ouch. I'm old. I'm not sure I can handle this lol. I guess I'm lucky I'm in a committed relationship.

 

[TheLesPaul]

Yes. Ouch. I'm old. I'm not sure I can handle this lol. I guess I'm lucky I'm in a committed relationship.

does anyone know how the california places are? UCSF, UCLA, UCI?

 

[MstaKing10]

It's important to keep in mind that a good fellowship may help you land a better job once done. This may add up to better quality of life after training long term in terms of both location and salary. Try not to be penny wise pound foolish in this regard.

 

[dantt]

On the flip side. It's also important to note the quality of the fellowship is independent of the salary. Don't let anybody try to convince you they're inversely related.

 

[DrZeke]

I understand. I will go to the best place that I can that fits my needs the most regardless of the pay cut.

 

[LightBox]

does anyone know how the california places are? UCSF, UCLA, UCI?

Just a few years ago, places like UCI and UCSD paid fellows a whopping 35-37k. I'm sure living on that in those locales is a lot of fun!

 

[Slide]

In my humble opinion,
A good fellowship with a low salary can help with job placement in the future, but you also have to weigh how much it will affect you and your family. For one year fellowships, it may not be bad, but it can be financially and emotionally draining for a family. It's not really the salary itself either, it's the amount of time and work given for how much you're being paid. Your fellowship training is important to be a well-trained surgeon and for your pick in location but being a good businessman is more important for income.

To me, if a fellowship's pay is so low that it could lead to major conflicts and suffering in your family, you have to decide if putting your family through that is worth it long term.

 

[VikingFavre]

BPEI is 40k, which is not dissimilar to other fellowships. NYEEI was in a similar range but they provided subsidized housing. Columbia was like 58k but not subsidized housing. Wills I've heard is in the 40k range.

You can moonlight at most of these places I think and most fellows do from what I gather.