So as some of you may know, I switched from academics to community EM this past month. Although I dearly dearly miss teaching and all of my residents.... I LOVE IT! Jumbo shrimp and pork tenderloin buffet lunch for the employees on my first day of work? 50-100% pay increase? 25% decrease in number of hours worked? Nurses do nearly all of my dirty work (i.e. lac is cleaned, prepped, and tray open at bedside)? Nurses position the patient for an LP and all I have to do is show up and drop a needle in? Xrays get ordered and done within 15 minutes? Hospital lab techs come down and do our labs? Gigantic flat screen, nice couch, and new computers in our ED Physicians room? Happy cool nurses? I will take it! Q
That's just great. Wish we could all get a job like that. Well, after finishing school and residency (speaking for myself).
I totally think so. I loved academics because I absolutely adore resident education, and it makes work a lot more fun. I still would go into academics (though I haven't, over the past year or so, had any desire to climb the ivory tower). But in re: to community EM, I can't imagine a sweeter gig. Madison, WI is an odd bird as its a "big city" without big city problems, almost everyoen has a job and insurance, which pays the bills so the hospital has a lot of cash, and so far thankfully we are insulated from the recession (fingers crossed), as the two biggest employers are the state gov't and the univ of wisc. Q
That's a good question. One thing about the reality of medicine is that we all train in academic settings (some maybe a little less academic than others but you know what I mean). So we get exposure to that end of things. I think that the majority of us in private practice have a ton of respect for the academic folks even if we decided we didn't want to go that route. My point is that having had exposure to academic settings I appreciate the non-academic stuff about my job without having worked in academics. Peter Sokolove at UC Davis has a really good lecture about the advantages of doing academics. I'll see if I can get him to post it.
Good grief! Are there PAs there? Actually, wait... I should be more specific. Are there PAs there who get to enjoy the buffet and the flat-screen, or are they all down in the boiler room shoveling coal, or manning the oars in the under-decks or something?
As a previous frequent poster (now a little rarer, with chief, moonlighter, and dad under my belt), I didnt think I should start my own post but did want to say I got a sweet private job as well. i start in july but the support is amazing. One of the best groups in the west. It is nice to see the work pay off a bit!
As mentioned... As a previous frequent poster (now a little rarer, with chief, moonlighter, and dad under my belt) Keepin me super busy... Thanks for the congrats. I am super excited. A truly phenomenal job! I actually had a medical director from another place that offered me a job ask me if they are still hiring.. Kind of funny. Hopefully ill find more time next yr! Merry Xmas, happy hanukah, and Happy Kwanzaa and whatever else you might celebrate (Festivus) and a happy, healthy, and promising new year to everyone!
