Pediatric Gastroenterology

[Seniorguy]

I hope to get some information about being a pediatric gastroenterologist. How much you guys know about this subspeciaty? Is it the hottest fellowship choice now, like in IM? How hard to get into it? How about the job market? What is the average level of the salary? Is it at the same level as that of adult gastroenterologists? Any information will be very much appreciated.

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[jackjinju]

I'm kinda interested in the field as well. I'm a peds intern. I can say fairly conclusively that peds GI (1) Is not competitive, and therefore unlike Adult GI, and (2) Pays nowhere near adult GI salaries, which I've seen as running in the low $300s on average. I suspect Peds GI makes in the upper $100s, but that's just a guess, based on the reimbursement of other peds subspecialties which are usually based in academic practice.

Anyone know more??

 

[ckent]

One pediatrician told me that peds fellowships are nothing like IM fellowships in terms of competetiveness because the primary thing that peds fellowships care about is whether or not you will finish the program and practice in their specialty (ie they are more concerned with being filled with genuine applicants). Pediatricians are definitely a different breed then IM and other physicians, in that they are far less concerned with income, more concerned with lifestyle issues and enjoying work so a lot don't choose to go on to do fellowships. Peds GI pays less then adult GI because there are a lot less reasons to do scopes on kids. You will have a lot of anxious/psychosomatic stomach pains in your clinic; and the main diseases that you will probably manage include things like Crohn's, Celiacs, maybe CF. The only peds GI attending I know is a Celiac's specialist though, so I probably am a little limited/biased in determining what peds GI docs do all day.

 

[sruskin]

Anyone know how the programs are ranked. Any idea of which are the best programs or where to find that data?

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Anyone know how the programs are ranked. Any idea of which are the best programs or where to find that data?

Sorry you didn't get any response to this. To the best of my knowledge, the usual ranking suspects (Parents magazine, etc) do not rank pedi GI programs and even if they did, such rankings wouldn't have much meaning. In general, one can expect the most highly regarded programs to be at the larger/better known Children's Hospitals and also a few other places with well-known special areas of interest such as liver transplantation. A bit of searching or reading the society journal, JPGN, should be helpful. As always, however, what's best in terms of fellowships depends on your interests in research, location, etc. There are a good many well-respected pedi GI programs throughout the country.

In other words, I'm not naming specific names...😉

 

[J-Rad]

Anyone know how the programs are ranked. Any idea of which are the best programs or where to find that data?

**Sigh**. Does it really matter? Everybody wants to know what program ranks for what (be it general peds or some subspecialty). One, most rankings would be bogus in regards to these training programs even if you could find them. The Parents Magazine is good for children's hospital rankings and that might give you a clue to what hospitals would more likely have a "higher ranked" program. But there can be wide variability even within the walls of one institution. And where do you draw your end line? Top 5, top 10, top 15...and what's the difference between 3 and 9. Parents listed five for Heart Care:
1. Children's Hospital Boston
2. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
3. Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
4. Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, New York City
5. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
I know little of 3&4 (that fact means nothing) but what about Wisconsin, Mayo, Cincinatti, Hopkins, UCLA, Texas Children's, and what about the up and comer programs that are going to make a mark in the next few years? How do you know what those programs are? If you're focused on some stupid "rank list" that means squat. Get into a good program that's a good fit for you. If you put in the time and the effort at a good facility, you'll get the jobs you want in the end. You don't have to have trained at CHOP or Boston to be a great pediatrician or peds subspecialists and this perseveration on these imaginary "ranks" gets you nowhere.

Sorry, rant over.