Desirable location & Specialty

[jd989898]

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I have seen people on these forums use the term "desirable locations" and how some specialties make it harder to get a job in these locations. I know that some people prefer urban or rural areas, but isn't this subjective? Does it have to do with physician compensation by region? I'd like to know which locations are generally considered desirable, and why. And in which specialty(ies) is it easiest to get a job in these locations?

 

[bashwell]

I'd say places like most of Southern California (at least along the coast, from LA to SD), the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, NYC, Boston, DC, Chicago, etc. Lots more places.

I don't know but I've heard you can get a job in almost any specialty in desirable areas, but that you will have to make sacrifices (e.g., money, "lifestyle"), etc.

 

[Taddy Mason]

...but isn't this subjective?

There's your answer.

 

[Doctor-S]

I have seen people on these forums use the term "desirable locations" and how some specialties make it harder to get a job in these locations. I know that some people prefer urban or rural areas, but isn't this subjective? Does it have to do with physician compensation by region? I'd like to know which locations are generally considered desirable, and why. And in which specialty(ies) is it easiest to get a job in these locations?

I agree: this is subjective, as noted by @Walter Lance above.

Some of my classmates wanted to be within driving distance of their immediate relatives. So, for them, it was absolutely "desirable" to be geographically-convenient to their relatives. For instance, after completing a 4-year residency on the East Coast, one of my friends moved to Texas, and established a medical practice in Texas because she wanted to be less than 2-hours-driving-time away from her parents, sister, and brother, who had also moved to Texas from the West Coast. Some of my other classmates followed paths to lucrative medical careers and moved to "financially-desirable" locations (e.g., affluent cities), where their specialty is in high demand (e.g., dermatology, plastics, radiology, orthopedics). Other classmates wanted to live/work in areas with "desirable" weather and abundant opportunities for year-round outdoor recreation (e.g., California, Hawaii). You get the idea: it's often subjective, and based on your own professional goals, interests, skills, opportunities, etc.

 

[JamaicanHerb]

Disregarding specialty and hospitals, why is DC desirable?

 

[ERDOC555]

I have seen people on these forums use the term "desirable locations" and how some specialties make it harder to get a job in these locations. I know that some people prefer urban or rural areas, but isn't this subjective? Does it have to do with physician compensation by region? I'd like to know which locations are generally considered desirable, and why. And in which specialty(ies) is it easiest to get a job in these locations?

On SDN desirable almost always refers to living in a big city. Think NY, Boston, SF. (Not my personal definition, but that seems to be the majority opinion)

As mentioned earlier nearly any doctor can find a job in any city, but the bigger and more popular the city, the greater the pay cut. Its basic supply and demand. There are more doctors than necessary who want to work in big cities so the wages stay low, however once you get a few hours away from these gigantic cities you have much more negotiating power because there are fewer doctors and you can demand a much higher salary.

 

[Mad Jack]

Disregarding specialty and hospitals, why is DC desirable?

Dat beltway power

 

[benjamin94559]

Disregarding specialty and hospitals, why is DC desirable?

DC is a pretty swell city if you're young IMO and if you're looking for some place to settle down and have kids and all of that the suburbs outside of DC have VERY good public schools and what have you

 

[Levo]

Everyone will have personal factors that dictate what area is most desirable for them. All other things being equal, however, would you rather live in a city that's a balmy 70 degrees year round with beautiful beaches, mountains, awesome restaurants, and music venues, or in a town in the middle of a million square miles of corn fields that's minus 20 degrees in the winter, and have one movie theater and an Applebee's for entertainment? There ya go.

Talking to a few graduating residents/fellows on the job hunt, it's generally pretty doable to get a job as a family medicine doctor, emergency medicine doctor, hospitalist, intensivist, or general cardiologist in "desirable locations." On the other hand, I've heard of cardiothoracic surgeons and neurosurgeons moving to the middle of nowhere for jobs. Nephrology is supposed to be really bad as well. The desirability of a location and how much you get paid there are often inversely related. The less doctors want to practice somewhere, the more hospitals are willing to pay to recruit them.

 

[Manual Disimpaction]

Can't wait to move somewhere "undesirable" with a beach and get that recruitment type salary

 

[bashwell]

Can't wait to move somewhere "undesirable" with a beach and get that recruitment type salary

Gulf coast?

 

[SurfingDoctor]

In the end, you will probably end up where you can find a job. Considering job markets go through fluxes (not to mention other life events) it is relatively impractical to be planning where you will end up practicing as a physician a decade later. If you would have asked me in medical school where I would have ended up or where I thought I would have gone, I would have given a completely different answer where I am currently... and that's not a bad thing. Alternative, if I ask myself where I plan to be in the next 10 years, I wouldn't be surprised if something changes in the next 10 years to cause a deviation from that plan.

 

[Manual Disimpaction]

Gulf coast?

Haha actually yes

 

[NWwildcat2013]

Disregarding specialty and hospitals, why is DC desirable?

Beautiful cosmopolitan city with a great transportation system, nice outlying areas, tons of history, world-class museums and monuments (often for free).

The only things not to like are the cost of living and extremes in temperature.

Have you ever been?

 

[Donald Juan]

What's desirable to the individual is subjective, yes. But what areas are desirable to the population is not. This works out good when you desire to go to areas others don't.