Sanfilipo hit the mark with his comments. Though any of the more cerebral subspecialties confront lesser reimbursements than those which are procedure oriented, the income is nevertheless more than sufficient for a nice lifestyle. Probably the biggest boon to Rheumatology incomes of late is the ability to do in-office infusion therapy (currently with infliximab, but newer drugs are in the pipeline). Many Rheumatologists, depending upon their location, also do Bone Densitometry in their offices as another source of added revenue. Still, this will never equal the dollars generated by invasive cardiology or gastroenterology.
There are terrific training programs in Rheumatology at all of the
top-notch academic centers. I do not believe that any one institution holds a monopoly on excellence. The programs to which Sanfilipo alluded are all leaders. From what i hear, UCLA and Hopkins also have great clinical people in addition to turning out top-notch research. Washington University also has a strong rheumatology program, although the full-time faculty may be more research than clinically driven.
I am not a rheumatology fellow but i have one friend currently going through his rheumatology fellowship and another one who just got done with it and is in practice. If you have any specific questions to ask them, i will be more than glad to forward your questions or concers to them.