Infectious Disease

[DropkickMurphy]

Anyone have any thoughts on the lifestyle of an ID specialist? It's an area of medicine that interests me but I haven't had the chance to talk with anyone who is currently practicing in it about how their quality of life is so that I can draw comparisons to other specialties I'm interested in. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Roadrunner]

Anyone have any thoughts on the lifestyle of an ID specialist? It's an area of medicine that interests me but I haven't had the chance to talk with anyone who is currently practicing in it about how their quality of life is so that I can draw comparisons to other specialties I'm interested in. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

From what I saw during an ID rotation and in speaking with several ID attendings that I know well, the lifestyle is generally a pretty good one. There's are numerous venues in which to practice ID--outpatient HIV clinic, inpatient ID consult service, public health clinics, overseas, or a combination therein. The hours you work and the pay will vary depending on which of these practices you choose. Obviously, as with most things, private practice earns greater income than academia or public sector. Pay, from what I've been told, is about the same as what a general internist makes. ID docs aren't looking to move up to the next pay bracket (like GI or Cards). The attendings I've talked with work a reasonable number of hours (40-50/week).

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Thanks for the input.