Rad Onc Twitter

[frijoles]

Wait, you guys get a meaningful 401k match?
Ours is slowly vested over a period of 5 years and doesn't start matching until 1 year.

Eye opening to see how awful benefits are in the healthcare industry. Don't get me started on our cheapskate insurance plans.

I get 7% match, goes up with service years over time. Employer contributions 100% vested after 3 years. Our COVID cut is no match x 3 months, effectively reducing the match this year from 7–>5%.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Haybrant]

Wait, you guys get a meaningful 401k match?
Ours is slowly vested over a period of 5 years and doesn't start matching until 1 year.

Eye opening to see how awful benefits are in the healthcare industry. Don't get me started on our cheapskate insurance plans.

The match is a big benefit for high salary earners Bc we get hit so hard on taxes. Yearly max is 19500 now I think, so if employer is matching say 5% of salary up to a certain amount could be an extra 12-15k. That gets exposed to the market so it has the potential to be quite significant over time. Alot of smart people that start working in their 20s were contributing high sums and now have major nest eggs whereas we all started in 30s so pretty behind the curve. To entirely lose the match for who knows how long can be a pretty significant difference. The 18k + 12k match I contributed in 2014 just as an example has probably more than doubled Bc of market exposure

 

[tomballunger]

A small victory?

 

[seper]

I lost my match (worth like $9500 per year, 100% vested) so did a few other hospital-employed friends at other institutions

 

[scarbrtj]

Are the docs losing their match, but the VPs and COOs and CEOs keeping theirs?
Does a rad onc irradiate in the woods?

 

[seper]

Are the docs losing their match, but the VPs and COOs and CEOs keeping theirs?
Does a rad onc irradiate in the woods?

Worse for admins (so far). A few “practice leaders” got pink slips


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[frijoles]

Are the docs losing their match, but the VPs and COOs and CEOs keeping theirs?
Does a rad onc irradiate in the woods?

In our hospital admin took 10% cut.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[Mandelin Rain]

In our hospital admin took 10% cut.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

Reminder that salary does not equal total comp.

 

[medgator]

Reminder that salary does not equal total comp.

Yup. Just ask any major insurance company CEO

https://www.courant.com/business/connecticut-insurance/hc-united-health-group-ceo-pay-20150407-story.html

Hemsley's 2014 compensation comprises $1.3 million in salary; $3.95 million in non-equity incentive-plan compensation; $107,479 in "other compensation"; $45.57 million in value realized on exercising option awards; and $15.2 million in value realized on stock awards vesting.

 

[frijoles]

Reminder that salary does not equal total comp.

For sure. But I happen to think 2% match cut is reasonable. It’s less than 2% of my total compensation. Sure would have preferred gross pay over tax protected dollars, but amount is still low all things considered. Some friends of mine in other PP fields where I live got $0 salary for 2 months.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[Mandelin Rain]

For sure. But I happen to think 2% match cut is reasonable. It’s less than 2% of my total compensation. Sure would have preferred gross pay over tax protected dollars, but amount is still low all things considered. Some friends of mine in other PP fields where I live got $0 salary for 2 months.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

No doubt. It's just funny how the systems will spin things for PR.

"Our execs took a 10% salary cut (while increasing bonuses and/or stock options to cover) while none of our docs took a salary cut (but eliminated retirement contributions which could be a 6% penalty)."

Public thinks, "That's noble."

 

[seper]

For sure. But I happen to think 2% match cut is reasonable. It’s less than 2% of my total compensation. Sure would have preferred gross pay over tax protected dollars, but amount is still low all things considered. Some friends of mine in other PP fields where I live got $0 salary for 2 months.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

I prefered my annual salary not to be cut instead of them ending 401k matching. The reason is, your annual contract pay is what you usually negotiate with when changing jobs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Haybrant]

For sure. But I happen to think 2% match cut is reasonable. It’s less than 2% of my total compensation. Sure would have preferred gross pay over tax protected dollars, but amount is still low all things considered. Some friends of mine in other PP fields where I live got $0 salary for 2 months.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

I know 2 places that removed it entirely this week. No more match at all, not just a 2% cut

 

[KHE88]

I know 2 places that removed it entirely this week. No more match at all, not just a 2% cut

If you have your benefits cut such as losing 401k match or salary reduced, would that invalidate your contract with regards to such things as non-compete clause, signon bonus repayment, etc.?

That's the point of the contract, right? If the hospital doesn't honor it, they are in breech so none of it is valid?

 

[OTN]

If you have your benefits cut such as losing 401k match or salary reduced, would that invalidate your contract with regards to such things as non-compete clause, signon bonus repayment, etc.?

That's the point of the contract, right? If the hospital doesn't honor it, they are in breech so none of it is valid?

I've been wondering this the whole time. What's the point of a contract if they can just break it at will? It's not like they don't have the money: All that incredibly expensive art, atria, hallways, etc, throughout all these large hospitals and academic medical centers would pay for a lot of salaries.

 

[Mandelin Rain]

Usually company match is "discretionary".

To me, COVID has really driven home how great private practice is. Nothing better than being your own boss. YMMV.

 

[medgator]

Usually company match is "discretionary".

To me, COVID has really driven home how great private practice is. Nothing better than being your own boss. YMMV.

At least when i make less money, it's usually because I'm less busy. Which makes sense

 

[thecarbonionangle]

Usually company match is "discretionary".

To me, COVID has really driven home how great private practice is. Nothing better than being your own boss. YMMV.

no good ever comes of working for “the man”

 

[KHE88]

Usually company match is "discretionary".

To me, COVID has really driven home how great private practice is. Nothing better than being your own boss. YMMV.

Yup. Signing up to become a hospital "employee" for more money upfront and not accepting the multiple partnership track PP offers I had 2 years ago was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made.

True story: I was reported yesterday to upper level administration by a maintenance worker for not wearing a mask in an empty hallway. This individual took it upon himself to question a physician's discretion regarding PPE and infectious disease control and report me to upper administration, which was taken seriously and resulted in a patronizing reprimand. Would they fire me outright if I refused to comply? Of course not. But that doesn't stop them from belittling and intimidating. Really astonishing.

The mentality at the hospital is that we are all the same. Doctors=nurses=PAs=MAs=janitors. Except of course for the admins. The execs and admins are all former nurses with a hundred L@@k-@t-Me! initials after their names who have a chip on their shoulder against doctors and think they are not only our peers but our superiors. They love screwing us out of money whenever they can and flexing their muscle whenever they can. We are told that it's offensive to use terms like "mid-level provider" and refer to the providers lounge as the "doctor's lounge." Admin refers to physicians as "our doctors." They love making it clear they own you and control how you practice.

I thought I did pretty good with my contract, but it was all a bait-and-switch. Resident, if you are lucky enough to get a partnership track PP offer, take it regardless of the initial salary. If you can't do that, then try and find a physician-owned private hospital. And this was all in a desparate rural area. I've heard multiple other stories of physicians being poorly treated by rural hospitals. I can't imagine the shenangians employed rad oncs have to put up with hospital admin in desirable areas.

 

[evilbooyaa]

If you have your benefits cut such as losing 401k match or salary reduced, would that invalidate your contract with regards to such things as non-compete clause, signon bonus repayment, etc.?

That's the point of the contract, right? If the hospital doesn't honor it, they are in breech so none of it is valid?

Most if not all employment contract leave the employer match as a vague 'employee will get benefits as detailed in employee handbook', usually with the caveat of 'benefits are subject to change per admin blah blah'

At least that's how it was for mine - a drop in salary would break contract, but removing matched contribution technically would not.

In regards to disrespect of physicians even in a rural setting, the only way you'll get them to change their tune (unfortunately) is probably by threatening to leave. Of course whether that is going to be anything more than an empty threat is to be determined.

 

[scarbrtj]

The mentality at the hospital is that we are all the same. Doctors=nurses=PAs=MAs=janitors

The effect this has on the MD’s psyche over time is analogous to the effect chronic pressure ulcers have on the body over time.

 

[metallica81788]

The mentality at the hospital is that we are all the same. Doctors=nurses=PAs=MAs=janitors. Except of course for the admins. The execs and admins are all former nurses with a hundred L@@k-@t-Me! initials after their names who have a chip on their shoulder against doctors and think they are not only our peers but our superiors. They love screwing us out of money whenever they can and flexing their muscle whenever they can. We are told that it's offensive to use terms like "mid-level provider" and refer to the providers lounge as the "doctor's lounge." Admin refers to physicians as "our doctors." They love making it clear they own you and control how you practice.

The socialist situation at the hospitals have become even more clear with COVID. Production based physician employees who have been working and generating revenue during no elective procedure times are expected to support the non-producing departments. Then they turn around and take away your production-based bonus. While other doctors sat on their butts for two months and were still paid.

 

[thecarbonionangle]

The socialist situation at the hospitals have become even more clear with COVID. Production based physician employees who have been working and generating revenue during no elective procedure times are expected to support the non-producing departments. Then they turn around and take away your production-based bonus. While other doctors sat on their butts for two months and were still paid.

rad onc will always be the fat catfish. We are at the bottom, but we feed a ton of people!

 

[scarbrtj]

rad onc will always be the fat catfish. We are at the bottom, but we feed a ton of people!

EBRT has a profit margin probably unsurpassed in medicine. It’s why there was “peak rad onc,” diminishment of private practice and growth in academic jobs over time, why there’s been residency oversupply, why radiation therapy used to literally be traded on the stock market, and a whole host of other things. That profit margin has had a hammer taken to it by multiple forces though. Ten years ago in a pandemic MDACC wouldn’t have missed a beat and honored every contract. Now the economics are a lot more fragile to perturbations. Our wiggle room is gone.

 

[seper]

Declaring employer in contract violation should only be the last resort. After all, they owe you tail coverage (unless it’s occurence-made policy)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KHE88]

The socialist situation at the hospitals have become even more clear with COVID. Production based physician employees who have been working and generating revenue during no elective procedure times are expected to support the non-producing departments. Then they turn around and take away your production-based bonus. While other doctors sat on their butts for two months and were still paid.

It really is. The producers are all kept in check with threats and intimidation if they don't tote the party line that everyone is the worth the same, speak the poltically-correct newspeak, and sacrifice a lot of their production meanwhile the high ranking hospitburo officials live high on the hog.

The RVU bonus is a big lie. They fudge the numbers and delay reporting such that high volume periods get shifted to lower production periods so the hospital can avoid paying a quarterly bonus. I caught them red-handed doing this. The response? I was criticized for asking questions and not trusting them. The numbers were fixed and the production report indicated that I was owed a bonus. Was I paid? Of course not. Because it turns out the decision of whether or not to pay that bonus is completely at the discretion of the hospital.

Most if not all employment contract leave the employer match as a vague 'employee will get benefits as detailed in employee handbook', usually with the caveat of 'benefits are subject to change per admin blah blah'

At least that's how it was for mine - a drop in salary would break contract, but removing matched contribution technically would not.

In regards to disrespect of physicians even in a rural setting, the only way you'll get them to change their tune (unfortunately) is probably by threatening to leave. Of course whether that is going to be anything more than an empty threat is to be determined.

This is really the only difference between my employer and presumably yours. I can refuse to wear a mask and most likely a high level decision will be made to not confront Dr. KHE. Whereas you likely would be shown the door (after they have lined up a replacement of course as it's not really about patient safety if it were you would be escorted off the premeses same day and not allowed to return, it's about $$$ and subordination of physicians). I have noticed this already. Confrontation with me is avoided and administration disapproval is communicated through passive aggressive back channels or thinly veiled threats instead of direct comply-or-you-will-be-fired communications. This is because I am a difficult-to-replace major revenue center for them, and they HATE that I know this. Capitalist free market win, socialist authoritarianism fail. At least for now in rural areas.

Regarding benefits, would have been easy to negotiate benefits as fixed in the contract. I guess nobody thought of the possibility of having a 401k match eliminated.

 

[deleted774703]

WTF

 

[elementaryschooleconomics]

WTF

Pale old men, circling their wagons

 

[radiaterMike]

Pale old men, circling their wagons

He took over Lisa Kachinic’s job. In defense of him, he inherited a train wreck and like Dr Kachinic, he seemingly has little say in ABR policy since his position is term limited.

 

[Mandelin Rain]

Obviously it’s case dependent, but there is indeed research showing non employed docs are happier and experience less burnout

 

[deleted774703]

Pale old men, circling their wagons

Percy lee posted on this supporting steinberg views but deleted it before I could capture screenshot

Guess it’s not just old white men

 

[DukeNukem]

Brown nosing is independent of both race and gender.

#radoncrocks

 

[Reaganite]

In 20 years we'll have more yellow and brown representation at the top and still the only color that's gonna matter is GREEN.

 

[Radonc90]

Everyone loves GREEN lol...

 

[Gfunk6]

#Greenbacks matter

 

[deleted774703]

Percy lee posted on this supporting steinberg views but deleted it before I could capture screenshot

Guess it’s not just old white men

Found it. Since deleted

 

[thecarbonionangle]

Found it. Since deleted

View attachment 310990

i wonder if his tongue is brown from
Licking so much boot leather

 

[MegaVoltagePhoton]

The brown isn’t from leather

 

[elementaryschooleconomics]

Found it. Since deleted

View attachment 310990

"The real reasons why there is declining interest in our field". Is he serious? The ABR's shenanigans is just the icing on the cake of the declining interest.

I am almost in disbelief at how the "leaders" in this field keep digging the hole deeper. It's truly a skill for them.

 

[scarbrtj]

In 20 years we'll have more yellow and brown representation at the top and still the only color that's gonna matter is GREEN.

 

[Gfunk6]

What's with all this posting and deleting on Twitter?

 

[KHE88]

What's with all this posting and deleting on Twitter?

In general, everyone is walking on eggshells trying to appropriately virtue signal/brownnose while simultaneously managing to avoid the wrath of the SJW mob. Due to the constantly shifting goal posts, what is perfectly fine to say today may be something that could get you fired tomorrow. It's a sad reflection on the state of society, but nothing us nobodys can really do about it, which goes back to my original point that any rad onc posting on Twitter is an idiot.

 

[OTN]

Found it. Since deleted

View attachment 310990

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HA!

The "real reasons" why. You have to be kidding me. Almost no one chooses a specialty based on how difficult the boards are. I didn't even think of that issue when I was thinking about specialty choice.

YOU MADE TOO MANY RADIATION ONCOLOGISTS. SUPPLY AND DEMAND EXISTS.

A large and growing part of me believes they truly do know this is the issue, but have no idea what to do about it, so are willfully deceiving medical students, residents, etc. These are smart doctors. Am I supposed to sit here and believe they really think the job market isn't the #1 factor pushing students away? Am I supposed to believe they don't understand some of the central tenants of economics? Really???

 

[radiaterMike]

How do you find a deleted twitter post (or was the screen shot from before the deletion) ?

 

[Mandelin Rain]

The ABR mess (failing ~50% of residents out of the blue and taking no responsibility for it) didn't start the decline in medical student interest, but I'm sure it didn't help.

No one wants to train for 5 years to have something like that happen on 1 of the 4 (!) certifying tests that they are forced to take, and then have absolutely no one come to their defense. It was an embarrassment for our field and failure of leadership all around.

 

[thecarbonionangle]

Also the fact that Paul Wallner is still there and he seems to have tons of support among “leaders”. They need to offer Wallner as a “blood sacrifice” to quiet the pitchforks

 

[deleted774703]

How do you find a deleted twitter post (or was the screen shot from before the deletion) ?

I realized I didn't close the window that I initially saw it so it was still visible & grabbed it

 

[w00tz]

Man, all of our leaders are so tone deaf.
Our whole life has been delay gratification. Research years. MD/PhDs, 4 board exams - that all sucks, but we'll put up with if it means we will end up with good jobs (gratification!). It's when you're a PGY5, found out you have to retake physics/rad bio, study for clinicals, while entertaining jobs in BFE is when it gets a little unbearable.

 

[RO28]

The socialist situation at the hospitals have become even more clear with COVID. Production based physician employees who have been working and generating revenue during no elective procedure times are expected to support the non-producing departments. Then they turn around and take away your production-based bonus. While other doctors sat on their butts for two months and were still paid.

THIS!!!!

 

[deleted774703]

THIS!!!!

How do we fight this?