Why Anesthesiology in 2020?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Anesthesiology is NOT a lifestyle specialty. Please do not go into it for that reason--we need dedicated physicians in anesthesia who will manage many critically ill patients concurrently using mid levels--that is the job of the future--what that will pay? I have no idea. The key thing to remember is that if there is only one buyer for a service (eg single payer) they can set the price---so expect the salary to be the lowest amount that someone will take to do the job before they say that the stress and the liability is too much for the compensation and then they will try and do something else--expect this to apply for all disciplines except those specialties dealing in truly cosmetic care
 
Your "friend" was right. Anesthesiology is a dead field. It is the biggest mistake I ever made. Please go into Neurosurgery or cards. Tell all your friends too. Tell them to tell their friends too. Anesthesiology is a worthless specialty and robots will be doing our jobs the millisecond Obama care passes. What the robots don't do CRNAs will. Also make no mistake about it all the proposed "cuts" will only affect us. In fact all other specialties will get a raise. Your friend was right stay away!
 
The two previous posters are getting at a recurring theme, if you haven't noticed. As a student just about to enter med school, looking as to which doctor you want to become based solely on future reimbursement is ridiculous. For one, are you sure that med school is what you want to do?... because you can make a lot more money in other fields potentially (if that's what you care about, there are much less grueling ways to make money and not have to go through a decade of "hell"). This "hell" I speak of is only made better if you truly enjoy the field you are going into, and if medicine (or anesthesiology) is not "it" for you, then you will always be miserable.

I would truly decide if what you really want is MEDICINE and not the "reimbursement" (because this will only go down in the future no matter what field you are going into). If MEDICINE is your field, then so be it. Only THEN, you can start thinking about which field... and when you get to that point, reimbursement should not be the number one priority (otherwise you're just setting yourself up for unhappiness). I'm sorry that you came here looking for specific answers, but we are all just trying to save you from choosing the wrong path because of poor reasons. Best of luck to you in the future, in whatever field you choose, even if it isn't medicine. In the meantime, spend some time shadowing different people to decide if it is the kind of work you like doing. If you hate it, who cares what it pays...
 
no one REALLY knows the answers to your questions.

first you have to see how you perform in med school - this will automatically narrow your specialty choice. then you have to see what you don't hate (because you are likely to like multiple things).

the world will be a very different place when you're matching in 3.5 years. you don't have to make a single decision for another 2.5 years. just relax for now - thinking about specialty choice at your stage of the game IS premature.

as far as cash only specialities - there is a very very small percentage of people doing cash only. the vast majority - 95%+ of physicians take some sort of insurance, regardless of specialty.

as far as lifestyle - anesthesia is NOT it. being up at 3am - your 12th hour of work (if you're lucky to start call at 3pm) or your 21st hour, managing an unstable patient in a high stress environment is not what i call a good lifestyle.

we are one of the ONLY specialities that continue to do IN HOUSE call after residency.
 
pgg said:
Dude, chill out. Get good grades, smoke step 1, and decide in 2 or 3 years.

There's no fast track into anything that you can start now.
Click to expand...

Agree with pgg. Study hard the first two years, study your a** off for Step 1, excel on the wards (to get those coveted honors in clerkships) and then you can make a decision as you are going through your third year.

Though cliche, I advise that you give your absolute best and prepare like you are going into Derm/RadOnc/Plastics so that you have no regrets at the end of your third year and as many options as possible are still open to you.

This is the approach that I took and it has worked out very well for me as I am preparing to match into Radiation Oncology. On the other hand, I have classmates that regret not doing better in their first three years because they were interested in one of the more competitive fields, but were unable to persue said fields because they were unlikely to match.

Best of luck to you. Work hard and keep an open mind about specialty choice.
 
If compensation is your primary goal then most medical specialties will meet that goal. Stick with medicine despite all of the gloom and doom prophecies. Even if our salaries "bottom out" they will still remain in the top 1-5% nationally. The future compensation of the field you wish to enter should be a paramount concern. A circumspect approach to maintaining personal fiscal viability is to diversify your investments as well as pursue business ventures outside of the realm of medicine, which is the strategy that I am currently implementing. Anesthesiology just so happens to afford me enough time to pursue these additional ventures. The fact that we have essentially no overhead, no employees, no clinic to run, no rounding, no admits, no dictations, no office time etc... frees up a tremendous amount of time, which allows the pursuit of additional business avenues.
 
Last edited:
panetrain said:
If compensation is your primary goal then most medical specialties will meet that goal. Stick with medicine despite all of the gloom and doom prophecies. Even if our salaries "bottom out" they will still remain in the top 1-5% nationally. The future compensation of the field you wish to enter should be a paramount concern. A circumspect approach to maintaining personal fiscal viability is to diversify your investments as well as pursue business ventures outside of the realm of medicine, which is the strategy that I am currently implementing. Anesthesiology just so happens to afford me enough time to pursue these additional ventures. The fact that we have essentially no overhead, no employees, no clinic to run, no rounding, no admits, no dictations, no office time etc... frees up a tremendous amount of time, which allows the pursuit of additional business avenues.
Click to expand...
Great point. Without giving away too much info (as I know such information is proprietary), what sort of business ventures/avenues are you pursuing? And how as a resident can one seek or find such opportunities?
 
Recently acquired a popular sub sandwich franchise and I am in the acquisition process of a second one. Don't have time to manage these myself, however, I'm the sole owner. I split net profits 50:50 with the manger who will oversee each franchise as it is acquired. Books are kept by independent firm (reduces the risk of embezzlement). I collect a check each month with little to no effort. Other things are in the works as well. Diversification is key in this economy. You must realize that you cannot become wealthy by practicing medicine. However, you can become wealthy if you utilize the credit line that comes with being a doctor. My goal is with in 5 years to produce annually more income through relatively passive avenues than I collect through my anesthesiology practice.

CristaGalli said:
Great point. Without giving away too much info (as I know such information is proprietary), what sort of business ventures/avenues are you pursuing? And how as a resident can one seek or find such opportunities?
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Hockeyguy said:
Your "friend" was right. Anesthesiology is a dead field. It is the biggest mistake I ever made. Please go into Neurosurgery or cards. Tell all your friends too. Tell them to tell their friends too. Anesthesiology is a worthless specialty and robots will be doing our jobs the millisecond Obama care passes. What the robots don't do CRNAs will. Also make no mistake about it all the proposed "cuts" will only affect us. In fact all other specialties will get a raise. Your friend was right stay away!
Click to expand...

I assume you're joking with this to-be med student. For the student, robots will never take care of people in the near future. What happens when the robot sees a scenario not programmed? CRNAs I use to think that they could much of anesthesia, but then I have seen some poor intraop planning on their end.
 
YouISee said:
I assume you're joking with this to-be med student. For the student, robots will never take care of people in the near future. What happens when the robot sees a scenario not programmed? CRNAs I use to think that they could much of anesthesia, but then I have seen some poor intraop planning on their end.
Click to expand...

No, he's dead serious. It's gonna happen....
 
Here is how I see it going down circa 2020:

The Dems want a single payer system like Canada. For many Dems this means 100% Medicare for all. How do you get there? Simple.

Pass a bill that pretends to save money and expand care while the real agenda is to DOUBLE costs and restrict care. This way in 2020 when health care costs $35-$50,000 per year for a family of four AND seniors get less procedures EVERYONE will demand "Change" we can believe in. So, by 2020-2025 the vast majority of Americans will NOT be able to afford private health care and the Federal government will control 80-85% of the market place.

Guess which specialty suffers the MOST under Medicare for all? For those who are just finishing Residency my advice is SAVE and PAY OFF debt.
For those looking for a career that pays well in the House of Medicine I would strongly urge you to look elsewhere. As for quality of care with fewer Anesthesiologists around the AANA has its answer: The DNAP CRNA.

We are heading towards a Medicare for all system. Obama knows this and so do the liberals. This health care bill (which is 98% certain to pass) will DOOM the country to unsustainable levels of debt and obligation. Even the Republicans will be forced to concede the issue circa 2020.

Thus, the game isn't over for us yet but the writing is on the wall. Take off the rose-colored glasses and read the memo from Pelosi/Reid. SINGLE PAYER SYSTEM BASED ON MEDICARE coming to a hospital near you around 2020.
 
J Clin Anesth. 2000 May;12(3):238-41.
Using Medicare multiples results in disproportionate reimbursement for anesthesiologists compared to other physicians.

Lubarsky DA, Reves JG.
Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, [email protected]
Multispecialty groups and insurer fee schedules computed as a multiple of the Medicare reimbursement rate have resulted in a severely low reimbursement rate for anesthesia compared to other specialties. The authors suggest that anesthesiologists negotiate for a discount from the usual and customary fee equal to what the other specialties have been asked to bear.

PMID: 10869927 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
 
Tim
Corpus Christi, TX

Reply »
|
Report Abuse |
Judge it! |
#1 Jul 19, 2009


Judged:
judgeit_brilliant.gif
5


I am shocked that no one is commenting on the potential impact of President Obama's Healthcare reform. As many of you may be aware, under the current proposals, payment of Anesthesiolgists and CRNAs will be a Medicare rates which are about 30% the level of private [COLOR=#739912! important][COLOR=#739912! important]insurance[/COLOR][/COLOR]. My state Anesthesiologist association projects that the bottom-line affect for most anesthesiologists will be a 50% cut in reimbursement. It is a foregone conclusion that in order to compete with the government option, private insurers will drop their reimbursement to the same levels as government.

Now Mr. Orzak, President Obama's budget director, states that there will be further 20% cuts in [COLOR=#739912! important][COLOR=#739912! important]physician[/COLOR][/COLOR] reimbursement in the future. This means that an Anesthesiologists or CRNAs income will be cut 60%.

I think just based on the principal of the matter, that is government dictating incomes of American citizens, I will likely retire from the profession (age 51), and simply stop working, and apply for as much government support as possible based on low [COLOR=#739912! important][COLOR=#739912! important]income[/COLOR][/COLOR]. I have been fortunate since I received an inheritance from my father which I could live off of.
 
Calling all anesthesia providers...It's crunch time people! As I write, behind closed doors lies the future of anesthesia practice as we know it...ok a bit dramatic but you get the point. It appears that the pendulum has indeed swung in favor of the public option tied to Medicare rates. The nightmare is real ladies and gents. In case you don't already know Medicare rates as they apply to anesthesia are just plain criminal. Reimbursement stands to fall 60% or more. While I enjoy the passage of gassage and feel I really use my expertise in a positive way for my patients, I just can't do it for nothing. Neither should you.


The ASA has sent an action alert detailing a proposed amendment to exempt anesthesia from the public option/Medicare rates fiasco here. It's do or die time peoples so get on the horn. Check out the ASA alert and call today.

Posted by dr. buyakasha at Monday, October 26, 2009
Labels: reform
 
The good news is that Pelosi and Reid have given me until at least 2020 until the Health care system falls apart and the public BEGS for Universal/Medicare health care for all.

Thank You Mrs. Pelosi.
 
Are you guys serious? Steer clear of anesthesia because reimbursement will be slashed in half or more? I'm currently a 3rd year student who really is interested in going into Anesthesia, and I'm currently in the middle of the rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I really have only 1 other field I might slightly like, and that is surgery. However, I'm 98% positive I want to be an anesthesiologist. What's y'all's advice on this - I don't want to hear any falsely propagated doom and gloom scenario - I want the truth. Thanks!
 
hey, what sites would you guys recommend to follow on the current status of the proposal for universal health care? I find it hard to keep up with the changes as I am often studying for shelf exams and stuff and don't have time to follow on TV and such.

Thanks!!!!
 
Doctor4Life1769 said:
Are you guys serious? Steer clear of anesthesia because reimbursement will be slashed in half or more? I'm currently a 3rd year student who really is interested in going into Anesthesia, and I'm currently in the middle of the rotation and am enjoying it a lot. I really have only 1 other field I might slightly like, and that is surgery. However, I'm 98% positive I want to be an anesthesiologist. What's y'all's advice on this - I don't want to hear any falsely propagated doom and gloom scenario - I want the truth. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Look I don't have a crystal ball but the odds favor a SINGLE PAYER system around 2020-2025. The Pelosi/Reid know the current bill is a transition to get there. The current legislation does not bend the cost curve in the right direction. If anything healthcare will be MORE expensive and less available by 2020. The way I see it is that a single payer is highly likely down the road.

Does that mean Medicare is the system? Does it mean Anesthesiology gets slashed 60%? I don't know but we are more exposed to drastic cuts in salary than any other specialty.

If you choose this field do so with your eyes wide open to the possibility of the above coming true.
 
The house pass bill has negotiated reinbursment, just like private inssurance, not tied to medicare. So it is immpossible for that to go to medicare rates, besides that there is a good chance their will not even be a public option, it wont pass the senate. So relax blade, you are one cynical puppy
 
BLADEMDA said:
Look I don't have a crystal ball but the odds favor a SINGLE PAYER system around 2020-2025. The Pelosi/Reid know the current bill is a transition to get there. The current legislation does not bend the cost curve in the right direction. If anything healthcare will be MORE expensive and less available by 2020. The way I see it is that a single payer is highly likely down the road.

Does that mean Medicare is the system? Does it mean Anesthesiology gets slashed 60%? I don't know but we are more exposed to drastic cuts in salary than any other specialty.

If you choose this field do so with your eyes wide open to the possibility of the above coming true.
Click to expand...
What salaries would you expect anesthesiologists to make after this cut? Will this mostly only affect private practice? A 60% cut in a $500k salary isn't going to drop my personal expectations too much. But if I can expect to only make $100k, then I have some serious thinking to do in a short amount of time 🙂.
 
If the public option gets taken out, I think most of our worries will be gone. The reason I say this is because they would use the "public" option as a way to have the govn't regulate salaries, ration, provide cheaper options, just like medicare has done. So if we are left with only medicare to worry about, those other 40million will fall under private insurance and balance out the medicare issues, and hopefully if the medicare payment schedule gets fixed, problem solved. In addition, the good news for us, is that we have one of the strongest lobbying forces in terms of physician specialists, so in the grand scheme of things, I think our slaries will be more or less protected as opposed to the early 90s when we got taken by surprise. But to echo many of the other posters, do this job cause you like it, not just cause you can bank. I got to tell you tho this is a pretty dope specialty and the salary is just an added bonus. good luck, I can't wait to graduate in June 🙂

By the way everyone should be sending Lieberman flowers and chocolte right now. He may be the guy that saves us.
 
Last edited:
miamidc said:
By the way everyone should be sending Lieberman flowers and chocolte right now. He may be the guy that saves us.
Click to expand...

👍👍👍

I just said to my husband this morning that I needed to sit down and write Sen. Lieberman a heart-felt thank you letter. Now let's just hope the turn-coats from Maine don't sell us out.
 
lilycat said:
👍👍👍

I just said to my husband this morning that I needed to sit down and write Sen. Lieberman a heart-felt thank you letter. Now let's just hope the turn-coats from Maine don't sell us out.
Click to expand...


Well I assure you the most they would go for is a trigger. And that would basically be wishful thinking. No way any of them or Liber for that matter going for a public option outright.
 
miamidc said:
But to echo many of the other posters, do this job cause you like it, not just cause you can bank. I got to tell you tho this is a pretty dope specialty and the salary is just an added bonus. good luck, I can't wait to graduate in June 🙂
Click to expand...
Though this is my dream career, my dream life isn't struggling until I'm in my 40s to make the same money I could have 8 years and $200k of debt sooner at another profession. It's not about being rich, but I can't justify giving up my life for two decades for a $100k/year salary..
chinocochino said:
1. Dude, the average anesthesiologist salary that I've seen from several sources (reputable, I believe) is 330,000. However, one of my uncles (anesthesiologist) says that they can make 400,000 in certain situations...

2. If you made 100,000 a year (pre-tax) its really not that much--your take home pay would be ~65,000 or so depending on what state you live in. If you have a 200,000 loan accruing at 6.8%, you would have to dedicate 30,000 of your pretax salary to pay off the loan over 30 years. Mind you, you can pay it off sooner, but I thought that this was a more accurate way of comparing salaries across professions; a 30 year working career seems about right. You could pay it off earlier, but then you would be making money years later; that 100,000/year that you make would be worth less than if you had made it right after residency.

My personal minimum desired salary is 200,000 pretax based on the above considerations...I don't want to have a lower net worth than somebody with a master's degree.
Click to expand...
I don't really know who you were replying to? My $500k figure was asking if the 60% cut was across the board or just for the highest paid anesthesiologists. Hopefully you won't be paying off student loans for 30 years with a physician's salary.. Do people really have to do that? And I was definitely saying the $100k salary was unacceptable, in case you missed that.
 
people absolutely have to take 30 years to pay off loans. especially primary care.

a physician's salary does not signify ANYTHING special.

had a patient laugh at me today - she brought in a statement showing how much her insurance paid us for an INTERVENTIONAL procedure - they paid us less than she paid for the car service to bring her to our office that day.
she couldn't believe it.
 
What are you trying to say?

Here's the thing.. Becoming a physician is for me, because I want to, but sacrificing to get there is for my future family. If I sacrifice to get there and my family is no better off for it, then why did I sacrifice at all? And I'm not saying that school is sacrificing, but $200k+ of debt and the last decade of my youth is. So how low are salaries expected to drop? 60% is very ambiguous.. For all I know, the average salary of anesthesiologists might go UP, while the highest paid private practice drops 60% to the new, elevated average..
 
My advise is simply don't go to med school if you have not started yet. You have not taken out the $200,000 in loans, and don't. Take a job for a few years and defer your admission. This, like being an airline pilot, is not an industry to get involved in right now.
 
Gotaro said:
What are you trying to say?

Here's the thing.. Becoming a physician is for me, because I want to, but sacrificing to get there is for my future family. If I sacrifice to get there and my family is no better off for it, then why did I sacrifice at all? And I'm not saying that school is sacrificing, but $200k+ of debt and the last decade of my youth is. So how low are salaries expected to drop? 60% is very ambiguous.. For all I know, the average salary of anesthesiologists might go UP, while the highest paid private practice drops 60% to the new, elevated average..
Click to expand...


Good point. I don't see average Anesthesiologists' wages going below 250K per year even in a socialized system; but, it could happen.

For example, do you know how much a full time Anesthesiologist in Germany or France earns? Look it up and see what a MEDICARE based system may pay you in 2025.

The fact remains that this specialty is MORE highly exposed to DRASTIC cuts in wages than just about any other in the house of medicine. Do you want to gamble that the single payer system based on Medicare doesn't happen around 2025?

http://www.slate.com/id/2227965/
 
Last edited:
In Germany, anesthesia nurses do not perform anesthesia by themselves, but rather support anesthesiologists, e.g., during the induction period and prepare medications, medical devices, and anesthesia machines. In our department, in each anesthesia service, two or three residents are medically directed by one attending anesthesiologist. Because residents frequently rotate through the different services, residents with all levels of experience, from first to fifth year, participated in the services during the study period. Personnel costs per case were calculated based on the total case time (begin patient preparation to end recovery room transfer) using average calculatory costs for anesthesiologists and anesthesia nurses in the 2 subspecialty services, based on an average yearly total compensation of 79,200 Euro per anesthesiologist and 53,000 Euro per anesthesia nurse (1 Euro equals approximately 1.20 United States [US] $). The personnel costs used for calculation are the actual average costs for anesthesiologists and anesthesia nurses in our hospital including social security and health insurance. Both anesthesiologists and anesthesia nurses are employees of the hospital.
 
Until the first patient was put under general anesthesia by a Boston dentist 160 years ago, surgery, dentistry and other invasive procedures resembled legal torture. Since then, and especially during the past few decades, anesthesiology has become a major medical specialty requiring doctors to undergo five additional years of education before certification. The introduction of epidural infusions into the spinal column, which must be performed by an expert, have added the option of remaining awake during certain procedures, including labor.

But will the current shortage of anesthesiologists in much of the world - expected to get much worse in coming decades - bring us back to the bad old days when childbirth always meant intense suffering, surgery was performed on conscious patients, and children had to endure painful procedures without relief? MANY ANESTHESIOLOGISTS warn that this will happen unless more MDs go into the currently unattractive specialty and major incentives are offered to encourage them to do so. At present, anesthesiology doesn't offer the opportunity for private practice and extra earning of other specialties; there is much shift work; lawsuits are relatively common; and the prestige is relatively low. Patients facing surgery routinely ask who the surgeon will be, but few inquire about the name or qualifications of the anesthesiologist


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1154525860959&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
 
Weissman's study found that only 12.2% of all Israeli anesthesiologists are graduates of Israeli medical schools, while 64.6% learned in the former Soviet Union. The percentage of local graduates falls further (to 8.4%) among anesthesiology residents under 40. Weissman, whose survey encompassed 711 anesthesiologists, found that only 1% of Israeli medical school graduates go into anesthesia, even though anesthesiologists constitute 4.5% of Israeli physicians
 
I heard Howard Dean recently comment on the health care bill on TV: "without the Public Option the bill is worthless"

Dean knows that the bill does NOTHING to control costs unless the public option is both viable and strong. Dean understands the bill actually increases cost to the average American.

The Dems want a SINGLE PAYER system. The bill is simply a means to get there in 2020. Anyone who knows anything about politics understands the real goal is a single payer health care system based on Medicare.
 
As costs continue to grow unchecked, however, the impact on Medicare has become increasingly apparent. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), total spending on health care would rise from 16 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007 to 25 percent in 2025, 37 percent in 2050, and 49 percent in 2082. Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid would rise from 4 percent of GDP in 2007 to 7 percent in 2025, 12 percent in 2050, and 19 percent in 2082. A s a share of the economy, 19 percent of GDP is roughly equivalent to the total amount that the federal government spends today.
The impact on individuals is no less dramatic. Under projections by Medicare's actuaries, by 2025 over one-half of the average senior's Social Security benefit check would be consumed on Medicare out-of-pocket costs.
 
My 50 cents: I don't think anesthesia's current salaries are sustainable🙁. Perhaps they will fall by 50% or more:scared:. No one can predict in detail when or if this will happen, especially the false prophets posting on this thread😱. I would advise that if your seeking a field that can offer true financial success, don't pursue this field. However, you can obtain financial freedom with the credit line this field can and will likely always offer. By purchasing alternative sound and socialist proof businesses, I hope to have afforded myself the luxury to bail on this field if and when I feel like my services are under-compensated (risks out-weigh the benefits). 👍
 
2ndyear said:
My advise is simply don't go to med school if you have not started yet. You have not taken out the $200,000 in loans, and don't. Take a job for a few years and defer your admission. This, like being an airline pilot, is not an industry to get involved in right now.
Click to expand...
I know that would be the smartest move, but that puts me behind.. I would hope to start a family at ~30, at the same time I could start affording a comfortable lifestyle. Maybe I'm just being silly..
BLADEMDA said:
Good point. I don't see average Anesthesiologists' wages going below 250K per year even in a socialized system; but, it could happen.

For example, do you know how much a full time Anesthesiologist in Germany or France earns? Look it up and see what a MEDICARE based system may pay you in 2025.

The fact remains that this specialty is MORE highly exposed to DRASTIC cuts in wages than just about any other in the house of medicine. Do you want to gamble that the single payer system based on Medicare doesn't happen around 2025?

http://www.slate.com/id/2227965/
Click to expand...
Man, you sure have a thing for not combining info into one post 😛. I checked out your articles, and I think they're overspeculating a little.. But even if salaries dropped to $200k, I'm personally comfortable with that. That's almost 3x the household income of my parents with my salary alone, so I can't see being dissatisfied at all. Do you think anesthesiologists (or physicians in general) are overpayed in the U.S.? Or do you feel appropriately compensated?
panetrain said:
However, you can obtain financial freedom with the credit line this field can and will likely always offer.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by that? And how do you define financial success?
 
Ask yourself this very, very important question: When our current health care system collapses in the near future due to crushing federal debt and enormous private premiums which field MAY suffer the worst? Which field will be devasted by a Medicare for all healthcare system?

I dare anyone to do a comparison of different specialties in such a scenario and find Anesthesiology comes out a survivor. On the contrary, we end up just like our German counterparts: Screwed
 
Gotaro said:
I know that would be the smartest move, but that puts me behind.. I would hope to start a family at ~30, at the same time I could start affording a comfortable lifestyle. Maybe I'm just being silly..

Man, you sure have a thing for not combining info into one post 😛. I checked out your articles, and I think they're overspeculating a little.. But even if salaries dropped to $200k, I'm personally comfortable with that. That's almost 3x the household income of my parents with my salary alone, so I can't see being dissatisfied at all. Do you think anesthesiologists (or physicians in general) are overpayed in the U.S.? Or do you feel appropriately compensated?

What do you mean by that? And how do you define financial success?
Click to expand...

The thing a lot of people don't realize is that once you take out that loan, you're done. There is absolutely no way out of it. It cannot be defaulted on. You can not walk away from it. The only thing you can do is die to get rid of it. We're headed into a time when medical school costs are going to be way more than sustainable salaries. If you have $250,000 in loans and end up making $80,000/year the numbers just don't work. You will never be able to afford to live. If you like medicine you're better off being a hospital volunteer or something.

As for what is an appropriate salary, who knows. What is it worth to you to be away from your family on many holidays, what it's like to miss your kids birthday because you got called in, having to have Christmas the day before because you are on call, falling asleep before Thanksgiving dinner because you were up all night. So you tell me, what's it worth to you?
 
So the government continues to use Docs as their scape-goat, reducing reimbursments. What is to stop us from saying F**K YOU and we all go on strike and say we will not work unless "X" dollars are paid to us. We have much more power than people realize. This may be a little unethical but then again so is screwing over America's "best and brightest". Dont get me wrong I did go into medicine for the right reasons but none of them was to be a martyr with 220 grand of debt.
 
Jccripe said:
So the government continues to use Docs as their scape-goat, reducing reimbursments. What is to stop us from saying F**K YOU and we all go on strike and say we will not work unless "X" dollars are paid to us. We have much more power than people realize. This may be a little unethical but then again so is screwing over America's "best and brightest". Dont get me wrong I did go into medicine for the right reasons but none of them was to be a martyr with 220 grand of debt.
Click to expand...

I'm very concerned about this myself as I too will have 220K in debt. Ethics aside, I think it would be very difficult to get physicians to unite in a national strike. Physicians as a whole don't seem to be a very cohesive group and I think that's part of the reason why Washington has been able to whittle away at reimbursement consistently for so many years.
 
Don't even start thinking about $ and lifestyle in terms of your specialty choice at this point, you have a LONG way to go.

Also, you never know what can happen. A hot field right now, can hit the crapper real fast..... esp Anesthesiology considering Medicare reimbursement for anesthesia services is the crappiest rate out of all physicians.

Look at the past, things come and go in terms of $$$. 20 years ago IM was super competitive, even more so than radiology. Now a days it is the inverse. I've heard of docs who went into rads because they weren't competitive enough for IM 20 years ago. Now everyone and there mother wants to be a radiologist do to the $$$. How long will this last? The government is clamping down on reimbursements.

Same thing was true with Anesthesiology. 15 years ago, anybody, I mean just about ANYBODY with a pulse could get into an Anesthesiology residency. Starting pay back then was low 100s.... Things change. I bet most of the attendings who started off back then couldn't have imagined making what they are making now. Also Anesthesiology is now considered moderately competitive.
 
panetrain said:
My 50 cents: I don't think anesthesia's current salaries are sustainable🙁. Perhaps they will fall by 50% or more:scared:. No one can predict in detail when or if this will happen, especially the false prophets posting on this thread😱. I would advise that if your seeking a field that can offer true financial success, don't pursue this field. However, you can obtain financial freedom with the credit line this field can and will likely always offer. By purchasing alternative sound and socialist proof businesses, I hope to have afforded myself the luxury to bail on this field if and when I feel like my services are under-compensated (risks out-weigh the benefits). 👍
Click to expand...


you are absolutely right diversify your income potential if you can
 
badasshairday said:
Don't even start thinking about $ and lifestyle in terms of your specialty choice at this point, you have a LONG way to go.

Also, you never know what can happen. A hot field right now, can hit the crapper real fast..... esp Anesthesiology considering Medicare reimbursement for anesthesia services is the crappiest rate out of all physicians.

Look at the past, things come and go in terms of $$$. 20 years ago IM was super competitive, even more so than radiology. Now a days it is the inverse. I've heard of docs who went into rads because they weren't competitive enough for IM 20 years ago. Now everyone and there mother wants to be a radiologist do to the $$$. How long will this last? The government is clamping down on reimbursements.

Same thing was true with Anesthesiology. 15 years ago, anybody, I mean just about ANYBODY with a pulse could get into an Anesthesiology residency. Starting pay back then was low 100s.... Things change. I bet most of the attendings who started off back then couldn't have imagined making what they are making now. Also Anesthesiology is now considered moderately competitive.
Click to expand...


Yes. I was there and saw it first hand. IMHO, history is likely to repeat itself again circa 2020-2025.

IF and When Physicians accept Medicare at 85% of their usual and customary fee as "routine" and the "majority" (90% plus of all patients) you believe a National strike will occur? Because we get the shaft at 30% of customary fees our colleagues will strike?😱 Remember, the DNAP CRNA will be in full force claiming equivalency and more than willing to except the anesthesia scraps from the Medicare table.

It doesn't take a prophet to see how this field ends up down the road; just a realist.

Blade
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Physician-Scientist Pay in Anesthesiology
Replies
6
Views
967
NICMAN
NICMAN
P
Anesthesiology Residency Advice 2025-2026
Replies
13
Views
1K
NicholasPavona
N
djsbaseball2014
Pediatrics to Anesthesiology?!
Replies
12
Views
2K
nimbus
nimbus
A
Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship App 2026
Replies
39
Views
7K
kidthor
kidthor
P
How to best prepare for Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Fellowship during Anesthesiology Residency
Replies
4
Views
2K
CopaceticOne
CopaceticOne
Top