Physician Salaries in the Future

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HookEm14

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I know that salaries will inevitably be going down over my medical career (current premed), but I would like to know if there are any indications as to how much salaries will drop in the future. I am not in medicine to "get rich" however having a financially secure future is essential for me. I know that it is a pretty general question, any feedback from the sdn community will be greatly appreciated.
 
HookEm14 said:
I know that salaries will inevitably be going down over my medical career (current premed), but I would like to know if there are any indications as to how much salaries will drop in the future. I am not in medicine to "get rich" however having a financially secure future is essential for me. I know that it is a pretty general question, any feedback from the sdn community will be greatly appreciated.
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the above is generally a wrong idea

for any number of reasons, physician pay will only be going down appreciably in the those fields with outlier salaries . . . basically, procedures will pay less and preventive and primary care medice will pay more until all physician salary approaches the median

so if you are planning on doing orthopedics, you will still likely make more than the median, but plan to make less than orthopods now, on the other hand if you are interested in primary care family practice, expect your salary to increase towards the median, even if still below the median as compensation for primary care increases
 
too many unknowns to provide a feel for the specific figure, i.e. 'med salaries will increase by x% per year'.

Largely this will be driven by supply & demand; supply of MDs is pretty limited. I believe as reimbursement rates go down, more & more simple procedures will be done by RNs, Nurse Practitioners, MAs, PAs, etc. depending on the level of difficulty of the procedure. MDs will generally be doing the most complicated (and highly reimbursing) procedures in my opinion.

Eventually (although this will take some time) laws will change -- I've read that due to high lawsuit rates, there are very few OBs in Las Vegas -- when enough residents complain to politicians about this "shortage", laws will be changed which will reduce the malpractice rates & increase physician comp.

Certain localities i.e. rural areas, underserved communities, etc will offer more incentives that are "one-off" type, or possibly the county/federal Gov't will supplement reimbursement rates with a stipend to attract physicians to these areas. Individual physician pay will depend on specialty, and willingness to move to areas that may be less "desireable".
 
I predict that as physicians we will be entitled to all the soylent green that we could ever want.
 
Salaries will drop to the point where physicians cant support themselves anymore. Healthcare becomes essentially non-existant.

The resulting protests are the beginning of the end. In an effort to suppress physician violence, the government tries to utilize national guard troops to disrupt the protests, but the initiative backfires: soldiers, friendly to the physicians cause due to unfair VA practices, unite with the disgruntled and violent physicians and begin their march on the capital.

In a frantic move to prevent an imminent coup d'etat by underpaid and heavily armed doctors, the U.S. government returns all troops to home soil and the conflict erupts into a full-blown, second american civil war.

The fallout changes the world forever. Without the military might of the U.S. controlling the middle east, the region erupts in inter-regional conflicts. Governments are toppled in a matter of days and leadership changes on an hourly basis.

The use of nuclear warheads commences when a small splinter group obtains launch codes to pakistan's rocket arsenal and annihilates most of its Indian enemy. In a domino-effect-driven cascade, every major nuclear power launches its warheads against perceived enemies.

Russia, China, Japan, most of Europe, the USA, Canada (caught in nuclear cross-fire), and large parts of the Middle East lay in waste. Several outdated guiding systems cause accidental detonations in water around coastal regions off of the African western seaborder. The resultant tsunamis wipe out large parts of Namibia, Angola, the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast region. In a largescale struggle for basic resources, continental-scale conflicts break out among the remaining nations.

The tsunami reaches the South American Sea Border where it washes as far inland as Peru. Equally strong are its effects on the american seaborder where nuclear warfare has already destroyed large parts of the civilian landscape.

Within a year, nuclear winter has set in completely, the nurturing power of the sun is blocked out. Within 5 years, all remaining resources have been used up by the survivers of the, by then, so-called "physician protest world war".

On March 19th, 2022 the only remaining human being, a 35 year old, former rabbit farmer, takes her last breath hudled under blankets in a cave just outside of (what used to be) Sydney, Australia.

Let's all hope we get paid enough in the future.
 
Siverhideo1985 said:
Salaries will drop to the point where physicians cant support themselves anymore. Healthcare becomes essentially non-existant.

The resulting protests are the beginning of the end. In an effort to suppress physician violence, the government tries to utilize national guard troops to disrupt the protests, but the initiative backfires: soldiers, friendly to the physicians cause due to unfair VA practices, unite with the disgruntled and violent physicians and begin their march on the capital.

In a frantic move to prevent an imminent coup d'etat by underpaid and heavily armed doctors, the U.S. government returns all troops to home soil and the conflict erupts into a full-blown, second american civil war.

The fallout changes the world forever. Without the military might of the U.S. controlling the middle east, the region erupts in inter-regional conflicts. Governments are toppled in a matter of days and leadership changes on an hourly basis.

The use of nuclear warheads commences when a small splinter group obtains launch codes to pakistan's rocket arsenal and annihilates most of its Indian enemy. In a domino-effect-driven cascade, every major nuclear power launches its warheads against perceived enemies.

Russia, China, Japan, most of Europe, the USA, Canada (caught in nuclear cross-fire), and large parts of the Middle East lay in waste. Several outdated guiding systems cause accidental detonations in water around coastal regions off of the African western seaborder. The resultant tsunamis wipe out large parts of Namibia, Angola, the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast region. In a largescale struggle for basic resources, continental-scale conflicts break out among the remaining nations.

The tsunami reaches the South American Sea Border where it washes as far inland as Peru. Equally strong are its effects on the american seaborder where nuclear warfare has already destroyed large parts of the civilian landscape.

Within a year, nuclear winter has set in completely, the nurturing power of the sun is blocked out. Within 5 years, all remaining resources have been used up by the survivers of the, by then, so-called "physician protest world war".

On March 19th, 2022 the only remaining human being, a 35 year old, former rabbit farmer, takes her last breath hudled under blankets in a cave just outside of (what used to be) Sydney, Australia.

Let's all hope we get paid enough in the future.
Click to expand...

Haha, brilliant post!
 
Siverhideo1985 said:
Salaries will drop to the point where physicians cant support themselves anymore. Healthcare becomes essentially non-existant.

The resulting protests are the beginning of the end. In an effort to suppress physician violence, the government tries to utilize national guard troops to disrupt the protests, but the initiative backfires: soldiers, friendly to the physicians cause due to unfair VA practices, unite with the disgruntled and violent physicians and begin their march on the capital.

In a frantic move to prevent an imminent coup d'etat by underpaid and heavily armed doctors, the U.S. government returns all troops to home soil and the conflict erupts into a full-blown, second american civil war.

The fallout changes the world forever. Without the military might of the U.S. controlling the middle east, the region erupts in inter-regional conflicts. Governments are toppled in a matter of days and leadership changes on an hourly basis.

The use of nuclear warheads commences when a small splinter group obtains launch codes to pakistan's rocket arsenal and annihilates most of its Indian enemy. In a domino-effect-driven cascade, every major nuclear power launches its warheads against perceived enemies.

Russia, China, Japan, most of Europe, the USA, Canada (caught in nuclear cross-fire), and large parts of the Middle East lay in waste. Several outdated guiding systems cause accidental detonations in water around coastal regions off of the African western seaborder. The resultant tsunamis wipe out large parts of Namibia, Angola, the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast region. In a largescale struggle for basic resources, continental-scale conflicts break out among the remaining nations.

The tsunami reaches the South American Sea Border where it washes as far inland as Peru. Equally strong are its effects on the american seaborder where nuclear warfare has already destroyed large parts of the civilian landscape.

Within a year, nuclear winter has set in completely, the nurturing power of the sun is blocked out. Within 5 years, all remaining resources have been used up by the survivers of the, by then, so-called "physician protest world war".

On March 19th, 2022 the only remaining human being, a 35 year old, former rabbit farmer, takes her last breath hudled under blankets in a cave just outside of (what used to be) Sydney, Australia.

Let's all hope we get paid enough in the future.
Click to expand...

I love it. The only thing that could have possibly made it better was if the rabbit farmer died of some mundane illness that is easily cured by a trip to the hospital.
 
HookEm14 said:
I know that salaries will inevitably be going down over my medical career (current premed), but I would like to know if there are any indications as to how much salaries will drop in the future. I am not in medicine to "get rich" however having a financially secure future is essential for me. I know that it is a pretty general question, any feedback from the sdn community will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Just look into this website and ask yourself if you will be financially secure.

http://www.cejkasearch.com/compensation/amga_physician_compensation_survey.htm
 
Siverhideo1985 said:
Salaries will drop to the point where physicians cant support themselves anymore. Healthcare becomes essentially non-existant.

The resulting protests are the beginning of the end. In an effort to suppress physician violence, the government tries to utilize national guard troops to disrupt the protests, but the initiative backfires: soldiers, friendly to the physicians cause due to unfair VA practices, unite with the disgruntled and violent physicians and begin their march on the capital.

In a frantic move to prevent an imminent coup d'etat by underpaid and heavily armed doctors, the U.S. government returns all troops to home soil and the conflict erupts into a full-blown, second american civil war.

The fallout changes the world forever. Without the military might of the U.S. controlling the middle east, the region erupts in inter-regional conflicts. Governments are toppled in a matter of days and leadership changes on an hourly basis.

The use of nuclear warheads commences when a small splinter group obtains launch codes to pakistan's rocket arsenal and annihilates most of its Indian enemy. In a domino-effect-driven cascade, every major nuclear power launches its warheads against perceived enemies.

Russia, China, Japan, most of Europe, the USA, Canada (caught in nuclear cross-fire), and large parts of the Middle East lay in waste. Several outdated guiding systems cause accidental detonations in water around coastal regions off of the African western seaborder. The resultant tsunamis wipe out large parts of Namibia, Angola, the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast region. In a largescale struggle for basic resources, continental-scale conflicts break out among the remaining nations.

The tsunami reaches the South American Sea Border where it washes as far inland as Peru. Equally strong are its effects on the american seaborder where nuclear warfare has already destroyed large parts of the civilian landscape.

Within a year, nuclear winter has set in completely, the nurturing power of the sun is blocked out. Within 5 years, all remaining resources have been used up by the survivers of the, by then, so-called "physician protest world war".

On March 19th, 2022 the only remaining human being, a 35 year old, former rabbit farmer, takes her last breath hudled under blankets in a cave just outside of (what used to be) Sydney, Australia.

Let's all hope we get paid enough in the future.
Click to expand...
I'm in awe of your brilliance. And I bet the Obama lovers will say it'll never happen. Tell that to the poor rabbit farmer, you bastards! Tell that to her!
 
Salary implies an employee arrangement and if you work for a hospital, university, large multispecialty group, VA that would indeed be the case. For those self employed in a smaller group practice your earning potential depends on what you are able to generate from E&M, ancillary services (depending on your specialty) and how much it costs to generate that income and run your business. Over the course of the last 20 years, there has been steady downward pressure on reimbursement levels but technology has progressed so that diagnostic studies that previously could only have been done in a hospital or even a tertiary center can now be done in an office based setting. This has much more than offset the general trend downwards in per RVU reimbursement.

Who knows what the future holds but I am confident that there will be opportunities to do very well if one is flexible and adjusts as things change over time. Admittedly, that doesn't apply to those just looking for a paycheck and not willing to assume any risk.
 
Thanks for all of the great answers and links guys. It's nice to get some well thought out answers as opposed to just hearing rumors from different sources.
 
neurolddoc said:
Over the course of the last 20 years, there has been steady downward pressure on reimbursement levels but technology has progressed so that diagnostic studies that previously could only have been done in a hospital or even a tertiary center can now be done in an office based setting. This has much more than offset the general trend downwards in per RVU reimbursement.
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so the overall compensation should have increased over the past 20 years or am i missing something?
 
Lukkie said:
so the overall compensation should have increased over the past 20 years or am i missing something?
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It did not increase. In fact, medicine is the ONLY profession that lost ground against inflation over the past decade+ (up until the immediate recession). You have to realize that reimbursements go down periodically -- prices are not set by physicians, but by the insurance industry. Procedures are better compensated, so fields that can do numerous procedures do better than ones that depend on an "office visit" as the billing item. Even moreso if you can do those procedures 24/7, even when a physician is not present (eg imaging). But better compensated than a sinking ship does not necessarily mean staying high above sea level..
 
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jdh71 said:
the above is generally a wrong idea

for any number of reasons, physician pay will only be going down appreciably in the those fields with outlier salaries . . . basically, procedures will pay less and preventive and primary care medice will pay more until all physician salary approaches the median...
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You are half right -- procedures may end up generating less once insurers get a better stranglehold over the profession through whatever healthcare plan gets enacted. But there is no reason to believe primary care will ever pay more. The trends do not support this -- these fields have been hardest hit by declining reimbursements, are almost totally dependant on the insurance industry to pay their salaries, and it does not benefit the insurance industry's bottom line to pay more. And they are at risk of increased use of ancillary professionals (NPs, PAs) if they make too much fuss. Expect this to always be the ugly stepchild of the profession in terms of salary or clout regardless of demand. There will never be a meeting in the middle -- this is a one directional race.
 
I can't believe those doctors! They're richer than 98% of the United States population and yet they're whining about salary cuts. Gimme a break! Maybe now they'll spend less time on their yachts and more time in the clinic doing their jobs.

-Joe Shmoe, 2014

*just kidding
But couldn't you imagine the majority of Americans holding this sentiment if physicians were to defend themselves against salary cuts. I bet politicians know that the voters will stand behind them if they act against the interests of physicians. I think we've got challenging times ahead of us. 😎
 
Is it possible for income to dip anywhere close to those seen in Europe and Australia?
 
HookEm14 said:
Is it possible for income to dip anywhere close to those seen in Europe and Australia?
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Last time I checked Australian doctors still made upwards of 130K USD a year. In Europe with the exception of a few countries most doctors make nearly the same as in Australia. But, in the end even if you only make 130K USD you are still making about 3x more than the median income for individuals.
 
NotAndrew said:
Last time I checked Australian doctors still made upwards of 130K USD a year. In Europe with the exception of a few countries most doctors make nearly the same as in Australia. But, in the end even if you only make 130K USD you are still making about 3x more than the median income for individuals.
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How many of those individuals have gone through (and excelled in) 11+ years of schooling/training post-high school???

It's really frustrating that people only see the end result, and not the route it takes to get there. I really don't care what the "median income for individuals" is because if you work harder and are more talented than joe schmoe you should be compensated as such.
 
mdjkim said:
My prediction is that primary care will remain steady but specialty salaries will come down significantly.
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I just hope that whatever happens, will happen within the next four years so that we students will know what we're getting into when we pick our specialties. Who wants to invest 5 years in an Anesthesiology residency only to get out and make $130,000/year?

*$130K isn't necessarily bad and of course money isn't the only factor to be considered when choosing a specialty. But still, it'd be nice to know.
 
DocWalken said:
How many of those individuals have gone through (and excelled in) 11+ years of schooling/training post-high school???

It's really frustrating that people only see the end result, and not the route it takes to get there. I really don't care what the "median income for individuals" is because if you work harder and are more talented than joe schmoe you should be compensated as such.
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This is the reason everyone(other than doctors) believes doctors are overpaid. It's the feeling of entitlement to an income that is about 90K a year more than average, and 3 times higher than the average income. Yes, you will go through 11+ years of schooling/training and will have to pay a lot for this schooling. However you make much more than the average american, you are adequately compensated.
 
NotAndrew said:
This is the reason everyone(other than doctors) believes doctors are overpaid. It's the feeling of entitlement to an income that is about 90K a year more than average, and 3 times higher than the average income.
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Exactly. These threads are always filled with "I deserve to make $xxx because I work hard". I know plenty of people who work 2+ jobs to support a family and work just as hard as I do, but will make a fraction of what I'll make as a doctor. We're not entitled to anything, we're not special.

Yes, taxes are a bitch. Yes, it sucks that physician salaries might decrease. And yes, I'll have massive debt to pay off. But please, as a doctor my salary alone will be more than what my parents made combined, and I lived in a nice neighborhood, got to travel, had the things I needed growing up, and go to a private college.

Now, where's that emoticon for beating a dead horse?
 
parafilm said:
Exactly. These threads are always filled with "I deserve to make $xxx because I work hard". I know plenty of people who work 2+ jobs to support a family and work just as hard as I do, but will make a fraction of what I'll make as a doctor. We're not entitled to anything, we're not special.

Yes, taxes are a bitch. Yes, it sucks that physician salaries might decrease. And yes, I'll have massive debt to pay off. But please, as a doctor my salary alone will be more than what my parents made combined, and I lived in a nice neighborhood, got to travel, had the things I needed growing up, and go to a private college.

Now, where's that emoticon for beating a dead horse?
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Yea..so do I. I also know people who worked hard their whole lives and made smart choices and are now living very comfortably. I don't expect to make as much and have as many choices as the kids in my class who are brilliant and have worked hard their whole lives, but I do hope to have more choices than the kids I knew who dropped out of high school, had kids, and now have to work two jobs to make ends meet.
 
These threads are always filled with "I deserve to make $xxx because I work hard". Exactly. These threads are always filled with "I deserve to make $xxx because I work hard". I know plenty of people who work 2+ jobs to support a family and work just as hard as I do, but will make a fraction of what I'll make as a doctor.
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I think there is something to be said for consistency.
 
parafilm said:
Exactly. These threads are always filled with "I deserve to make $xxx because I work hard". I know plenty of people who work 2+ jobs to support a family and work just as hard as I do, but will make a fraction of what I'll make as a doctor. We're not entitled to anything, we're not special....
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You aren't entitled, but yes, you are special. Our society chooses to compesate certain skillsets better than others. Gifted athletes get a big payday. So too gifted musicians, authors, actors. Similarly individuals with the intelligence and skills to make it into and through the learned professions are well paid. Not everybody gets the grades throughout their academc careers to get into and through med school, a residency, a fellowhip. It's not a job that just anybody can achieve or do. So no, it's not just about hard work. Compensation never is. It's about the value society and employers put on various types of work. Sure loading boxes onto a truck all day, or stocking shelves, or cleaning floors, or laying bricks, is harder than being a doctor. Most doctors never work up a sweat outside of the gym. But society doesn't put as much value on certain blue collar skills.
 
law2doc said:
you aren't entitled, but yes, you are special. Our society chooses to compesate certain skillsets better than others. Gifted athletes get a big payday. So too gifted musicians, authors, actors. Similarly individuals with the intelligence and skills to make it into and through the learned professions are well paid. Not everybody gets the grades throughout their academc careers to get into and through med school, a residency, a fellowhip. It's not a job that just anybody can achieve or do. So no, it's not just about hard work. Compensation never is. It's about the value society and employers put on various types of work. Sure loading boxes onto a truck all day, or stocking shelves, or cleaning floors, or laying bricks, is harder than being a doctor. Most doctors never work up a sweat outside of the gym. But society doesn't put as much value on certain blue collar skills.
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+1
 
Law2Doc said:
You aren't entitled, but yes, you are special. Our society chooses to compesate certain skillsets better than others. Gifted athletes get a big payday. So too gifted musicians, authors, actors. Similarly individuals with the intelligence and skills to make it into and through the learned professions are well paid. Not everybody gets the grades throughout their academc careers to get into and through med school, a residency, a fellowhip. It's not a job that just anybody can achieve or do. So no, it's not just about hard work. Compensation never is. It's about the value society and employers put on various types of work. Sure loading boxes onto a truck all day, or stocking shelves, or cleaning floors, or laying bricks, is harder than being a doctor. Most doctors never work up a sweat outside of the gym. But society doesn't put as much value on certain blue collar skills.
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very well said.

there is absolutely nothing wrong with knowing one's worth and DEMANDING appropriate compensation, that's something these green pre-meds need to get into their heads. Otherwise, politicians will continue taking advantage of our profession in the future.

parafilm, why don't you try telling Kobe that he shouldn't be paid millions of dollars a year because "I know plenty of people who work 2+ jobs to support a family and work just as hard, but will make a fraction "
 
Law2Doc said:
You aren't entitled, but yes, you are special. Our society chooses to compensate certain skillsets better than others. Gifted athletes get a big payday. So too gifted musicians, authors, actors. Similarly individuals with the intelligence and skills to make it into and through the learned professions are well paid. Not everybody gets the grades throughout their academc careers to get into and through med school, a residency, a fellowhip. It's not a job that just anybody can achieve or do. So no, it's not just about hard work. Compensation never is. It's about the value society and employers put on various types of work. Sure loading boxes onto a truck all day, or stocking shelves, or cleaning floors, or laying bricks, is harder than being a doctor. Most doctors never work up a sweat outside of the gym. But society doesn't put as much value on certain blue collar skills.
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wow that was well said

nice
 
HookEm14 said:
I know that salaries will inevitably be going down over my medical career (current premed), but I would like to know if there are any indications as to how much salaries will drop in the future. I am not in medicine to "get rich" however having a financially secure future is essential for me. I know that it is a pretty general question, any feedback from the sdn community will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Oh me oh my where do I begin?

Short answer: So low it will not be worth the effort. But it's not worth the effort EVEN NOW.


Long answer: you will be making about the same as an experienced police officer, with hundredfold more stress, debt, and having spent a decade of your life as an underpaid slave, and none of the perks.


These words have been spoken by a double-boarded American trained MD. Therefore, my opinion > opinion of 100 premeds or 10 medical students

Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas Oh what the hell.
 
Siverhideo1985 said:
Salaries will drop to the point where physicians cant support themselves anymore. Healthcare becomes essentially non-existant.

The resulting protests are the beginning of the end. In an effort to suppress physician violence, the government tries to utilize national guard troops to disrupt the protests, but the initiative backfires: soldiers, friendly to the physicians cause due to unfair VA practices, unite with the disgruntled and violent physicians and begin their march on the capital.

In a frantic move to prevent an imminent coup d'etat by underpaid and heavily armed doctors, the U.S. government returns all troops to home soil and the conflict erupts into a full-blown, second american civil war.

The fallout changes the world forever. Without the military might of the U.S. controlling the middle east, the region erupts in inter-regional conflicts. Governments are toppled in a matter of days and leadership changes on an hourly basis.

The use of nuclear warheads commences when a small splinter group obtains launch codes to pakistan's rocket arsenal and annihilates most of its Indian enemy. In a domino-effect-driven cascade, every major nuclear power launches its warheads against perceived enemies.

Russia, China, Japan, most of Europe, the USA, Canada (caught in nuclear cross-fire), and large parts of the Middle East lay in waste. Several outdated guiding systems cause accidental detonations in water around coastal regions off of the African western seaborder. The resultant tsunamis wipe out large parts of Namibia, Angola, the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast region. In a largescale struggle for basic resources, continental-scale conflicts break out among the remaining nations.

The tsunami reaches the South American Sea Border where it washes as far inland as Peru. Equally strong are its effects on the american seaborder where nuclear warfare has already destroyed large parts of the civilian landscape.

Within a year, nuclear winter has set in completely, the nurturing power of the sun is blocked out. Within 5 years, all remaining resources have been used up by the survivers of the, by then, so-called "physician protest world war".

On March 19th, 2022 the only remaining human being, a 35 year old, former rabbit farmer, takes her last breath hudled under blankets in a cave just outside of (what used to be) Sydney, Australia.

Let's all hope we get paid enough in the future.
Click to expand...

[Insert Fallout 3 storyline] 😉
 
Nilf said:
Oh me oh my where do I begin?

Short answer: So low it will not be worth the effort. But it's not worth the effort EVEN NOW.


Long answer: you will be making about the same as an experienced police officer, with hundredfold more stress, debt, and having spent a decade of your life as an underpaid slave, and none of the perks.


These words have been spoken by a double-boarded American trained MD. Therefore, my opinion > opinion of 100 premeds or 10 medical students

Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas Oh what the hell.
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Physicians will be making less than PA's and NP's.?
 
Siverhideo1985 said:
Salaries will drop to the point where physicians cant support themselves anymore. Healthcare becomes essentially non-existant.

The resulting protests are the beginning of the end. In an effort to suppress physician violence, the government tries to utilize national guard troops to disrupt the protests, but the initiative backfires: soldiers, friendly to the physicians cause due to unfair VA practices, unite with the disgruntled and violent physicians and begin their march on the capital.

In a frantic move to prevent an imminent coup d'etat by underpaid and heavily armed doctors, the U.S. government returns all troops to home soil and the conflict erupts into a full-blown, second american civil war.

The fallout changes the world forever. Without the military might of the U.S. controlling the middle east, the region erupts in inter-regional conflicts. Governments are toppled in a matter of days and leadership changes on an hourly basis.

The use of nuclear warheads commences when a small splinter group obtains launch codes to pakistan's rocket arsenal and annihilates most of its Indian enemy. In a domino-effect-driven cascade, every major nuclear power launches its warheads against perceived enemies.

Russia, China, Japan, most of Europe, the USA, Canada (caught in nuclear cross-fire), and large parts of the Middle East lay in waste. Several outdated guiding systems cause accidental detonations in water around coastal regions off of the African western seaborder. The resultant tsunamis wipe out large parts of Namibia, Angola, the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast region. In a largescale struggle for basic resources, continental-scale conflicts break out among the remaining nations.

The tsunami reaches the South American Sea Border where it washes as far inland as Peru. Equally strong are its effects on the american seaborder where nuclear warfare has already destroyed large parts of the civilian landscape.

Within a year, nuclear winter has set in completely, the nurturing power of the sun is blocked out. Within 5 years, all remaining resources have been used up by the survivers of the, by then, so-called "physician protest world war".

On March 19th, 2022 the only remaining human being, a 35 year old, former rabbit farmer, takes her last breath hudled under blankets in a cave just outside of (what used to be) Sydney, Australia.

Let's all hope we get paid enough in the future.
Click to expand...

roflmao
 
DrJosephKim said:
My prediction is that primary care will remain steady but specialty salaries will come down significantly.
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I'm sorry if I sound really dumb, but how will specialty salaries go down?Lets say... you are a plastic and practice in your own office, how exactly will government cut ur pay?
 
pseudoMCAT45 said:
I'm sorry if I sound really dumb, but how will specialty salaries go down?Lets say... you are a plastic and practice in your own office, how exactly will government cut ur pay?
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If it's a cosmetic practice (ie. for elective breast enhancement, etc.) it shouldn't be a problem because insurance doesn't pay for these type of procedures anyways; the people getting them have to pay out-of-pocket.

However, for something plastic surgeons working on burns, trauma, etc. or any other specialist that gets reimbursed by Medicare, there would be a govt insurance company that would pay at near Medicare rates. If Medicare reimbursements are lowered, private insurance will follow in lowering their reimbursement also (since private insurance sets its rate based on Medicare). So, a lowered reimbursement for procedures coupled with a near constant cost of overhead = a decent-sized cut in take-home pay.
 
SteinUmStein said:
[Insert Fallout 3 storyline] 😉
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Rivet City'ed. I lol'ed.

😀


But seriously. It seems like apocalyptic nonsense to suggest that MD/DO salaries will drop to the ridiculously low levels that they are in continental Europe. A drop to UK levels is even too much. But the latter is possible, if not likely.
 
Nilf said:
These words have been spoken by a double-boarded American trained MD. Therefore, my opinion > opinion of 100 premeds or 10 medical students
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As another double-boarded American trained MD, I hereby negate your opinion.

Cheers!
 
Since everyone thinks physician salaries will fall significantly, will physician extenders,nurses, and techs see a considerable drop is salary too?
 
mfrizzo3 said:
Since everyone thinks physician salaries will fall significantly, will physician extenders,nurses, and techs see a considerable drop is salary too?
Click to expand...

I wonder if pharmacists, dentists, PA's, and optometrists get drop in salary too... since most of them participate in insurance/medicare reimbursement, right?
 
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