cards salaries

[chatstew]

I am a PGY1 who thoroughly enjoyed his CCU rotation ( before entering residency I wanted to be an endo). So I am wondering whether I shd do year of research and do cards

Does anyone have any concrete info on starting salaries for interventional vs noninvasive cards and average salaries ( did look up info on allied physicians: but its too good to be reliable !).

Thanks

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[JoBlo]

I've heard of one case in which a prominent interventional cardiologist grosses over 5million per year (and brings in 35 million in business to his group).

But I'm sure that that is the rarest of exceptions

 

[gwen]

i bet he regrets not having done radiology.

 

[chatstew]

my thoughts that occured as I typed my response are in brackets.

To be honest there are times when I regret not having done radiology ( ).
And I'd be lying if I said that radiology is not at the back of my mind ( I am confused..........) I wish I could chuck this residency and join a fresh residency in rads ( Gosh.............. I am really confused!! ) What about doing a second residency ( I shd be sent to an asylum)
But can I imagine myself sitting in a dark room doing reads whole day and not having my own patients to feed my "God Complex" ??? ( reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy mega-confused)

When I looked at the salaries of cards people and compared them with those of rads profs at my medical school, I was quite stumped to note that on average a cards asst. prof was making ~70, 000 dollars less than rads Asst prof. phew........... I have a 200, 000 debt.

No wonder a medicine attending at my residency program routinely tells her medical students " If you dont want to do anything with your life, but make a lot of money do radiology". I wish I could fit this description ( So stop cribbing and be an internist bitch!)

Being an AOA and a stellar applicant I chose internal medicine. And after just 9 months of internship it pains my heart to note that my classmates who were "wise" enough to do rads will make much more and have more fun / Simply put : Rads Rules

I guess its only my love for internal medicine that speaks differently.. I wish my "love" could pay me more.

If I could rank clinical branches in terms of lifestyle and money it wd be :
derm>> opthal, ENT> uro - Med students pay attention!!!

Thanks so much for your inputs.

 

[Scarlet_Fire]

my thoughts that occured as I typed my response are in brackets.

To be honest there are times when I regret not having done radiology ( ).
And I'd be lying if I said that radiology is not at the back of my mind ( I am confused..........) I wish I could chuck this residency and join a fresh residency in rads ( Gosh.............. I am really confused!! ) What about doing a second residency ( I shd be sent to an asylum)
But can I imagine myself sitting in a dark room doing reads whole day and not having my own patients to feed my "God Complex" ??? ( reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy mega-confused)

When I looked at the salaries of cards people and compared them with those of rads profs at my medical school, I was quite stumped to note that on average a cards asst. prof was making ~70, 000 dollars less than rads Asst prof. phew........... I have a 200, 000 debt.

No wonder a medicine attending at my residency program routinely tells her medical students " If you dont want to do anything with your life, but make a lot of money do radiology". I wish I could fit this description ( So stop cribbing and be an internist bitch!)

Being an AOA and a stellar applicant I chose internal medicine. And after just 9 months of internship it pains my heart to note that my classmates who were "wise" enough to do rads will make much more and have more fun / Simply put : Rads Rules

I guess its only my love for internal medicine that speaks differently.. I wish my "love" could pay me more.

If I could rank clinical branches in terms of lifestyle and money it wd be :
derm>> opthal, ENT> uro - Med students pay attention!!!

Thanks so much for your inputs.

Based on proposed changes in Medicare reimbursement, those practicing in specialties which require 'evaluation and management' (e.g. internists, more classically 'cerebral' subspecialists of medicine) are slated for steady increases in reimbursement. Specialties such as radiology, procedure-based medicine specialties (interventional cardiology, GI) etc are slated for pay cuts. Based on the Medicare cuts proposal, radiologists would see up to a 50% pay cut over 10 years. This all was very well outlined in a recent issue of American Medical News (published by the AMA).

Of course, 'fee for service' types of specialties such as dermatology may not be affected quite as dramatically.

 

[snips44]

Rads sucks. Please forgive my eloquence.

 

[hans19]

Rads sucks. Please forgive my eloquence.

Whats to forgive, when you never had any to begin with?

 

[snips44]

did i just get pwnt?

 

[Hudson]

my thoughts that occured as I typed my response are in brackets.

To be honest there are times when I regret not having done radiology ( ).
And I'd be lying if I said that radiology is not at the back of my mind ( I am confused..........) I wish I could chuck this residency and join a fresh residency in rads ( Gosh.............. I am really confused!! ) What about doing a second residency ( I shd be sent to an asylum)
But can I imagine myself sitting in a dark room doing reads whole day and not having my own patients to feed my "God Complex" ??? ( reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy mega-confused)

When I looked at the salaries of cards people and compared them with those of rads profs at my medical school, I was quite stumped to note that on average a cards asst. prof was making ~70, 000 dollars less than rads Asst prof. phew........... I have a 200, 000 debt.

No wonder a medicine attending at my residency program routinely tells her medical students " If you dont want to do anything with your life, but make a lot of money do radiology". I wish I could fit this description ( So stop cribbing and be an internist bitch!)

Being an AOA and a stellar applicant I chose internal medicine. And after just 9 months of internship it pains my heart to note that my classmates who were "wise" enough to do rads will make much more and have more fun / Simply put : Rads Rules

I guess its only my love for internal medicine that speaks differently.. I wish my "love" could pay me more.

If I could rank clinical branches in terms of lifestyle and money it wd be :
derm>> opthal, ENT> uro - Med students pay attention!!!

Thanks so much for your inputs.

Below is a link with some concrete salary info for everyone to see. It includes all specialties.

Cardiology is a fantastic field. Yes, you must go through 3 years of IM first, and fellowship can be grueling, but if you truly enjoy the field and are in it for the right reasons then the training really is not bad. You seem to be complaining a lot about your intern year. If you do not like patients enough to do a clinical specialty then do everyone a favor, most importantly your patients, and get out of IM and enter a Radiology residency. IM, as a resident, is much more tolerable than as an intern. Keep in mind that even if you had matched straight into rads you would still be doing an intern year, which you are currently complaining about. Both specialties will reimburse you handsomely. You will do poor in either specialty if you do not truly enjoy it. Radiology residency may not be as time consuming as IM from a "being in the hospital" perspective, but you must read an exorbant amount. If you do not enjoy this you will have a poor knowledge base and will be a poor radiologist. Bottom line is the grasss is always greener on the otherside, do what you like most, and don't base your decsion on your intern year, it is not an accurate reflection of PP, talk to Upper level radiology residents and some Cardiology fellows, and don't complain.

http://www.merritthawkins.com/compensation_surveys.cfm

 

[changeofheart77]

http://www.merritthawkins.com/compensation_surveys.cfm[/QUOTE]

very nice link

 

[TransFatsRgood]

Rads sucks. Please forgive my eloquence.

.

 

[gwen]

academic cards: $200-300K (slightly higher if you're acad. interventional). but you have to remember that the hospital covers everything for you...you have no overhead office fees, no ancillary staff to pay, malpractice insurance is also taken care of.

private cards: seriously, the world is your oyster...anywhere up from 300K to a million, but you have to work for it. all the rads trolls would drool over this, so i won't even bother writing more.

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

my thoughts that occured as I typed my response are in brackets.

To be honest there are times when I regret not having done radiology ( ).
And I'd be lying if I said that radiology is not at the back of my mind ( I am confused..........) I wish I could chuck this residency and join a fresh residency in rads ( Gosh.............. I am really confused!! ) What about doing a second residency ( I shd be sent to an asylum)
But can I imagine myself sitting in a dark room doing reads whole day and not having my own patients to feed my "God Complex" ??? ( reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy mega-confused)

When I looked at the salaries of cards people and compared them with those of rads profs at my medical school, I was quite stumped to note that on average a cards asst. prof was making ~70, 000 dollars less than rads Asst prof. phew........... I have a 200, 000 debt.

No wonder a medicine attending at my residency program routinely tells her medical students " If you dont want to do anything with your life, but make a lot of money do radiology". I wish I could fit this description ( So stop cribbing and be an internist bitch!)

Being an AOA and a stellar applicant I chose internal medicine. And after just 9 months of internship it pains my heart to note that my classmates who were "wise" enough to do rads will make much more and have more fun / Simply put : Rads Rules

I guess its only my love for internal medicine that speaks differently.. I wish my "love" could pay me more.

If I could rank clinical branches in terms of lifestyle and money it wd be :
derm>> opthal, ENT> uro - Med students pay attention!!!

Thanks so much for your inputs.

If you're just after big bucks, I would definitley go for cards over rads. The reimbursement in rad will most certainly go down in the next 5-10 years. If you do not actually enjoy the work and are only in it for the money, you will be sorely disappointed. If having your own patients is an important thing for you, you will be miserable in rads.

 

[Taurus]

In light of the recent studies on stenting, I wonder how much of an impact this will have on card salaries. The lesson is go into a field because you really like it not because of the money. Anything can happen. I always thought that interventional cards were one miracle pill away from being in big trouble.

 

[gwen]

dude, the "new" stenting news isn't really something we didn't know. stents will still be needed in urgent settings for AMIs, etc. its the schdeduled stuff that might be affected, and honestly, most people want something "done" rather than taking pills. Int. cards will be just fine.

 

[Taurus]

honestly, most people want something "done" rather than taking pills. Int. cards will be just fine.

Sure. That's if the insurance companies play along. If the insurance companies balk and you can bet they will begin to, how many people are gonna cough up $40k before at least trying meds?

 

[Firebird]

I think that a diagnostic cardiologist will be harder hit than an interventional over the next 5-10 years. They will continue to improve stenting technology for years to come. At the same time, the spiral CTs will get higher resolution. The 64 slice is the in vogue thing now, sort of, and there is supposedly some data that suggests it could be used in place of catheterization. This will probably not replace caths, though. But as GE et al continue working on the 240 slice helical CT, resolution will get to the point that the difference in cathing and CT angiogram will not be worth the risk associated with shoving a wire in someone's heart.

Thoughts on this from someone who knows more than me?

 

[vök]

removed

 

[phllystyl]

I think that a diagnostic cardiologist will be harder hit than an interventional over the next 5-10 years. They will continue to improve stenting technology for years to come. At the same time, the spiral CTs will get higher resolution. The 64 slice is the in vogue thing now, sort of, and there is supposedly some data that suggests it could be used in place of catheterization. This will probably not replace caths, though. But as GE et al continue working on the 240 slice helical CT, resolution will get to the point that the difference in cathing and CT angiogram will not be worth the risk associated with shoving a wire in someone's heart.

Thoughts on this from someone who knows more than me?

At my program, the majority of cardiac imaging (Cardiac CT, MRI, echo) is read by cardiologists, not radiologists.

 

[tum]

At my program, the majority of cardiac imaging (Cardiac CT, MRI, echo) is read by cardiologists, not radiologists.

likewise. patient population to take with you.

 

[Firebird]

But is CT angiogram interpretation as well compensated as performing a procedure like cardiac cath?

 

[tum]

But is CT angiogram interpretation as well compensated as performing a procedure like cardiac cath?

dunno. but you can definitely do more of them in a day.

 

[tibor75]

But is CT angiogram interpretation as well compensated as performing a procedure like cardiac cath?

I doubt it. Definitely not if you're doing an intervention along w/ the diagnostic cath.

 

[DRLEWISDO]

I doubt it. Definitely not if you're doing an intervention along w/ the diagnostic cath.

Compenation for reading a CT angiogram is NOT even reimburseable yet?

When the medicare ICD codes become available, it will pay probably $350.00. It is NOT going to be a money maker like everyone thinks. It will cut down on the normal coronary angiograms, but it will also detect alot of subclinical coronary artery disease. It will unfortunately be another layer of testing "on the way to the cath lab"...***** ER doctors will be ordering the "triple rule out" scan like you can't imagine.

 

[Cirrus83]

Salaries tend to vary pretty greatly by region, but the allied physicians survey actually gives a pretty decent average most of the time (although you'll find the max isn't really what the max is for most specialties).

Anyways to the guy who regrets not doing rads...why? It doesn't sound at all like you would enjoy Rads, so don't regret not getting yourself into a specialty you'll hate doing for the rest of your life, and whose salary isn't really even that much higher, and which may be cut anyway (or heck, outsourced).

Man, I wish the NYC metro area had better pay for most specialties, although it would seem that if you're really good at running a private practice you can have a heck of a lot of patients. On the flip side, it would seem that most average salaries suck in NYC since every doctor decides they want to live here.