Time for honest answers: What is your current job satisfaction?

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BuzzPhreed

BuzzPhreed

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As many of you know by now I left (and subsequently returned to) my current job to pursue an opportunity in what I thought was a legitimate private practice model. It wasn't. In my current job I am employed by the hospital. While there is no partnership track I am fairly compensated for my work and it is manageable. I have good bennies and get an adequate amount of vacation time and days off for holidays and post-call (etc.).

In all honesty, my job satisfaction currently is very high. I sit on committees. I am a respected and listened-to member of the medical staff. I attend hospital committee meetings regularly. The CRNAs we work with are flexible and take direction. The case mix is complex enough to stay clinically interesting (large abdominal cases, frequent thoracic and vascular cases, etc.) and a substantial portion of my weekly workload is 1:1 care and not just an unmanageable supervision model where I'm stuck in a 4:1 situation where all I'm doing is pre-ops, consents, and running around the PACU.

I hope that the administration will continue to make this work. They have indicated that they fully support our group (that they own) and don't plan on changing it because the observation since they took over is that the overall care is markedly better since they fired the last group. But you never know. Making the numbers work is their issue and, so far, they have and continue to remain profitable. So we'll see.

What is your situation? And, if it's bad why haven't you left?
 
Compensation for time worked: very high satisfaction.
Amount I enjoy the work: Taking care of patients still enjoy. Unfortunately I spend a huge amount of time in front of a computer screen in preop, run into a room to push drugs run back to my computer screen, do another preop, check on the room periodically to stamp out fires, back to the computer screen.
I sit on a few committees as well. Some are BS, many are turf battles, a few are actually useful. The hardest part for me is the fact that the rules don't apply equally to the high volume players. Some are almost untouchable.
I despise night call, just kills me. Not willing to give it up since you can't be a player in my group without taking it as well as it being well compensated for it.
Biggest reason I haven't slowed down yet: I haven't found something to run to. I know what I want to run away from.
 
See dr doze's post as I feel the same way EXCEPT for compensation for time worked....I'd put that at average satisfaction.
 
dr doze said:
Unfortunately I spend a huge amount of time in front of a computer screen in preop, run into a room to push drugs run back to my computer screen, do another preop, check on the room periodically to stamp out fires, back to the computer screen.
Click to expand...

Well, this is a huge problem. Discussed frequently across multiple specialties. The computer systems we have, in general, suck. They are slow. They take too much face-to-face time away from the patient. We are being treated like data entry clerks instead of physicians. I think there is room for a huge revolution in how we interface with computers. I agree with your inherent sentiment. This is taking away from quality, efficient medicine in the name of standardization and government mandate, not improving it.
 
Below average satisfaction. My environment is a shining example of what is going wrong with healthcare. The hospital has become an 800 lb gorilla with a voracious appetite. The more you give the more they take. Culture of anesthesia having zero input. Family nearby and opportunities scarce. Small children keep us in the area.
 
Very high. I work in a traditional, partnership-track, all-MD private practice. We have excellent relationships with our surgeons and various hospital administrators. I wake up and look forward to going to work every day.

Pay is fine, could be better but is limited by the local insurance monopoly so our blended unit isn't great. Cost of living is high as well. But our benefit package is excellent.

So we do well enough. Maybe most importantly, we're geographically and culturally isolated from the AMC threat, at least for now.

So yeah, I personally perform complex, satisfying cases in an environment where our skills and expertise are respected, recognized and appreciated. And when I get off work I can jump in the water and get views like the one in my avatar.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: anesthesia is f'ing awesome.
 
I can't imagine it being any higher.

I get to live in a beautiful part of the country where people pay big bucks to vacation. I get to do everything from bread and butter ortho to surprisingly complex hearts for such a small place. I take a lot of call, but it is very benign call. I have a great relationship with my partners, the surgeons, and the staff and it is very common for partners to spend weekends boating/rafting/camping/shooting/fishing/skiing... with other partners/ nurse/ techs/ surgeons etc.

We have an excellent relationship with the current hospital admin and a stipend that is rapidly dwindling. We have a contract with the hospital that aligns our financial goals and rewards both the practice and the hospital for working together to reduce the stipend and increase efficiency, but now weighs the cost of inefficiency heavier on the hospital.

There are a few things that I miss about living in a larger town, most of which will not be as much of an issue when my kids are a bit older and we can travel easier.

- pod
 
So far 5 high job satisfaction and 1 below average job satisfaction.

I surmise that geography plays a part. Better jobs are in smaller towns where, I suspect, there is more of an immediate need to attract and retain physicians. Probably also more of a sense of community in those areas. Personally I'm so much happier in this area, and not too far from other metropolitan areas, that the trade off is worth it to me. I just have to keep my wife's interests entertained. That's easy enough to do with day trips. If I was still single it might be tougher.
 
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I'll add another "highly satisfied" to the list. I'm a partner in a small (17 physician) democratic group. It was a three year buy-in which was pretty steep, financially, but to work with good partners in a well-respected group with full autonomy over our business and clinical practice , it was totally worth it. the money's great, the vacation is phenomenal, the day-to-day is generally satisfying. I do pretty much everything except sick kids and transplant. I supervise 90% of the time, sit my own cases the other 10%. I think that 10% is really, really important in keeping up my OR skills as well as demonstrating to the surgeons and OR staff that I am not just a chart-signing monkey, especially when I sit complex cardiac cases solo. The only things I'd change are the amount of in-house call (about every 7 days), the weekends (17 a year), and the weather (53 days of below-zero temps this winter). If anyone knows of a way to transport my hospitals to UT, CO, MT or Northern Cali and get them to close on the weekends, I'm all ears.
 
Very high job satisfaction.

Newbie out for a year. Close knit group. CRNAs are very team driven. Ancillary staff are excellent and highly respect physicians. Private group, salary based plus incentive pay for extra time. Very managable schedule. Well compensated. Almost always 2:1 supervision. Majority of patients very friendly and educated. Surgeons very friendly. Do outside work for the group doing my own cases (mostly quick sedation cases). Hospital and surgical centers in affluent suburb.

I think I saw what bad was at my residency. Worst patients, vulgar surgeons, miltant CRNAs, constant fighting, and facility falling apart. Great for training, but I would be very depressed if I spent my career there.
 
Happy and not. Rural hospital employee. Compensation is good. Whats average 350? Then above that for sure. I'm on committees etc including supposedly high powered.... But actual power to change things? Not so much. Ancillary staff are great for the most part. I do my own cases always.... Everything from ob to thoracic and vascular and ortho. We don't do much peds but some and no hearts or heads but everything else. Call one in five but sometimes one in four depending on vacations. 5 weeks vacation plus all holidays off but one. The problem is we work post call - can really stink.... But other anes try n work it so you get out early but sometimes it doesn't work. But I've worked 30 plus hours in a row on a few occasions -- I'm frusterated by the hospitals ****ty computer system so we have a hybrid paper and computer system that doesn't work. I'm also frusterated by a disorganized ICU w not great ancillary staff. ICUs is mass chaos, not open, not closed.... Conflicting orders? The nurse randomly decides which to follow it seems.... Hospitalist are either overworked or suck or both. Patients are noncompliant morbidly obese sedentary smokers... Some drug use, usually meth, even in ob :-( I guess im frusterated by the patients too - they have no interest in improving their health at all. Idk, I'm post call from a bad one so.... Ask me again on pay day I'll probably be more positive
 
Location could be better.
Other than that, very happy.
 
6 months in at a private practice group and am very happy. 95% of the time doing my own cases, good mix of complex peds, healthy outpatient peds, peds cardiac, OB, and then everything else but adult cardiac (we have a robust adult cardiac-trained group). Compensation is beyond what I expected out of fellowship but so are the hours (60-65 vs. expected 50-55).

In spite of the higher than expected work hours, I have grown a lot as a clinician in the last 6 months with the diverse caseload. The additional income is welcome as a new, indebted graduate and so I am thankful to be in this position. Every day is an educational opportunity for me--trying out the latest literature in my practice. I would choose anesthesiology as a specialty again, without hesitation.
 
gasdoc77 said:
Below average satisfaction. My environment is a shining example of what is going wrong with healthcare. The hospital has become an 800 lb gorilla with a voracious appetite. The more you give the more they take. Culture of anesthesia having zero input. Family nearby and opportunities scarce. Small children keep us in the area.
Click to expand...


This is why AMCs exist: hospital CEOs and administrators keep demanding more and more of the anesthesia staff while cutting the subsidy. For 1/2 the practices in the USA this means absorption by an AMC or employment by the hospital itself. Both scenarios means a pay cut and some loss of autonomy.

Any group receiving a stipend is at risk of being replaced by an AMC or being terminated in favor of the hospital employment model. While many on this board may be in denial about the role subsidies play in a group's destiny the facts speak for themselves. CEOs are under pressure to cut costs and save money wherever possible.
 
Very satisfied with my gig. 6 years in now, 3 years to partnership.
All MD practice. Our average salary is usually at least the 75% percentile of MGMA for area.
Great benefits (401K, health, etc etc). 8 weeks vacation. Not in bumble shoot....
I like my job because it's not productivity based. So, I get to do all my own cases, and the cases that I want to do....

drccw
 
Amyl, I don't know if I would do your job for what you make.

I love my job and work 90% of the time, the other 10% I can stomach for the benefits of having most other things.
Geographic considerations are dismal for others, but for me with my family and nearby relatives, as well as good schools and low cost of living it is great.
Group is 80% awesome, 20% pretty good.
Hospital and ability to make effective changes is far superior to most places I have seen. As in, think something is unsafe? Call 2 people and it is changed or fixed in a day. Think something is inconvenient? Can be fixed in a week.
Want a new ECHO machine for valid reasons (want 3d)? That takes longer, like 1 or 2 quarters.
Surgeons with the standard 1-3 exceptions are friendly, respectful, and talented. Those 1-3 can make for long days.
CRNAs are top notch and collegial, they are fun people, and I never feel like my license is in jeopardy. They take orders well and will point out valuable insights of their own when applicable. I am not too proud to admit when a 30 year experienced CRNA has a good plan or sees something I don't. That said, those same CRNAs will tow my line when needed. Mutual respect.

Supervision vs own cases is 70:30.
Cases are both easy/lucrative and difficult and thought provoking depending on the day.

Pay is "far above average" and vacation is more than I know what to do with.

Call and weekends do wear on a guy, as can late cases and unpredictable out times, but without sacrificing either pay or complexity of cases I have yet to hear of an anesthesia job without those issues. I also tire of the constant politics required to maintain these work conditions.

Anesthesia can be a great job, as can any type of MD when you compare to most other fields. And, when you love what you do, that is priceless. Combine that priceless mental satisfaction from work with good pay and I can't think of a better life for a guy like me.
 
While it would be nice to continue to hear from more board certified docs out there actually in the workforce on this thread, I think the response so far should be enlightening to the residents and those thinking about choosing this field. Most of us are very satisfied with our current work arrangements. That's an important message to convey.

I think the other point is that there are clearly sh*tty jobs out there. Don't put yourself in a situation where you can't get out of one if you find you've made such a mistake. Of course it's all relative to the individual, but I think it's important to properly vet a practice prior to joining it. A question you absolutely have to ask and demand an honest answer to is how many anesthesiologists have left over the past 2-3 years, and why. Unstable groups are a red flag.
 
Count me as highly satisfied. Private practice at a medium size (~400 beds) trauma center where we do most everything except burns and transplant. Supervise anywhere from 1 to 3, very rarely 4 in order to spring a post-call person early, and occasionally hands-on. Above average pay, 8 weeks vacation, great benefits and generous 401k contributions. Very solid, competent and courteous CRNA contingent (makes all the difference). Departmental respect from administration and surgeons (as far as I can tell anyway), as we perform better than the previous group from four or five years ago. Usually a weekend every 5-6 weeks, with night call being hit or miss. All this and I work for a large AMC (gasp!). Really, no complaints.
 
Trisomy13 said:
Count me as highly satisfied. Private practice at a medium size (~400 beds) trauma center where we do most everything except burns and transplant. Supervise anywhere from 1 to 3, very rarely 4 in order to spring a post-call person early, and occasionally hands-on. Above average pay, 8 weeks vacation, great benefits and generous 401k contributions. Very solid, competent and courteous CRNA contingent (makes all the difference). Departmental respect from administration and surgeons (as far as I can tell anyway), as we perform better than the previous group from four or five years ago. Usually a weekend every 5-6 weeks, with night call being hit or miss. All this and I work for a large AMC (gasp!). Really, no complaints.
Click to expand...


Which AMC is this? Sounds very good.
 
What is average? 350 like I guessed or ?. What's well above average? 450? Most of my friends in anes make 300ish
 
bronx43 said:
Seems like everyone is making "far above average pay." Then, who the hell is making below average pay?
Click to expand...

I imagine I am. I'm still extremely happy with my job. I make much less than a lot of my friends from residency but I also work less hours and live in a highly desired thus lower paid area. I'm okay with this.

When I break it down per hour, it's competitive and I could make more somewhere else but I don't want to-I love where I work. No place is perfect, but I know I have a great set up and am happy going to work everyday and enjoying all my time when I'm not working in a great place to live!

I still make a good living, but I'm not pulling in half a million or anything like that and I won't unless I leave this area all together.
 
bronx43 said:
Seems like everyone is making "far above average pay." Then, who the hell is making below average pay?
Click to expand...
:wave:

Although to be fair, pay for .mil lifers like me is complicated, and a lot is effectively deferred to the retirement annuity.

I'm happy enough to stay with this job. Much more good than bad.
 
I would say ABOVE AVERAGE. Base pay is below median but with all the benefits above median. Location sucks for me, but don't plan on being here forever.
Work hours are 40-45 hrs week. Collegiality among CRNA/DOCs mostly good, although there is one CRNA who pays me no mind whatsoever, thinks he's a doc and does what he wants. He's the boss's best friend, so he gets away with it. Said boss drives me nuts with his micromanaging, passive-aggressive, my-way-is-the-best-way attitude and I am really, really getting tired of it so I try to avoid him as much as I can. Surgeons are mostly easy to work with although most of them are always running late for their first starts including their chief who is the biggest culprit. Call is not bad, but we do our share of middle of the night choles/appy's that aren't that sick but are "emergencies" as well as afternoon after office hours "emergencies" that have been sitting on the floor all day. Post call >95% off, but sometimes if there's some emergency or crazy board, we do come in.

Oh well, coulda been a shrink, but too late now.
 
chocomorsel said:
I would say ABOVE AVERAGE. Base pay is below median but with all the benefits above median. Location sucks for me, but don't plan on being here forever.
Work hours are 40-45 hrs week. Collegiality among CRNA/DOCs mostly good, although there is one CRNA who pays me no mind whatsoever, thinks he's a doc and does what he wants. He's the boss's best friend, so he gets away with it. Said boss drives me nuts with his micromanaging, passive-aggressive, my-way-is-the-best-way attitude and I am really, really getting tired of it so I try to avoid him as much as I can. Surgeons are mostly easy to work with although most of them are always running late for their first starts including their chief who is the biggest culprit. Call is not bad, but we do our share of middle of the night choles/appy's that aren't that sick but are "emergencies" as well as afternoon after office hours "emergencies" that have been sitting on the floor all day. Post call >95% off, but sometimes if there's some emergency or crazy board, we do come in.

Oh well, coulda been a shrink, but too late now.
Click to expand...

So you would do psychiatry if you had to do residency again?
 
Yup. Let my family talk me out of it. And my ego. Loved it. Liked anesthesia well enough but not as much as psych. Yeah totally different I know.
 
chocomorsel said:
Yup. Let my family talk me out of it. And my ego. Loved it. Liked anesthesia well enough but not as much as psych. Yeah totally different I know.
Click to expand...

That sucks. We can't find a permanent psychiatrist right now to staff our hospital's unit (relying on locums). They are offering a salary more than I make (which is more than enough) for the right candidate.

A man who loves his job never works a day in his life. I happen to love anesthesiology. That's why I don't want to do anything but what I'm doing right now, not the least of which is "manage" (argue with, get talked down to by, debate, save their ass, etc.) a bunch of know-it-all and/or green CRNAs 24-7-365.
 
BuzzPhreed said:
Well, this is a huge problem. Discussed frequently across multiple specialties. The computer systems we have, in general, suck. They are slow. They take too much face-to-face time away from the patient. We are being treated like data entry clerks instead of physicians. I think there is room for a huge revolution in how we interface with computers. I agree with your inherent sentiment. This is taking away from quality, efficient medicine in the name of standardization and government mandate, not improving it.
Click to expand...

Scribes?
 
I enjoy my challenging diverse practice. The pay is high for academics (90th percentile) and I don't take a lot of call. My previous job had a high call burden. That sucked. I wouldn't mind more vaca, but I'm positioned well to go part time (80%) and eventually no call. I am also positioned well to weather a decrease in income. The benefits are also very good, including a generous tuition benefit for my children. ($80-140k per child)
Not all academic jobs suck, though most probably do. 😉. Some places put a priority on running lean and efficient and attracting and maintaining high quality staff. That means $$. (and academic time for those so inclined.)
 
I've been pretty satisfied with my academic position. Income is good, not great (considering I live in a high-cost part of the country). I have a very diverse practice (tertiary care OR, a whole range of ICU practice between a high-acuity VA and the university mother-ship), as well as a number of non-clinical and research obligations. I would always rather work less for more money, but I look forward to going to work almost every day. I really like my colleagues, am surrounded by people who are happy to be here (yes, at the VA!), and we all have a common purpose. I don't get paid more to take call or do an emergency in the middle of the night, but neither do the surgeons, so I know if they're operating at midnight, it's because the patient needs it. There's something nice about that kind of shared mission.
 
Wow, reading this thread makes me feel great about choosing this field!
 
I'm actually pretty happy as well. I'm sitting in a call room. Came in at 5. I did cases in the OR till just a few minutes ago. Now I'm covering OB. Fairly busy OB service so I don't really even try to sleep. It is what it is I guess. I don't care for the night work. Even though I come in at 5 and leave at 7am, I've already done three OR cases, and the nurses are telling me there is a section "soon". Love that by the way... Add in a coupl epidurals, and might night is pretty much shot.

During the day, I love my job. Good nurses, good colleagues, good surgeons, profitable hospital. High cost of living area, but the wife is happy.

For the medical students out there... I don't think I'm alone when I say this. Night work is a drag. It always has been and always will be. I was lucky to land a good position right after residency. I am saving aggressively and hoping to stop the night stuff by the time I'm fifty "ish". That to me means healthy retirement, paid off mortgage, and three college plans fully funded. So far, my kids are little and the plans seem like they are on track. I think that waking up one day and realizing that I will never work again at night will be huge. I could do the daytime stuff for a long time and at least so far (nearly 10 years out of residency) life is pretty darn good.

John
 
Current satisfaction level. Probably very high. Current active duty military. Not busy at all... Which can be a great thing or can be a detriment. Cases by the week. Still able to keep my hand skills up IE aline, spinals, epidurals. I wont post the numbers but very very benign schedule. Pay is ok but cost of living is dirt cheap(living on less than 1000 a month and I live like a king) so I save a ton of money. I sit on a ton of committes. Department Head in a few weeks. I set my own schedule plenty of me time. Only problem I am geographically located far from the states. My happiness is related to my free time working out, boating, scuba diving, fishing. I came from a very busy academic practice and a super busy(number one residency ha AMYL). I laugh alot, lift a lot of weights, and stay up on the literature. I have learned a ton about how an operating room basically how and OR works IE purchasing, setting up, setting up a computer charting system, ordering new machines. Basically how to go to anywhere in the world and setup and OR ready for anesthesia! I work with some very awesome motivated junior sailors that are very hungry for knowledge and guidance(this is probably one of the most rewarding aspects). I will definetly look back at this time and enjoy it. See yall at the ASA!
 
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