future of infectious disease

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
1

1forrest1

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2015
Messages
56
Reaction score
20
thoughts on the future of infectious disease? it's my dream to work in id, and it seems like an awful field. but why were so many residency slots not filled? i think the stat was a third not filled
Members don't see this ad.
 
I don't know but an ID doc literally saved my life. She has a couple of fellows almost all of the time. I didn't know there was an ID residency. I thought it was a fellowship path. I know my doc and her fellow attending are heavily into research so maybe that holds people back.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app
 
ID docs I've talked to have said that ID is a field you go into because you really really really love ID. The pay is among the lowest of all physicians, which is probably a deterrent to many people. This is likely due to an academic focus and lack of procedures. That being said, people in the field seem to love it, though it's a very self selected group.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
The pay is basically the same as straight IM, but malpractice insurance can be very high since ID consults tend to be called when the patient is doing poorly, and anyone who touched the patient will be named in the lawsuit.

That said, it does tend to have better job satisfaction than other specialties from what I hear (might be a biased source -- my dad who's an ID specialist himself)
 
ID is one of my dream specialties but I have always wondered why this is the case as well. Do you think it has to do with the fact that IDs typically affect low-income populations? Similar to the decreased production/innovation of new antibiotics... there just seems to be a lot less money invested in infectious diseases/bacterial pathogens as a whole.
 
ID does a lot of work that is not currently billable, or at least that many ID docs don't know how to properly bill for.

If a surgeon is in the operating room for 5 hours, they can bill for those 5 hours.
If a clinician reviews a patient's history of 4 hours over a couple days to make sense of it, looking at outside records to piece together their complex 20+year treatment course, then sees the patient for a 1 hour consult - they get paid for that 1 hour consult. Those 4 hours of work aren't billable at present, outside making the 1 hour consult a level 5 chart.

ID has few in-house treatments to offer, and has almost no procedures which is what really drives billing in the current system. They see complex patients so most consults will be level 5 charts, but the throughput of other specialties can quickly outpace it, especially if they can do any procedures. That is why some family practice/IM providers started adding in things like derm punch/shave biopsies, lac repairs, mole removal, etc. into their clinic schedule.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Every time you hear someone say that ID is a bad place to be, remind them of Zika virus.


1forrest1 said:
thoughts on the future of infectious disease? it's my dream to work in id, and it seems like an awful field. but why were so many residency slots not filled? i think the stat was a third not filled
Click to expand...
 
terra330 said:
That said, it does tend to have better job satisfaction than other specialties from what I hear (might be a biased source -- my dad who's an ID specialist himself)
Click to expand...

I'm currently leaning towards ID in the long term as well, for exactly that reason. That being said, I've also been exposed from an early age, since my dad is also an ID specialist. Sorry terrible pun, but I can't resist.

The pay is somewhat biased by the nature of a lot of ID doc's work, and beyond just billable vs not. A lot of ID docs end up in government or public health which pays less, especially when it's non-clinical.

If you're salaried as an ID doc, it's ideal, and I think will become more so in the future. For a health system, you make your salary quite quickly in the era of 100k hep-c treatments and costly re-hospitalizations due to nosocomial infections. And in the process, you get to see all the interesting and complicated cases.
 
piii said:
In some cities, ID fellows make more money than ID attendings post fellowship.
Click to expand...
In some markets, ID docs do primary care on the side to increase their income. Not primary care for HIV patients, but regular old primary care.

Basically, it's a very interesting field full of people passionate for the subject who are typically extremely knowledgable... and it unfortunately is poorly reimbursed, so it isn't all that popular. I don't think it's fallen quite as low as nephrology, but it's close.
 
Since the 50 zombie movies that come out every year aren't doing it, I only see two ways for ID docs to become "cool" and "appreciated" (by the mainstream) again.

(1) A new, serious global pandemic, or
(2) A government ban on all antibiotics unless scribed by an ID specialist. 🙂
 
Lunatik said:
Since the 50 zombie movies that come out every year aren't doing it, I only see two ways for ID docs to become "cool" and "appreciated" (by the mainstream) again.

(1) A new, serious global pandemic, or
(2) A government ban on all antibiotics unless scribed by an ID specialist. 🙂
Click to expand...

Well...
 
I personally still would not go into ID unless I'm strictly in a research lab.

Chances of spread are too high. Very honorable line of work but I don't like knocking at death's door.
 
Sunbodi said:
I personally still would not go into ID unless I'm strictly in a research lab.

Chances of spread are too high. Very honorable line of work but I don't like knocking at death's door.
Click to expand...

There may be a slightly increased risk of getting some weird infection, but the patients ID consults on are also being managed by hospitalists/intensivists/etc. And cared for by nurses who spend far more time with the patients than the ID docs. On the way to the ID consult the patient may also have passed through the ED, where I think the infection risk is probably greater tbh (since you don't always know what you're walking into/know what PPE you need).
 
heyy, hopefully this virus makes at least some sort of difference; im an undergrad and ive been following the status of ID compensation for a while now because the pay cut has held my apprehension and I know there has been much discussion on raising compensation in a years following up to 2020. we will see but i wouldn't be surprised if one of the few good things to come out of this pandemic is increased ID pay, it's been a long ways overdue.

edit: didnt realize I word I used is censored on sdn
 
Just accidentally logged into this, my old sdn account... as an M1 three weeks into anatomy, it’s amusing to look back at this post considering my career aspirations have shifted so dramatically
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Storing LORs for Future Application
Replies
0
Views
92
roosteagle
R
giolaskl
Could I use my rare disease to find research?
Replies
9
Views
798
giolaskl
giolaskl
L
Amcas forgot future coursework
Replies
1
Views
751
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
pablo213
AMCAS Future Enrollment Changes
Replies
2
Views
785
pablo213
pablo213
FutureMD2025
No II or R as of now, time to start thinking about the future?
Replies
5
Views
1K
FutureMD2025
FutureMD2025
Top