NICU vs. PICU

[ghostbaby]

How often do residents dual apply for fellowships at the same hospitals?

Also, I keep hearing the median salary of neos is generally higher due to more private practice opportunities.
Would I generally be making about the same if I worked at an academic children’s hospital in either NICU or PICU?

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[DO2015CA]

Nicu and picu are very different fields. If you love one then you might hate the other. Saying that, nicu has more private practice options for mid career. There are a lot more community nicus than picu

 

[SurfingDoctor]

How often do residents dual apply for fellowships (in my case, NICU and PICU) at the same hospitals? Is it discouraged to apply and interview in both subspecialties at the same hospital?

Also, how does salary and lifestyle compare between the two, assuming I want to work at an academic children’s hospital where I spend more than half of my time doing clinical work, with potential switch to private practice mid-career?
I keep hearing neos generally have a better lifestyle yet make more (this article is the only source that tells me otherwise: Differences in Lifetime Earning Potential for Pediatric Subspecialists) - any truth to this? Is the median salary higher in neonatology due to more private practice opportunities? If so, would I generally be making about the same if I worked at an academic center in either NICU or PICU?

At an academic center, the salaries are equivocal. That's true for private practice as well, but there are more neonatologists in private practice than intensivists, so that's why the median salary for all comers is higher for neonatologists.

As far as applying to two fellowships at the same hospital, I don't know. I think dual fellowship applying is gonna raise some flags in the interview though unless though fellowships are synergistic (ie Cards and ICU). I guess you can gear each interview as to why you are dedicated your life to one speciality and then go to another interview and say the opposite. Maybe you could make that work, but alternatively, some people may see through that, especially if they ask you about long term career plans. Also, PDs talk, but I don't know how many intra-institutional communication there is.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

I know of folks who've done both fellowships and practiced both but it's not very common. As noted, the fields are not all that similar and I'd encourage you to pick the one you are most interested in and focus on that. If you are a reasonable applicant you'll match in that field.

As far as applying to both in one place, I would not recommend doing that. The PDs will likely find out somehow and they are not likely to think much of it. As far as relative salary and life style, you've gotten some comments that are accurate already, I think you need to focus on which patient population you prefer and perhaps, what type of research if any you'd like to pursue.

Good luck and let us know what you do.

 

[Oso]

Very different fields and patient populations. I would encourage you to really find out which one is the best fit for you instead of dual applying.

I was torn between the two but eventually decided on NICU. As a NICU fellow now, I don’t miss the PICU diagnoses at all.

 

[wickedprophet]

How often do residents dual apply for fellowships at the same hospitals?

Also, I keep hearing the median salary of neos is generally higher due to more private practice opportunities.
Would I generally be making about the same if I worked at an academic children’s hospital in either NICU or PICU?

I also was deciding between NICU and PICU. I just love caring for sick pediatric patients in an ICU setting. Despite the busier lifestyle, I ultimately chose PICU because I loved the high acuity associated with CHD and post-surgical care. The rare genetic syndromes within the NICU are cool and all, but I noticed my interest would taper off.

What I thought about was the bread-and-butter of each in an average academic center. Did I want to manage lots of premies that eventually become feeders/growers, a sprinkle of HIE and meconium aspiration? Or did I want to manage chronic complex care kids, trauma, bronchiolitis and DKA? With hesitation admittedly, I chose the latter. I also liked having the option of working in a CVICU as a cardiac intensivist after doing a little more training.

As for salary, I believe they’re about equal in an academic center, but also dependent on how much clinical time you do.