Hospitalist vs Nephrologist?

[ns1]

Hi all,

Not sure if I want to specialize in Nephrology or just do Hospitalist medicine..not that money is everything, but it seems that I could make a pretty decent living being a hospitalist and work half the year vs going into subspecialty..which pathway offers better return and satifisfaction, any thoughts?

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[maxpower75]

Hi, I am currently a final year nephrolgy fellow, I had also debated specializing or becoming a hospitalist. There are advantages to both, you can make a good living with lots of time off as a hospitalist, the Nephrology lifestyle is more traditional regarding time off (your days off are usually weekends), generally your imcome potential will be higher as a specialist, I personally feel learning a great deal about specialized medicine to be easier than general IM. But in the end, it is a personal preference, I really don't think you can go wrong with either decision.
Hope this helped a little.

 

[howelljolly]

I suppose you could also work as a hospitalist for a while and then decide to go for a fellowship, .... or.....

you could do the nephro fellowship, and then be a hospitalist, and do nephro consults part time....

or...
I dunno

 

[ns1]

Thanks for your comments..

Any thoughts on which pathway might be better for women who eventually want to have kids/a family?

 

[howelljolly]

You can tailor either one to fit your family... you just need to find as many options as you can.

As a hospitalist, you might have a regular 3 or 4 shift per week schedule, and then leave your job at work. Or, if the hospital is run by residents at night, you might have be on call from home. It depends on the setup.

Similarly with Nephro, you can set your job up the way you want it....

thats what i think.

I think a lot of people put too much emphasis on choosing a field that fits their family life, when instead they can fit their field into their family life. Something's gotta give somewhere. It might be a field that you arent totally thrilled about going into, but it can as easily be making less money, or providing a different type or level of service, or living in a different location, while working in a field that you are thrilled about.