How hard is it to find a position?

[rjf]

Just wondering about this. Once a person has successfully completed medical school, a residency, and perhaps a fellowship, how difficult is it for a physician to find employment? Are any specialties easier/more difficult than others?

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[Tensyle]

i know that cardiothoracic surgery (gen surg residency + CT fellowship) is a declining field these days, because cardiologists are performing more procedures, along with interventional radiology. Also, heart disease is actually slowly lowering (cancer has taken over as the #1 killer in the US -- not because more people are getting cancer, but because less ppl are dying of heart disease).

 

[TexasPhysician]

I've heard some pathologists complain about the job market.
Radiologists seem quite happy with the job market.

Obviously some fields would keep you from finding work in smaller towns (neurosurgery is pretty much a large-city field).

 

[xanthomondo]

i know that cardiothoracic surgery (gen surg residency + CT fellowship) is a declining field these days, because cardiologists are performing more procedures, along with interventional radiology. Also, heart disease is actually slowly lowering (cancer has taken over as the #1 killer in the US -- not because more people are getting cancer, but because less ppl are dying of heart disease).

Less people may be dying from heart disease but a ton of people still require heart management. Especially with the obesity problem that is ongoing.

I don't think any of these people are worrying about their jobs.

 

[link2swim06]

All I have to say is by the time the baby boomers retire there will be a need for alot more doctors. Also I am not sure if you realized this but even in the past few months of hundred of thousands of job losses healthcare has actually been one of the very few industries that has grown. Granted, I think mid-levels will have the greatest growth rate but never the less I don't see physicians being jobless anytime soon. Sure one field of medicine may complain they may not have "the ideal position" but when compared to the business sector I am guess you should be happy you have a job.

 

[brianmartin]

You shouldn't have trouble finding employment if you graduate from MD/DO and successfully complete a US residency. Anyone with those credentials will be able to work somewhere.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos074.htm

"Employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow 14 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than the average for all occupations. Job growth will occur because of continued expansion of health care related industries. The growing and aging population will drive overall growth in the demand for physician services, as consumers continue to demand high levels of care using the latest technologies, diagnostic tests, and therapies."

"...Unlike their predecessors, newly trained physicians face radically different choices of where and how to practice. New physicians are much less likely to enter solo practice and more likely to take salaried jobs in group medical practices, clinics, and health networks.

 

[macgyver22]

i know that cardiothoracic surgery (gen surg residency + CT fellowship) is a declining field these days, because cardiologists are performing more procedures, along with interventional radiology. Also, heart disease is actually slowly lowering (cancer has taken over as the #1 killer in the US -- not because more people are getting cancer, but because less ppl are dying of heart disease).

While the first part of this statement is true the second part is incorrect. Heart disease and cancer deaths are both decreasing. While the rate of decline is different for the two diseases, deaths from heart disease in the U.S. still far outnumber deaths from cancer ( 652,000 for heart disease versus 559,000 for cancer) as of the latest available figures from 2005.

 

[rjf]

Macgyver22 - being a doctor, do you think you would have any problem finding a job anywhere (within reason) in the country? How about other specialties?

 

[macgyver22]

Here is the ultimate non-committal but accurate answer... "it depends". It depends a lot on what you want to do and where you want to do it, how much you expect to make, what hours you are willing to work and so on. If you have no expectations in any of those areas ( highly unlikely) then you will always be able to find a job.

There are certain locations where it might be difficult to find a job in. My wife is an Ob/Gyn and in our New York suburb. None of the local groups have hired any of the new residents in 5-6 years. They have all had to move out of state. I'm an Internist and while some of the residents have gotten jobs locally they have all been with the hospital owned group or a large corporation owned group. The smaller private practices that offer partnership tracks have not been hiring. So it really depends on what you want to do and where you want to be. You will most likely always be able to find a job, but you may have to make a few compromises.

Keep in mind that reidencies are limited and you may have to choose a field other than your first choice. I would strongly suggest that anyone who has their heart set on derm, optho, anaesthesia, or certain surgical specialties have a good plan-B since there's a good chance you may have to use it.

 

[violet7]

I do research at med school affiliated with large family of hospitals, and we have these portable on-line stations throughout the hospital, even in cafeteria...not sure what they are really for, never saw anyone using them...anyway, one of the links on the main screen says something like "Job Listings" and I checked them out one day...lots of open positions in all kind of specialities, except maybe for dermatology. some of the hopsitals on the list were pretty suburban and rural, but if you don't mind practicing somewhere in the middle of ... then finding a hospital-affiliated job shouldn't be a problem.

 

[SB100]

I have a feeling that neurologist, endocrinologist, and geriatric primary care positions will be on the rise over the next 20 to 30 years.

 

[atomi]

Just wondering about this. Once a person has successfully completed medical school, a residency, and perhaps a fellowship, how difficult is it for a physician to find employment? Are any specialties easier/more difficult than others?

It is the easiest field to find a job in. If you have an MD and are licensed in the state, you can find work pretty much anywhere you want to go and find it immediately. Because the AMA has a cartel stranglehold on physician supply, this is not something you should ever worry about until about 10 years after that cartel is broken up.

 

[Raryn]

It is the easiest field to find a job in. If you have an MD and are licensed in the state, you can find work pretty much anywhere you want to go and find it immediately. Because the AMA has a cartel stranglehold on physician supply, this is not something you should ever worry about until about 10 years after that cartel is broken up.

The only "stranglehold" on physician supply is the # of residency spots, which the government controls through funding via medicare. The AMA is a quite ineffectual organization with no real power one way or the other.