- Joined
- Feb 24, 2003
- Messages
- 97
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Yeah, I know, I should be a medicine martyr and say things like "I am not in this for the money" or "Medicine is an art and a calling...I'll subsist on beans, rice and my passion for eyes" or "Gee, I am so lucky to get paid to do what I love".
As I am in job hunt mode with graduation nearing it is kind of depressing to go through the AAO Professional Choices listings and see that I can expect a whopping 100 -150K as a comprehensive ophthalmologist in a warm location. Maybe it would be less depressing if I wasn't hearing what my buddies in other fields were being offered. My FP pals are getting as much if not more than what I hope to get. My anesthesia bud is turning his nose up at 250K.
And how about opening a practice? While this is possible in most primary care fields, start up costs for a well-equipped ophth office are excessively high! EM, Rads, Gas...no overhead at all. With business loan payments, office overhead, and the high cost of benefits for your employees, 70-80K in the first year out would be a GOOD thing!
When you have a pt with loose zonules, a small pupil, and a floppy iris who is trying to sit up while you try not to phaco their oh-so-thin posterior capsule, is that stress really worth the 4-6 hundred bucks in reimbursement? Maybe if things go well it is a little worth it, but if things go bad...you could potentially get sued bigtime. "I'm blind! I'll call my lawyer at 1-800-I-SUE-BIG."
Is it really a sin to want to vacation in Siena (it's so beautiful you know), eat jerk chicken on the white sands of a Jamaican beach, carry a Prada bag, and drive a Porsche? It probably really is a sin, thank God Lent is coming up so I can repent.
It feels like ophthalmology seems to be a more lucrative field than it actually is unless you are a retina guy or own your own surgical center.
Ugh.
As I am in job hunt mode with graduation nearing it is kind of depressing to go through the AAO Professional Choices listings and see that I can expect a whopping 100 -150K as a comprehensive ophthalmologist in a warm location. Maybe it would be less depressing if I wasn't hearing what my buddies in other fields were being offered. My FP pals are getting as much if not more than what I hope to get. My anesthesia bud is turning his nose up at 250K.
And how about opening a practice? While this is possible in most primary care fields, start up costs for a well-equipped ophth office are excessively high! EM, Rads, Gas...no overhead at all. With business loan payments, office overhead, and the high cost of benefits for your employees, 70-80K in the first year out would be a GOOD thing!
When you have a pt with loose zonules, a small pupil, and a floppy iris who is trying to sit up while you try not to phaco their oh-so-thin posterior capsule, is that stress really worth the 4-6 hundred bucks in reimbursement? Maybe if things go well it is a little worth it, but if things go bad...you could potentially get sued bigtime. "I'm blind! I'll call my lawyer at 1-800-I-SUE-BIG."
Is it really a sin to want to vacation in Siena (it's so beautiful you know), eat jerk chicken on the white sands of a Jamaican beach, carry a Prada bag, and drive a Porsche? It probably really is a sin, thank God Lent is coming up so I can repent.
It feels like ophthalmology seems to be a more lucrative field than it actually is unless you are a retina guy or own your own surgical center.
Ugh.