SA surgery salary

[dreamsicle]

What is the starting salary for someone who completes residency in small animal surgery? Thankyou.

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[doubled1st10]

I have been told depending on where you work it can be anywhere from 100k and up

 

[dreamsicle]

Really, so when people say veterinary medicine isn't lucrative, are they referring to those who choose not to specialize and practice straight away after vet school? Or maybe they are comparing veterinary med salaries to human medicine salaries? (which I thought were in the low 100k for general practitioners anyway...)

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Hmmmm....$200K+ as an emergency physician.....$100K as an SA vet if you get lucky.....tough choice

 

[adenovirus]

Hmmmm....$200K+ as an emergency physician.....$100K as an SA vet if you get lucky.....tough choice

...Doing what you love=PRICELESS

If it's being an emergency physician, well than good for you. For me, it's working with and saving animals as a veterinarian. That's why I'd go (and am going) to Purdue over IU everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. But that's just me and it wasn't a hard decision at all.

Adeno

 

[doubled1st10]

The AVMA website should have the stats for vets in all fields on their website. A general veterinarian in a big city can make anywhere from starting out in the 70k range and up as opposed to a small city where a vet will start at about 45-50k and then up. Lots depends on the price of living where you are. Boarded veterinarians have to go to school longer (one year internship then usually 3 years residency) and make very little during this time such as 25k per year. Also, student loans have to be put on hold but the payback will be much greater. I had one internal medicine doctor at my school say that there is no reason a surgeon cant make upwards of 250k to 300k five years out and in private practice. (Surgeons in an academic setting usually make much much less)

 

[adenovirus]

good to know - thanks

 

[birdvet2006]

Boarded veterinarians have to go to school longer (one year internship then usually 3 years residency) and make very little during this time such as 25k per year. Also, student loans have to be put on hold but the payback will be much greater. I had one internal medicine doctor at my school say that there is no reason a surgeon cant make upwards of 250k to 300k five years out and in private practice. (Surgeons in an academic setting usually make much much less)

Not all specialties are created equal. If you became a specialist in avian medicine, hoping to treat mostly birds, you'd make a decent living but nowhere near what a boarded surgeon (or maybe even internist) would make!

Another concern, besides low pay in your intern/residency years, is the accumulated interest on your loans (that are in deferrment or forebearance, whichever you qualify for). So you may indeed be losing out on a LOT of money by pursuing a specialty field. I honestly think you shouldn't be a specialist for the money, but for the love of the field. I can't see someone surviving a residency if they didn't love their particular field (i.e. you have to read SO many articles and textbooks on that topic alone, you'd go insane if you didn't LOVE it).

 

[Bill59]

What is the starting salary for someone who completes residency in small animal surgery? Thankyou.

AAHA recently did a survey on this. I can't remember the precise numbers, but in general a board-certifed surgeon can expect high 5-figures if they start in academics. Figure about twice that for private practice, and it can go up substantially beyond that.

But as Birdvet said, if you are doing anything in vet. med, for the money only, you're in the wrong bidness.

 

[SurgeonDreamer9]

what exactly do you mean by surgeons that do private practice, do you mean start their own buisness or study a certain species of animal?

 

[Azawakh]

Another good resource would be current job listings for the specialties of interest. My experience when looking at the ads that actually list the starting salaries for veterinary specialists as well as for general practioners is that the salaries tend to be significantly higher than the averages reported on various surveys; 120K-180K and 50K-100k respectively. These figures do not include bonuses and benefits. Most veterinary schools also have jobs boards for recent graduates that often give starting salary information as well.

 

[Bill59]

what exactly do you mean by surgeons that do private practice, do you mean start their own buisness or study a certain species of animal?

I mean surgeons working in a private practice.

Just like with MDs, there are a number of clinical specialties -- small animal surgery, large animal surgery, ophthalmology, neurology, radiology and so on. Some specialists work in a private practice, usually a referral practice. That is a practice that general practitioners refer certain cases to. The specialist may own the practice, be a part owner (partner) in the practice, or be a hired associate.

Many other specialists work at a veterinary school in the teaching hospital. This is often a referral practice as well or even a tertiary referral practice (where specialty practices refer patients). Doctors at veterinary teaching hospitals treat patients and usually also train students and house officers (interns and residents).

Other places specialists may work include industry (e.g. drug companies) and the armed forces or other government agencies.

 

[SurgeonDreamer9]

I looked on a website to find the average pay for animal surgery and it says not to expect over 40k without a 40 year experience, becoming a small animal surgeon is my dream! but is that really the pay for that career?

 

[Bill59]

I looked on a website to find the average pay for animal surgery and it says not to expect over 40k without a 40 year experience,

You need to look on different website.

In N. America, board-certified surgeons make at least twice that right out of a residency. In fact, DVMs make more than that right out of school, without a residency. And most veterinarians with 40 years of experience are thinking about retirement.

Of course they may be referring to veterinarians in small animal practice (not boarded surgeons) in some other country.

 

[SurgeonDreamer9]

Do boarded surgeons need to pay practicing insurance, and if they do then how much? Because I was told that it takes away a lot of your salary

 

[chris03333]

Do boarded surgeons need to pay practicing insurance, and if they do then how much? Because I was told that it takes away a lot of your salary

You need liability insurance (PLIT). "practicing insurance" is more of an MD type of thing. PLIT is far cheaper then what MDs pay for.

 

[Bill59]

Yeah, all veterinarians in practice need to have professional liability (malpractice) insurance. PLIT is the AMVA's and is the most common in N. America, but there are others. Because malpractice claims against veterinarians are infrequent and awards are generally small, compared to MDs, the insurance premiums are not a lot. Employers will often pay for these.

 

[SurgeonDreamer9]

Does anyone here know where any good Animal Surgeon Colleges are around the country? The only one I've known about is ACVS. Please let me know. Thanks.

 

[birdvet2006]

Does anyone here know where any good Animal Surgeon Colleges are around the country? The only one I've known about is ACVS. Please let me know. Thanks.

There are no "Animal Surgeon Colleges". First you have to become a veterinarian - you attend almost any college or university to earn a Bachelor's degree (or nearly obtain one). Next, you attend a veterinary school (4-6 years depending where you go, what country you're in etc.). Upon graduating from vet school, you are a *veterinarian* (aka "veterinary surgeon" in some other countries). You can do surgery as a general practice veterinarian (anything within your comfort level).

To become a board certified veterinary surgeon (through ACVS), you must do an internship (often more than one) and then a residency in veterinary surgery. The internship is a one-year broad experience similar to your final year of veterinary school (after your first internship you can do specialty internships where you do mostly surgery). A residency is a 3-4 year position at a specialty centre or veterinary school. You do research and surgery, perhaps even some teaching, during a residency. Finally, you take the ACVS board exams and if you pass (and meet other ACVS req's) - you are a surgeon.