Trends in the Medical field for docs...

[cooldreams]

hi all, i am curious to learn what you are all seeing out there right now. what are the trands for different fields? salaries, job outlook, too many or too few docs in certain fields, hrs worked, etc.

i have read a few books recently that say that most of the subspecialty areas are actually going to decline some in the next 10-20 yrs, and that the primary care areas will require more docs. anyone have any insight into any of this??

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[Cardiovert]

i have read a few books recently that say that most of the subspecialty areas are actually going to decline some in the next 10-20 yrs, and that the primary care areas will require more docs. anyone have any insight into any of this??

Don't believe any of that primary care "gatekeeper" voodoo.. They've been saying it for the past 20 years and it has never come to fruition. Insurance companies will never pay you just to think about things and only pay when you actually "do" something. Internal Medicine, for example, is an extremely intellectual field but not procedurally oriented---as a result it is one of the lowest reimbursed specialties in medicine(with only pediatrics and FP docs lower on the totem pole). Medical schools are given incentives(likely financial) to churn out primary care docs and have tried to push students into that field since the 80's.

I'm not sure if you have a lot of options other than primary care(I noticed you will be a DO) because most allopathic residencies will not likely accept you; however, it shouldn't stop you from trying if you've got the scores/grades for non-primary care fields.

Even if more primary care docs are required in the future, they will:
1. Only be needed in underserved areas. Desirable areas to live will never see shortages.
2. Salaries will not increase for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

 

[cooldreams]

i doubt i will have much more of a difficulty getting into any area i want compared to an md, so that is not much of an issue for me, and i think as time goes on, it is less of an issue for more and more ppl.

i think the underserved areas will always be "underserved" but, i am wondering what the saturation points will be like in most other areas. the books ive read didnt exactly say the subs will go down number wise, but percentage wise versus the total doc population, it will go down, they say. this would only be the case if no more residencies opened, and even some shut down. does this look like what is happening??

i doubt salaries will go up much if any except perhaps to go along with inflation, if even that. however i am more curious about drastically declining salaries for various things. such as most docs salaries approaching about 150k - 200k or so, no matter what specialty, assuming they are not doing extra things, etc.. instead of the historically huge salaries some took in? i am not really too concerned about this because i think it is more than enough for me... but i am worried with med school loans and salaries continually declining to possiblly 60k or less... that could actually make life tough.

 

[lf777]

I am pretty pessimistic about the future, to be honest. Physician salaries are being cut, and that money is being shifted to pay for methods of diagnosis and therapeutics. As a matter of fact, I think in the future doctors will have to work more to make less. The only good part is that there will never be a shortage of jobs...

Leo

 

[Newdoc2002]

Don't believe any of that primary care "gatekeeper" voodoo.. They've been saying it for the past 20 years and it has never come to fruition. Insurance companies will never pay you just to think about things and only pay when you actually "do" something. Internal Medicine, for example, is an extremely intellectual field but not procedurally oriented---as a result it is one of the lowest reimbursed specialties in medicine(with only pediatrics and FP docs lower on the totem pole). Medical schools are given incentives(likely financial) to churn out primary care docs and have tried to push students into that field since the 80's.

I'm not sure if you have a lot of options other than primary care(I noticed you will be a DO) because most allopathic residencies will not likely accept you; however, it shouldn't stop you from trying if you've got the scores/grades for non-primary care fields.

Even if more primary care docs are required in the future, they will:
1. Only be needed in underserved areas. Desirable areas to live will never see shortages.
2. Salaries will not increase for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

You post is full of opinion that you try to put forth as fact and either way it is full of inaccurate, incomplete thought.

Primary care salaries are increasing (esp. in FP) while many specialties have seen dramatic decreases over the past decade.

DO's get into many non-primary care allopathic residencies with a few sub-spec surgical fields resisting.

Insurance companies do reimburse better for procedures (about the one thing correct in your post)

Nobody has predicted the adequate numbers of specialties since the 70's and the reactionary pendulum seems to swing back and forth between specialist and primary care every 5 to 6 years and even within the specialties themselves (i.e. anesth., radiology).

And just how do you suppose we are going to continue paying all these specialist if we continue to give patients free access to doctors whose income is directly tied on how much they do TO the patient instead of FOR the patient?

I suspect your just a troll on the board, likely re-registered from being banned before. I felt your post needed to be refuted.

For the original poster, you might get good feedback on demand and salaries by contacting a physician recruiting firm (shudder). They seem to have their nose on the frontlines of the trends, however.

 

[carrigallen]

I think that only one thing is for certain: elective or boutique-style fields will always remain fairly well-compensated. (Whatever else may happen in medicine). This is especially true for cosmetic procedures. Plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dermatology, lasik, cosmetic oral & maxillofacial surgery, cosmetic ENT, and cosmetic radiation procedures (keloids) will remain strong.

 

[scootad.]

I believe you mean lasik not lasix

 

[lowbudget]

Careers:
http://www.memag.com/be_core/m/temp...ntent/free_pages/career_guide.xml&showPoll=no

Surveys:
http://www.memag.com/be_core/m/temp...ly_content/free_pages/surveys.xml&showPoll=no

 

[Finally M3]

Primary care salaries are increasing (esp. in FP) while many specialties have seen dramatic decreases over the past decade.

FP salaries have been increasing because there is a trend for FP residency programs/teaching seminars to increase the training for outpatient procedures. Thus, you have a lot of FPs offering minor surgical and derm. procedures. And thus, a corresponding increase in the average salary for FPs. Gen Med and Peds haven't shown as much a jump...

BTW what are you talking about, cardiovert? There are DOs all over the place in allopathic residencies that aren't primary care.