Rheumatologist salary is up 9% in 2018 medscape physician salary report

[benbenben2018]

Medscape 2018 report mentioned that rheumatologist salary is up 9% compared to last year. I think it is big increase in salary . Also, congress has recently passed spending bill that includes Part B drugs Fix, Therapy Caps repeal which prevent cutting of reimbursement of infusion drugs. I think it mainly have effects upon infusion heavy specialist such as oncologist and rheumatologists. Oncologist salary is also up 10% in medscape 2018 report.
Will rheumatology fellowship become more competitive this year? It was very competitive last year with match rate of 67.7% while Gastroenterology match rate was 64%.

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[bronx43]

I don't trust any Medscape numbers. They have always been off, and you're better off using MGMA.

Rheum, despite a 9% increase in the survey, is still in the bottom half of salaries.

It's a great field, but unless you have a great set up where you're not employed by a large corporation, you probably aren't making cardiology money.

 

[Raryn]

Medscape 2018 report mentioned that rheumatologist salary is up 9% compared to last year. I think it is big increase in salary . Also, congress has recently passed spending bill that includes Part B drugs Fix, Therapy Caps repeal which prevent cutting of reimbursement of infusion drugs. I think it mainly have effects upon infusion heavy specialist such as oncologist and rheumatologists. Oncologist salary is also up 10% in medscape 2018 report.
Will rheumatology fellowship become more competitive this year? It was very competitive last year with match rate of 67.7% while Gastroenterology match rate was 64%.

Medscape suffers from small sample size as well as difficulties getting a representative sample. These big swings for some of the smaller specialties year to year are probably just due to issues with the survey itself.

That said, rheum is getting more popular due to the lifestyle and the excellent job market. Looking at pure match rates is not going to tell you the whole story, because it doesn't talk about the quality of the applicants. There's a lot of self-selection amongst people who apply to fellowship. I'd feel comfortable saying that Rheum is not nearly as competitive as GI, but it's nowhere near the cakewalk ID and nephro are.

 

[drfunktacular]

I agree--rheum will never be in the top quintile of specialties as far as income goes, but for lifestyle it's hard to beat.

My weekend "call" is typically about 3 phone calls from little old ladies who realized they need an urgent refill on their Plaquenil at 4PM on Saturday for some reason

 

[rheumatology]

I got a call from a young lady having a mild headache after a start of a biologic in the evening then I slept through all night. I share phone calls(after hours only) with other rheumatologists(it comes twice a month)

 

[jhamaican]

It can be up 1000% and you still have to deal with fibromyalgia and chronic pain patients.

 

[rheumatology]

It can be up 1000% and you still have to deal with fibromyalgia and chronic pain patients.

Not necessarily. I retain a minimum number of Fibromyalgia shared with a bunch of pain doctors. I got 3~4 phone calls in my busiest call day including a call for an abnormal lab early morning. In my previous job, I did a hospital consultation but they couldn't call me after 5 pm nor weekend/holidays.

 

[bronx43]

It can be up 1000% and you still have to deal with fibromyalgia and chronic pain patients.

 

[FohBay]

It can be up 1000% and you still have to deal with fibromyalgia and chronic pain patients.

I presume you don’t see any chronic pain patients?

 

[Raryn]

I presume you don’t see any chronic pain patients?

Oh your knee hurts? I'm so sorry. You should make sure to mention that to your PCP next visit.