Ccm

[maude eh]

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Are there opportunities outside of the academic sector for anesthesiologists to be full time SICU docs?

 

[bullard]

Yes, but these opportunities involve huge paycuts (ICU doesn't pay like the OR), so nobody does it.

I've come across some docs that do both OR and ICU without enormous paycuts, but they are _rare_ birds.

Are there opportunities outside of the academic sector for anesthesiologists to be full time SICU docs?

 

[bullard]

One could also combine OR work with eICU work (see www.visicu.com), theoretically. Don't know anybody personally who does that.

 

[Carm]

It is true about salaries right now. This is why there are no takers for CC fellowship slots. You never know about the future however. There is a lot of data that show better outcomes with a closed unit. Many surgeons (hospital cash cows) are getting very comfortable with an expert (full time critical care doc in closed unit) managing their patients. If this trend catches on there may be an increased demand for SICU attendings. Just like eveything else, if there is a demand, there is cash to be made.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to claim that monetarily this is definitely the way to go, but who knows in the future. One of our CA-3's is doing CC fellowship next year and he threw out some obscene number like 23 slots out of 200 filled early in the game. I can't verify this beyond word of mouth, but interesting.

 

[jetproppilot]

It is true about salaries right now. This is why there are no takers for CC fellowship slots. You never know about the future however. There is a lot of data that show better outcomes with a closed unit. Many surgeons (hospital cash cows) are getting very comfortable with an expert (full time critical care doc in closed unit) managing their patients. If this trend catches on there may be an increased demand for SICU attendings. Just like eveything else, if there is a demand, there is cash to be made.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to claim that monetarily this is definitely the way to go, but who knows in the future. One of our CA-3's is doing CC fellowship next year and he threw out some obscene number like 23 slots out of 200 filled early in the game. I can't verify this beyond word of mouth, but interesting.

Nice post that I happen to agree with, which will leave MilMD sittin' pretty.

Current day in areas that have high medicare ratios (read:low reimbursement) hospitals are augmenting anesthesia groups with large amounts of cash in order to maintain a well liked/stable/workhorse anesthesia group. They know cash is the determining factor, and if you put-cash-out, they'll come.

I think that'll happen in ICUs too.

Business savvy hospitals are willing to lose money in one arena (i.e. anesthesiologist salaries) in order to more-then-make-up-their-loss in other arenas (attracting surgeons who bring patients to said hospital where said patients occupy hospital beds post-op, utilize laboratory for testing, profit on medicines/invasive&noninvasive studies/family members who eat at cafeteria etc etc

 

[bullard]

Oh yeah, didn't mean to imply ICU will always be a bad deal.

 

[toughlife]

Nice post that I happen to agree with, which will leave MilMD sittin' pretty.

Current day in areas that have high medicare ratios (read:low reimbursement) hospitals are augmenting anesthesia groups with large amounts of cash in order to maintain a well liked/stable/workhorse anesthesia group. They know cash is the determining factor, and if you put-cash-out, they'll come.

I think that'll happen in ICUs too.

Business savvy hospitals are willing to lose money in one arena (i.e. anesthesiologist salaries) in order to more-then-make-up-their-loss in other arenas (attracting surgeons who bring patients to said hospital where said patients occupy hospital beds post-op, utilize laboratory for testing, profit on medicines/invasive&noninvasive studies/family members who eat at cafeteria etc etc

Looks like it may be worthwhile to get that CCM fellowship under my belt and wait for the tide to turn.