VA salary South Florida

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BillyWalksOnMars

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Do all VAs pay crap or is it just ours? The VA here pays about 180K for graduated resident.. when same residents could go work for about 250K for similar job with same benefits in the area.
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WisNeuro said:
Varies quite a bit, depending on location.
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...and leadership.

My base salary has gone up 25% since I signed on 3 years ago, while the salaries at the place down the road have lagged behind. The main reason seems to be that our director asked DC for more money while the leadership down the road didn't.
 
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WingedOx said:
...and leadership.

My base salary has gone up 25% since I signed on 3 years ago, while the salaries at the place down the road have lagged behind. The main reason seems to be that our director asked DC for more money while the leadership down the road didn't.
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Yeah, some places are a mess, some are great to deal with. Even for things like conference/travel funding. One VA I was at always fully funded us for our big conference. Another location I was at rarely did, and made it seem like a huge favor they were doing for us if they approved just the airfare. I don't miss that. I enjoy my set CE/travel budget now that is more than I need. I went on a reference book spending spree at the end of 2017 just to spend it all before it reset.
 
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WisNeuro said:
Yeah, some places are a mess, some are great to deal with. Even for things like conference/travel funding. One VA I was at always fully funded us for our big conference. Another location I was at rarely did, and made it seem like a huge favor they were doing for us if they approved just the airfare. I don't miss that. I enjoy my set CE/travel budget now that is more than I need. I went on a reference book spending spree at the end of 2017 just to spend it all before it reset.
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Ugh, yeah, travel funding is something that's horrific where I'm at. It's gotten to the point where people have stopped bothering.
 
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WisNeuro said:
That's one way for the system to save money :)
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My residency was also abysmal with compensation for such things. It got so bad that the compensation for book and travel funds were simply dumped by GME as an increase in the resident base salary after I left.
 
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Is there an easy way to find out the average salaries in each city? I will use fedsdatacenter.com if I know the name of a psychiatrist who works in a facility in the city but what if I don’t? Unfortunately it won’t let me filter out the physician specialties so for example if I search for physicians in Gainesville, FL I get a huge range of salaries but I can’t tell what specialty they are.
 
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Each VA appears to play by its own rules to some sense. I am in a less desired, high need area and have been offered 230K fresh out and could probably negotiate up. Been told top range is 260K. Not bad for VA work. I have also heard some offering 180K. I guess it all about doing your homework on a particular VA of interest.
 
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BillyWalksOnMars said:
Do all VAs pay crap or is it just ours? The VA here pays about 180K for graduated resident.. when same residents could go work for about 250K for similar job with same benefits in the area.
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My understanding is that the Miami VA does not pay well at all compared to cost of living in the area.
 
In Florida, does anyone know if either the James A. Haley VA in Tampa or the the West Palm Beach VA pay well?
 
Also any insight on whether the Orlando VA is competitive in terms of salary compared to the Miami VA?
 
prominence said:
Also any insight on whether the Orlando VA is competitive in terms of salary compared to the Miami VA?
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No. But, I do know that Orlando is hot, flat, and gross.
 
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When I was a resident, the outpatient service provided 30 mins for follow-ups and I think 45 min to an hour for new evals. Is this still standard for most VA outpatient facilities?
 
J ROD said:
Each VA appears to play by its own rules to some sense. I am in a less desired, high need area and have been offered 230K fresh out and could probably negotiate up. Been told top range is 260K. Not bad for VA work. I have also heard some offering 180K. I guess it all about doing your homework on a particular VA of interest.
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What are the average hours and how many patients a day is the average in VA? 40 hours, 10-15 patients a day? Is there a lot of call in VA, or any?
 
I cannot speak on what I do not know. But at the VA i work at outpatient about 12 patients per day scheduled. Expect some no shows. Have to call 3 times to check on them. Sometimes, RN will help. Less so as I am a mere resident. No call outpatient. Inpatient call depends. Attendings have call on inpatient unit about once every 6 weeks. Usually average week is around 40
 
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Blitz2006 said:
What are the average hours and how many patients a day is the average in VA? 40 hours, 10-15 patients a day? Is there a lot of call in VA, or any?
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Probably depends on the VA. Due to relatively high no-show rate, I’ve seen them stack 4/hour. 8 hour day could be 3 new and 20 fu. Some have required weekend call/rounding. Each VA is a bit different.
 
J ROD said:
I cannot speak on what I do not know. But at the VA i work at outpatient about 12 patients per day scheduled. Expect some no shows. Have to call 3 times to check on them. Sometimes, RN will help. Less so as I am a mere resident. No call outpatient. Inpatient call depends. Attendings have call on inpatient unit about once every 6 weeks. Usually average week is around 40
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TexasPhysician said:
Probably depends on the VA. Due to relatively high no-show rate, I’ve seen them stack 4/hour. 8 hour day could be 3 new and 20 fu. Some have required weekend call/rounding. Each VA is a bit different.
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Thanks, it definitely seems like there is quite a bit of variability from facility to facility.
 
Starting salary at the Orlando VAMC for new psychiatrists on the inpatient side is 220s. They're starting to expand their mental health services given that they've just built a new inpatient unit and are heavily recruiting.
 
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VA call is almost always proportional to the size of the department. Take the number of nights and weekends to be covered and divide by number of psychiatrists then factor the "are there residents in house?" variable.

Some of the major urban area VAs are MASSIVE so call is really minimal.
 
ahmedqman said:
Starting salary at the Orlando VAMC for new psychiatrists on the inpatient side is 220s. They're starting to expand their mental health services given that they've just built a new inpatient unit and are heavily recruiting.
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I can confirm this as I've been speaking with someone currently negotiating salary at the Orlando VA. Steer clear of Miami in general, low salaries all over the whole area with high cost of living. Personally I'd also avoid the VA as seeing such low number of patient daily seems rather dull.
 
animalannon said:
I can confirm this as I've been speaking with someone currently negotiating salary at the Orlando VA. Steer clear of Miami in general, low salaries all over the whole area with high cost of living. Personally I'd also avoid the VA as seeing such low number of patient daily seems rather dull.
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I was very interested in this job (its my home town) but I decided to wait and see how the Orlando market improves in 3-5 years. Also I was turned down for multiple jobs in Orlando simply because of required board certified and at least 5 years experience. Difficult market. Even the prison jobs were full!
 
I checked many positions in Florida.
In my experience, they tend to pay less than the national average because "you are in the sunny state"
 
Yeah, but being a Florida resident should count for it's own type of Axis II designation.
 
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Ahamis said:
I checked many positions in Florida.
In my experience, they tend to pay less than the national average because "you are in the sunny state"
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Sad, but true. Hopefully if a psychiatrist is willing to be inpatient or do ECT, see addiction patients maybe that can make up for the "Florida tax"
 
prominence said:
In Florida, does anyone know if either the James A. Haley VA in Tampa or the the West Palm Beach VA pay well?
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I don’t know much about either of these 2 VA’s but I see the West Palm Beach VA have regular openings advertised and none in recent memory with the VA in Tampa.

Are either of these two VAs competitive in terms of pay for Florida? Are psychiatrists generally happy at either of these VAs?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
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prominence said:
I don’t know much about either of these 2 VA’s but I see the West Palm Beach VA have regular openings advertised and none in recent memory with the VA in Tampa.

Are either of these two VAs competitive in terms of pay for Florida? Are psychiatrists generally happy at either of these VAs?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Bump
 
prominence said:
Bump
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I spent 9 months searching for Jobs in Florida. I am a Florida native and it is quite unfortunate for me that my home state (and city) are extremely popular with people of all ages. This popularity (IMHO) has created somewhat of an employer's market and this pressure has driven down salary, benefits and the quality of remaining jobs throughout the state, including the VAs. This is not to say that any VA openings are terrible however I would evaluate each site personally, and try to tactfully ask questions about physician and staff turnover before signing with any Florida job.

Long story short, I dont think there is a shortage of Psychiatrists in Florida, I think there is a shortage of good job openings.

The average offer for an outpatient job in Florida Ive received is 170-200K with 3-2 weeks of vacation. Maybe 10K more with call, another 10K to supervise Midlevels. Inpatient starts around 250 usually. This is well below national average for a psychiatrist in my experience job searching. Signing bonuses are average to below average to none. I had a Job offering for 170K with no benefits. Another that required Q2 call and covering 3 different facilities. Another required me to leave between 3 hospitals and see any ICU or ER patient within 15 mins at any time. Many were shocked that I was not ok with 8-10 min med checks and 30 min Psych Evals.

Consider moving to less popular state. I had family and (wife) pressure to move back home. But if you are willing you can make a killing in places like Louisiana for over 500K salary inpatient. Wisconsin offered me a job of 325K with 56 days off and 400K loan forgiveness with 6 year contract. A Minnesota offering was a 400K SIGNING BONUS that was unbelievable.
 
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Bad Moose said:
I spent 9 months searching for Jobs in Florida. I am a Florida native and it is quite unfortunate for me that my home state (and city) are extremely popular with people of all ages. This popularity (IMHO) has created somewhat of an employer's market and this pressure has driven down salary, benefits and the quality of remaining jobs throughout the state, including the VAs. This is not to say that any VA openings are terrible however I would evaluate each site personally, and try to tactfully ask questions about physician and staff turnover before signing with any Florida job.

Long story short, I dont think there is a shortage of Psychiatrists in Florida, I think there is a shortage of good job openings.

The average offer for an outpatient job in Florida Ive received is 170-200K with 3-2 weeks of vacation. Maybe 10K more with call, another 10K to supervise Midlevels. Inpatient starts around 250 usually. This is well below national average for a psychiatrist in my experience job searching. Signing bonuses are average to below average to none. I had a Job offering for 170K with no benefits. Another that required Q2 call and covering 3 different facilities. Another required me to leave between 3 hospitals and see any ICU or ER patient within 15 mins at any time. Many were shocked that I was not ok with 8-10 min med checks and 30 min Psych Evals.

Consider moving to less popular state. I had family and (wife) pressure to move back home. But if you are willing you can make a killing in places like Louisiana for over 500K salary inpatient. Wisconsin offered me a job of 325K with 56 days off and 400K loan forgiveness with 6 year contract. A Minnesota offering was a 400K SIGNING BONUS that was unbelievable.
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That sounds absolutely horrible! 170K? How do people accept this low of a rate? I'm getting all sorts of offers all over the country and in Florida (not south florida), for 300 - 400 K. Some work too much, I weed those out, not interested in too much work. Point is I can easily go somewhere less expensive and make more money. I was just so surprised the VA pay is so bad here, I figured we would get a premium for cost of living.

Eyes opened, moving forward with a new plan.

I feel sorry for people making that much. They can't possibly be happy in such an expensive city!
 
Bad Moose said:
I spent 9 months searching for Jobs in Florida. I am a Florida native and it is quite unfortunate for me that my home state (and city) are extremely popular with people of all ages. This popularity (IMHO) has created somewhat of an employer's market and this pressure has driven down salary, benefits and the quality of remaining jobs throughout the state, including the VAs. This is not to say that any VA openings are terrible however I would evaluate each site personally, and try to tactfully ask questions about physician and staff turnover before signing with any Florida job.

Long story short, I dont think there is a shortage of Psychiatrists in Florida, I think there is a shortage of good job openings.

The average offer for an outpatient job in Florida Ive received is 170-200K with 3-2 weeks of vacation. Maybe 10K more with call, another 10K to supervise Midlevels. Inpatient starts around 250 usually. This is well below national average for a psychiatrist in my experience job searching. Signing bonuses are average to below average to none. I had a Job offering for 170K with no benefits. Another that required Q2 call and covering 3 different facilities. Another required me to leave between 3 hospitals and see any ICU or ER patient within 15 mins at any time. Many were shocked that I was not ok with 8-10 min med checks and 30 min Psych Evals.

Consider moving to less popular state. I had family and (wife) pressure to move back home. But if you are willing you can make a killing in places like Louisiana for over 500K salary inpatient. Wisconsin offered me a job of 325K with 56 days off and 400K loan forgiveness with 6 year contract. A Minnesota offering was a 400K SIGNING BONUS that was unbelievable.
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There are good jobs in FL but they're usually found through connections. The numbers you quoted are awfully low, lower than anything my peers in FL accepted. If you can't find anything better, why not look into telepsychiatry? You can work and live next to the beach and make more. While you're doing telepsychiatry, network on the side and with enough patience you'll find the good jobs.

It is still difficult to recruit psychiatrists, even in FL.
 
SomeDoc said:
When I was a resident, the outpatient service provided 30 mins for follow-ups and I think 45 min to an hour for new evals. Is this still standard for most VA outpatient facilities?
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30 minutes for Follow up is decent, but new evals are 1:30. I feel with the VA there is less time wasted dealing with pharamacies and social workers outpatient.
 
ara96 said:
30 minutes for Follow up is decent, but new evals are 1:30. I feel with the VA there is less time wasted dealing with pharamacies and social workers outpatient.
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Which VAs allow attending psychiatrists 90 minutes for an initial psychiatric evaluation? I’ve never heard of that in any general adult psychiatry setting.
 
BillyWalksOnMars said:
That sounds absolutely horrible! 170K? How do people accept this low of a rate? I'm getting all sorts of offers all over the country and in Florida (not south florida), for 300 - 400 K. Some work too much, I weed those out, not interested in too much work. Point is I can easily go somewhere less expensive and make more money. I was just so surprised the VA pay is so bad here, I figured we would get a premium for cost of living.

Eyes opened, moving forward with a new plan.

I feel sorry for people making that much. They can't possibly be happy in such an expensive city!
Click to expand...

300-400k? are you a child fellow? Ive applied for those jobs however I have been rejected because I am not board certified and I am a resident. Good on you.
 
AD04 said:
There are good jobs in FL but they're usually found through connections. The numbers you quoted are awfully low, lower than anything my peers in FL accepted. If you can't find anything better, why not look into telepsychiatry? You can work and live next to the beach and make more. While you're doing telepsychiatry, network on the side and with enough patience you'll find the good jobs.

It is still difficult to recruit psychiatrists, even in FL.
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That is a great idea for tele psychiatry! I suppose I am old school in that I prefer looking at patients in the flesh. I also enjoy the hospital environment (gasp) and the team-based model on inpatient psychiatry.
 
Bad Moose said:
That is a great idea for tele psychiatry! I suppose I am old school in that I prefer looking at patients in the flesh. I also enjoy the hospital environment (gasp) and the team-based model on inpatient psychiatry.
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Once you start to practice psychiatry with your shoes off, you can't go back.
 
WingedOx said:
Yeah, but being a Florida resident should count for it's own type of Axis II designation.
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Hey man, don't crap on my state.

I took the Orlando VAMC job. It's 10 pts, purely inpatient, 7 on 7 off, no residents. I'm a bit scared but I think it will be a good job.
 
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prominence said:
Which VAs allow attending psychiatrists 90 minutes for an initial psychiatric evaluation? I’ve never heard of that in any general adult psychiatry setting.
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Out CA way, we have 90 minute intakes for new-to-care patients (e.g., no mental health intake on record). 60 mins is more typical for referral. We also have a ton of residents, which requires longer appointments.
 
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