peds derm

[Derma11]

Current derm resident, and was thinking of applying to pedi derm. It seems hard to get a "real" grasp of it though, since all the pedi derm attendings gush about their field.

I've heard that salaries in pedi derm takes a hit compared to general derm, but does anyone have any hard numbers?

Also - anyone with thoughts of doing pedi derm fellowship vs. just trying to see a proportionately larger number of pedi patients in my future general derm clinic? I understand the value of getting pedi derm trained and board certified if working in academics, but other than academics, what are other advantages (and disadvantages) or doing pedi derm fellowship?

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[jmw38]

i'm curious about this too, especially if you aren't planning on going full-time academics, what would be the advantage of the fellowship aside from of course more training.

 

[Skinceutical]

I've heard that salaries in pedi derm takes a hit compared to general derm, but does anyone have any hard numbers?

The SPD did a survey in 2008, which showed an average salary of $203,727 for a full-time pediatric dermatologist, They further broke it down by practice setting - $284K average in private practice (though only 6 were surveyed), compared to 176-232K in academics. The report is pretty interesting, you can see it in full here:
www.pedsderm.net/pdfs/SalarySurvey2008.pdf

For comparison's sake, MGMA's 2008 data showed an average of $368K for derm as a whole. The 2008 AMGA survey showed an average of 300-45K. It's not ideal having data from 2 different sources, but it's all I found in my cursory search.

 

[Derma11]

Thanks for all the input! I wasn't aware of the SPD survey, so it's a great resource.

Any comments of advantages of doing peds fellowship? vs. just trying to see a higher proportion of peds pts in your practice?

 

[varsityblue]

There isn't much advantage to doing a fellowship if your ultimate goal is to just see a lot of pediatric patients, even if you hope to practice in a place like Seattle, DC, NYC, LA, or Chicago. Most patients are solely concerned with whether you earned a board certification and whether you have a solid local reputation; it's very possible to market yourself to the daughters and sons of the wealthy without 'wasting' a year in a fellowship. That said, I'm only a premed and can only share what I've observed from family members who've gone through the process.

 

[Skinceutical]

Thanks for all the input! I wasn't aware of the SPD survey, so it's a great resource.

Any comments of advantages of doing peds fellowship? vs. just trying to see a higher proportion of peds pts in your practice?

Personally, I think it boils down to your personal interests. The fellowship is really only worth it if you're uber passionate about genodermatoses and designing propranolol protocols in an academic setting. I think there's a reason why the overwhelming majority of fellowship-trained peds derm folks are in academics.

If you're happy seeing bread & butter cases in private practice, then I don't think the extra training is worth it.