Beware of the "MOPING" Medical Specialties
 Many of us have heard of the
acronym, ROAD. The saying goe | medicinesux | 03/12/10 |
| Thanks for that breakdown. When you
say Pediatrics is the lo | PolkHighRB | 03/13/10 |
| http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Speci
alist-nurses-paid-higher- | Frida | 03/13/10 |
| "Opthalmology?"
Thanks. | Venceremos | 03/13/10 |
 All of the ROAD specialties,
including optho (eye surgeons), | Guest | 03/17/10 |
| Out of Curiosity, what percentage
of doctors in pediatrics a | Guest | 03/20/10 |
| Medicinesux, how will my outlook be
economically, if I match | Guest | 03/20/10 |
| Positions at teaching hospitals are
not necessarily harder t | medicinesux | 03/23/10 |
medicinesux (Mar 12 - 9:37 pm)
Many of us have heard of the acronym, ROAD. The saying goes that anyone fortunate enough to have landed a residency in one of these specialties is well on their way to the “road” to happiness. Though each of these fields have their own particular issues, they are known for affording better lifestyles with lower hours and better pay. For those of you not in the know, ROAD stands for:
R- Radiology
O- Opthalmology
A- Anesthesiology
D- Dermatology
May I now introduce to you, MOPING. Those who choose one of these specialties risk finding themselves indeed “moping” in the future. Don’t say now that you haven’t been warned!
M- Medicine (Family) (need to know a lot about everything and get paid crap; “noctors” intruding on the field)
O- Ob/Gyn (wildly erratic hours, malpractice rates that would leave you breathless)
P- Pediatrics (lowest paid specialty; crazy parents)
I- Internal Medicine (sucks so bad no explanation needed, only hope out is doing a second residency….I mean fellowship)
N- Neurosurgery (brutal 7 year residency with brutal hours; essentially sacrificing your life for a higher calling)
G- General Surgery (demanding 5 year long residency, some very malignant personalities to deal with, your mechanic gets paid more to fix your car than the surgeon who removes your appendix)
Reply
Many of us have heard of the acronym, ROAD. The saying goes that anyone fortunate enough to have landed a residency in one of these specialties is well on their way to the “road” to happiness. Though each of these fields have their own particular issues, they are known for affording better lifestyles with lower hours and better pay. For those of you not in the know, ROAD stands for:
R- Radiology
O- Opthalmology
A- Anesthesiology
D- Dermatology
May I now introduce to you, MOPING. Those who choose one of these specialties risk finding themselves indeed “moping” in the future. Don’t say now that you haven’t been warned!
M- Medicine (Family) (need to know a lot about everything and get paid crap; “noctors” intruding on the field)
O- Ob/Gyn (wildly erratic hours, malpractice rates that would leave you breathless)
P- Pediatrics (lowest paid specialty; crazy parents)
I- Internal Medicine (sucks so bad no explanation needed, only hope out is doing a second residency….I mean fellowship)
N- Neurosurgery (brutal 7 year residency with brutal hours; essentially sacrificing your life for a higher calling)
G- General Surgery (demanding 5 year long residency, some very malignant personalities to deal with, your mechanic gets paid more to fix your car than the surgeon who removes your appendix)
Reply
PolkHighRB (Mar 13 - 5:42 pm)
Thanks for that breakdown. When you say Pediatrics is the lowest paid, what kind of numbers are we talking about? Barely six figures?
Also, what exactly does Internal Medicine entail?
Reply
Thanks for that breakdown. When you say Pediatrics is the lowest paid, what kind of numbers are we talking about? Barely six figures?
Also, what exactly does Internal Medicine entail?
Reply
Frida (Mar 13 - 6:31 pm)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Specialist-nurses-paid-higher-hmoney-2327465018.html?x=0
Specialist nurses paid higher salaries than family doctors
Reply
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Specialist-nurses-paid-higher-hmoney-2327465018.html?x=0
Specialist nurses paid higher salaries than family doctors
Reply
Guest (Mar 17 - 12:10 am)
All of the ROAD specialties, including optho (eye surgeons), are known for affording better lifestyles. Better pay per hour with less call compared to the rest. However, with Obamacare on the horizon and med school loans ever increasing the good days are quickly coming to an end.
PEDIATRICS-
New med school grads coming out of med schools with 250K and up in debt better marry money or come from rich homes since the pay is in the low 100's. Peds residency is no picnic either- 70 hrs a week for 3 years making minimum wage is the norm. Working in the neonatal ICU and peds ICU can be stressful as you could only imagine.
INTERNAL MEDICINE-
Is basically primary care medicine if one does not go on to fellowship and specialize (which is ANOTHER 3 years of crap pay but slightly better hours). Most days are filled with BS paperwork, arguing with HMO's on the phone, acting as a social worker, and on and on. Pay has not kept up with inflation for the past decade. As someone already posted above, some nurses are now even banking more than general practitioners! Nurse Practioners will tell you that they can do everything a primary care physician can and these NP schools are opening up like wildfire.
Reply
All of the ROAD specialties, including optho (eye surgeons), are known for affording better lifestyles. Better pay per hour with less call compared to the rest. However, with Obamacare on the horizon and med school loans ever increasing the good days are quickly coming to an end.
PEDIATRICS-
New med school grads coming out of med schools with 250K and up in debt better marry money or come from rich homes since the pay is in the low 100's. Peds residency is no picnic either- 70 hrs a week for 3 years making minimum wage is the norm. Working in the neonatal ICU and peds ICU can be stressful as you could only imagine.
INTERNAL MEDICINE-
Is basically primary care medicine if one does not go on to fellowship and specialize (which is ANOTHER 3 years of crap pay but slightly better hours). Most days are filled with BS paperwork, arguing with HMO's on the phone, acting as a social worker, and on and on. Pay has not kept up with inflation for the past decade. As someone already posted above, some nurses are now even banking more than general practitioners! Nurse Practioners will tell you that they can do everything a primary care physician can and these NP schools are opening up like wildfire.
Reply
Guest (Mar 20 - 6:51 pm)
Out of Curiosity, what percentage of doctors in pediatrics and internal med wind up getting teaching or quasi-teaching positions in hospitals. I get the feeling a number of my doctor friends have that as a goal. One of my doctor friends specializes in pediatrics and has two competing offers for hospital positions.
Are positions at teaching hospitals extremely hard to get?
Reply
Out of Curiosity, what percentage of doctors in pediatrics and internal med wind up getting teaching or quasi-teaching positions in hospitals. I get the feeling a number of my doctor friends have that as a goal. One of my doctor friends specializes in pediatrics and has two competing offers for hospital positions.
Are positions at teaching hospitals extremely hard to get?
Reply
Guest (Mar 20 - 11:03 pm)
Medicinesux, how will my outlook be economically, if I match in one of the top ten IM or general surgery place (UCSF or MGH more specifically) and then go into fellowship? I am an allo student at a top 25 USMD school.
Reply
Medicinesux, how will my outlook be economically, if I match in one of the top ten IM or general surgery place (UCSF or MGH more specifically) and then go into fellowship? I am an allo student at a top 25 USMD school.
Reply
medicinesux (Mar 23 - 2:14 pm)
Positions at teaching hospitals are not necessarily harder to get. The pay is less than one would expect in private practice since a lot of the drudge work can be picked up by the residents and interns.
If you are going to do IM, doing a fellowship is a good way to differentiate yourself from NP's and other allied professionals who are continuously expanding their scope of practice. However, this does extend your training even further. Doing your residency at a top tier program like MGH is more helpful if you are planning to stay in academics.
Reply
Post a message in this threadPositions at teaching hospitals are not necessarily harder to get. The pay is less than one would expect in private practice since a lot of the drudge work can be picked up by the residents and interns.
If you are going to do IM, doing a fellowship is a good way to differentiate yourself from NP's and other allied professionals who are continuously expanding their scope of practice. However, this does extend your training even further. Doing your residency at a top tier program like MGH is more helpful if you are planning to stay in academics.
Reply