Emergency Medicine job opportunities in ruralish places

[Maybedoc1]

Recent college grad here, who is seriously considering med school, with a strong interest in emergency medicine. I’ve heard a number of people here say that the job prospects for EM are great. They could quit their job on Monday and have another one by Friday. How true is this in more ruralish areas? I would do med school/residency wherever I could, but I would prefer to live in a more ruralish location afterwards. I grew up in Vermont (right outside of Burlington) and would love to live there or somewhere like it. States like Colorado, Oregon, Washington, maybe Montana, Utah, Wyoming, etc. I don’t really want to live in a big city or a suburb of one. I also don’t want to live in the absolute middle of nowhere (I do love the mix of the Burlington area to be honest, rural, but not too much)

I love skiing, hiking, mountain biking and other naturey stuff, however I don’t want to have to get on an airplane to do these things. I don’t care how great certain states are for doctors. I want to love where I am outside of work.

What are the prospects in places like this? Is employment easy here or are the 1000’s of job opportunities limited to big population centers?

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[Birdstrike]

Recent college grad here, who is seriously considering med school, with a strong interest in emergency medicine. I’ve heard a number of people here say that the job prospects for EM are great. They could quit their job on Monday and have another one by Friday. How true is this in more ruralish areas?

The more rural you get, the more true it is.

 

[deleted859535]

For at least the foreseeable future, I wouldn't worry about getting a rural job if that's what you want. Making the decision to go to med school and stick with EM, should you so choose, is going to be the bigger step.

 

[mega_colon]

Ill caveat that rural mountain towns aren't the same as rural Midwest towns. Rural mountain towns don't seem to pay as well since the stereotypical EM doc loves mountain towns.

 

[shoal007]

Ill caveat that rural mountain towns aren't the same as rural Midwest towns. Rural mountain towns don't seem to pay as well since the stereotypical EM doc loves mountain towns.

It's g damn true unfortunately

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[Maybedoc1]

For at least the foreseeable future, I wouldn't worry about getting a rural job if that's what you want. Making the decision to go to med school and stick with EM, should you so choose, is going to be the bigger step.

I agree, I just want to get all the info I can before making my decision. It would be a special type of terrible to work my a** off for 7 years only to find out “hey you can’t live in any of the places you want to, but there are SO many opportunities in Newark!”

 

[Maybedoc1]

Ill caveat that rural mountain towns aren't the same as rural Midwest towns. Rural mountain towns don't seem to pay as well since the stereotypical EM doc loves mountain towns.

How substantial is the difference? I’m sure it varies heavily, but do you have any ballpark figures? I’m current making around $14-15 an hour with tips (one of my highest paying jobs evar!) so even doubling that would seem astounding

 

[Maybedoc1]

I would first get into a US medical school.

Eh, minor step in the process right?

 

[InternistDO]

The pay difference isn't enough that it should affect your decision to go to medical school.

You can google 'emergency physician jobs' if you really want to get an idea, but getting into school is probably a good first step.

 

[hundreddaysoff]

How substantial is the difference? I’m sure it varies heavily, but do you have any ballpark figures? I’m current making around $14-15 an hour with tips (one of my highest paying jobs evar!) so even doubling that would seem astounding

Perhaps $250/h vs $150/h, depending on how desperate the Midwestern town is. The numbers will be completely different in 7 years but the differential will probably remain due to those differences in demand... barring any drastic changes to the system that pays us.