Pain is a complex beast.  People can have chronic pain from cancer, arthritis, injuries, or just plain back pain.  The Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that about 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.  That’s more than heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined!

Pain management comprises of a multi-disciplinary approach to the treatment of chronic pain.  Meaning it’s usually a team of pain doctors, psychologists, and therapists all working together towards reducing the amount of pain a patient has.  There are 2 major ways to become a pain management doctor.  They are both high in salary but there is a significant difference.

Just how much do pain medicine doctors make?

A reported median is $340,506 with the most common ranging from $273,297 to $398,304.  These numbers align more with pain management doctors who do not practice anesthesiology.  Doctors who do practice pain medicine with anesthesiology report an average of $502,024 per year!  If you are just starting out, anesthesiology pain doctors might make $315,000.  The maximum reported salary is $651,000!

Here are a couple pain doctors and their salaries :

• Dr. Desmond Henry, anesthesiology and pain management, pediatrics – $558,250
• Dr. Dhanalakshmi Koyyalagunta, medical director, pain management – $364,400

Keep in mind the difference that there is a difference between doctors who incorporate anesthesiology into their practice and doctor’s that don’t.

To become a pain management doctor, you can go one of two ways:

• Anesthesiology –> Pain Medicine Fellowship
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation –> Pain Medicine Fellowship

Click here for more information about Anesthesiology.
Click here for more information about Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

With over 100 million Americans suffering from chronic pain, the call for Pain Management doctors is still strong.  It’s a field of medicine that can truly bring relief to many patients.  The salary and lifestyle are also pretty great.  If you like doing procedures in an office or practicing integrative medicine, this could be the field for you.

Sources
Salary.com, Physician – Pain Medicine Salary
Allied Physicians, Physician Salary Survey
Texas Tribune, University of Texas Southwestern Anesthesiology and Pain Management
Texas Tribune, Texas MD Cancer Center
Becker’s Spine Review, Pain Management Physician Compensation

The post Pain Medicine Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Nuclear Medicine Physician Salary Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician Salary Sports Medicine Physician Salary

Baby boomers are defined as those born during the post World War II baby boom between 1946 and 1964.  2011 minus 1946 equals 65 years old.  We are at that time period where the baby boomers are retiring, when their bodies are needing medical care akin to their age level.

Geriatricians are specialists in diseases of the elderly.  76 million baby boomers are retiring within the next  18 years.  There is definitely a demand for these physicians.

Salary.com

Because geriatrics is essentially a focused part of primary care, the salary is similar to other primary care physicians.  The median expected salary is $171,323 with the majority making between $158,222 and $193,847.

There’s a concern that the salary may be less given that medicare’s reimbursement rate is so low.  It’s possible.  Though, there are some physicians who charge a retainer fee like the Concierge Medicine model.  This would give you a higher income.

In order to become a geriatrician, you can do a fellowship after a family medicine residency or an internal medicine residency.  This will make you eligible to sit for the geriatrics board exam.  If you pass, you’ll receive a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatrics.

Currently there are 105 geriatrics fellowships by way of internal medicine and 44 fellowships by way of family medicine.

With 76 million baby boomers retiring in the next 18 years, geriatricians will be in hot demand.  You don’t necessarily need to have the added fellowship to practice medicine for the elderly, but it does make you more knowledgeable and more credible.  If you’re interested in the diseases of the elderly, you should consider this position to see if it suits you.

Sources
Salary.com – Geriatrics Physician Salary

The post Geriatrics Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Family Medicine Physician Salary Ophthalmology Physician Salary Nephrology Physician Salary

Cancer is often approached by a multi-disciplinary team : medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, and radiation oncologist.  Radiation oncologists are different from radiologists and medical oncologists.  These are physicians trained in treating cancer with radiation.  Different residencies and skillsets needed.

Salary.com

Just how much do radiation oncologists make?

The median expected salary is $329,784 with the majority making between $255,706 and $408,520.  If you’re just starting out, you might make $241,000 to start but quickly rise to the median after a couple years.  The maximum reported salary is $787,000!

The total residency training required to become a radiation oncologist is 5 years.  The first year is usually a preliminary or transitional year in adult medicine followed by 4 years of training in radiation oncology.  There are a couple fellowships available for further experience in the field.

The field is competitive as there are only 87 residency programs offering about 200 spots.

Patients with cancer need compassionate and caring physicians helping them.  Radiation oncologists receive this training on top of their training in using radiation to treat cancer.  There’s a lot of physics involved but if you enjoy learning about it and helping others with some of the most devastating, life-altering diseases, you should consider this field.

Sources
ACGME
Allied Physicians – Physician Salary Survey
Salary.com, Physician – Radiation Therapy Salary

The post Radiation Oncology Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Hematology / Oncology Physician Salary Nuclear Medicine Physician Salary ENT Physician Salary

Medical genetics, different from human genetics, is a recognized primary medical specialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties.  It comprises the practice of medicine with a particular focus in hereditary disorders.  These physicians are specialists at evaluating, diagnosing, managing, and counseling patients and their families with genetic disorders.

Salary

There wasn’t much information on the median and starting salaries for genetics doctors.  But I did find some sources and will list them here.  If you have any more info, please share them in the comments.

• Commentor on Eye on DNA – $90,000 to $125,000
• Salary Expert – $90,000 to $165,000
• PayScale – $40,268 to $170,697
• eHow – $56,000 to $162,800

The Texas Tribune lists real salary figures of geneticists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  The chair makes $336,029.  Dr. Louise Strong makes $281,681 as a genetics professor.  Dr. Hope Northrup makes $167,300 as a pediatrics geneticist.  Dr. Michael Gambello makes $143,000 as a pediatric geneticist.

To become a medical genetics physician, you must complete 2 years of residency in any recognized medical specialty.  Then you need to do 2 years of a genetics residency for a total of 4 years of training.  If you want to subspecialize, you can do 1-2 more years of training in fellowships.

Currently, there are 50 genetic residencies offering about 100 spots.

Medical genetics is an interesting field that focuses on hereditary disorders.  Think Huntingtons, Neurofibromatosis, metabolic disorders, mitochondrial disorders.  Remember the pedigrees?   If you are interested in genetics and enjoy the clinical side of medicine, you might like this field!

Sources
Eye on DNA, Salaries for Jobs in Genetics
Salary Expert, Specialist in Medical Genetics
The Texas Tribune, Search Genetics
eHow, What is a clinical geneticist’s salary range?
PayScale, Clinical Genetics
ACGME

The post Genetics Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Pain Medicine Physician Salary Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician Salary VP of Medical Affairs Salary

Did you know there are over 100 forms of arthritis?  Rheumatologists do.  They are the specialists of non-surgical joint disease, soft tissue disorders, vasculitis’, and autoimmune diseases.

Their practice is mainly office based and there is few, if any, call responsibilities.  The only on-call rheumatologists I knew of were in academic hospitals for pediatrics.

salary.com

Just how much do rheumatologists make?

Not as much as other specialists but more than primary care physicians.  The median salary for rheumatologists is $185,209.

Allied physicians reports that with a few years of experience, you can make $229,000 dollars per year.  Medscape says about 6% of rheumatologists are making over $500,000!  The majority of these physicians make $150,000 to $300,000.

To become a rheumatologist, you need to do a residency in either internal medicine or pediatrics.  Afterwards, you need to do a fellowship in rheumatology.  This usually lasts 2 years extra, but Mayo requires a 3 year program.  That means, in total, you will need to do 5 to 6 years of on-the-job training.

Currently, there are 112 programs offering less than 200 spots.  Half were US graduates, and half were foreign graduates.  During last year’s match, only 83% of programs filled, so this may not be a very competitive field.  That’s something to think about (in both good and bad ways)

Rheumatologists deal with interesting disorders of the body and help a ton of people deal with their disfiguring, debilitating pain.  Their lifestyle is pretty good with little to no call, a good salary, and shift-work.  If you like learning about these kinds of disorders, look into this field to see if it suits you.

Sources
Salary.com, Rheumatology Salary
Allied Physicians – Physician Salary Survey
Medscape Compensation Survey
NRMP Fellowship Match Statistics
ACGME

Image Credit
Benmoon

The post Rheumatology Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

ENT Physician Salary GI Physician Salary Ophthalmology Physician Salary

Radiologists are often touted as the best lifestyle job of all the medical specialties.  You sit in a dark room and look at images all day long.  There are no late hours or call to do because many hospitals use what’s called a NightHawk service where diagnostic images taken at night are sent across the globe to radiologists in Australia, for example, where it’s daylight.

Not only that but this specialty is among the highest paid of all the specialties.

salary.com

Just how much do radiologists make?  A lot !

The median expected salary is $405,950 dollars!  If you are just starting out of residency, you might need to start out at $200,000 but after a couple years, you quickly rise to the median level.

The highest reported salary for a radiologist is $911,000!!  But it’s unclear if this number was reported by a radiologist or a radiologist who does interventional procedures.

Yesterday, I posted about Psychiatry Salaries and we saw that the graphical trend was very pronounced towards the left with lower salaries.  Well, the trend for Radiologist salaries is the exact opposite.  It’s quite interesting.

Because it’s one of the best lifestyle fields to go into, it’s also very competitive.  If you make it in, expect to do five total years of training.

First, you need to a preliminary year in adult medicine.  Many family medicine and internal medicine residency programs offer that one year spot.  Afterwards, you do four years of training in diagnostic radiology.

There are many fellowships you can do to sub-specialize even further.  Here are some of them:

• mammography
• musculoskeletal
• neuroradiology
• nuclear radiology
• radiology informatics
• interventional radiology
• cardiothoracic
• PET/CT

Radiologists diagnose disorders based on what they see in a medical image.  Often times, there is no patient contact.  It is a pretty lucrative position with set hours and no call.  If you enjoy being a medical sleuth but not necessarily patient contact, look into this field to see if it suits you.

Image Credit
Cedar Park Regional Medical Center

Sources
Salary.com – Radiologist Salary
Medscape Compensation Survey
Allied Physicians – Physician Salary Survey
ACGME

The post Radiology Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Pathology Physician Salary Cardiology Physician Salary Radiation Oncology Physician Salary

Psychiatrists are physicians specializing in the treatment of mental disorders.  It’s a huge field.  Have you seen how big the DSM-IV book is?  Can you believe there is finally a DSM-V on the way?  (17 years after the first DSM-IV edition came out)  They’re huge!

But I digress.

Although psychiatrists are not among the highest-earning specialists, from what I hear, it’s one of the most rewarding fields.

salary.com

Just how much do psychiatrists make?

The median expected salary is $192,768 with the majority making between $172k and $211k.  Surprisingly, 15% of the psychiatrists that reported their salary on Medscape said they make less than $100,000 annually.  But I wonder if those physicians were just part-timers.

In fact, the whole Medscape psychiatrist salary graph is more prominent on the left side (less money) than it is on the right.

But let’s not forget that there are some psychiatrists who make more than $300,000.  Remember my post about Dr. William Wood?

How can you beef up your salary?  By covering calls at the psychiatry hospital, being an expert witness, and doing depositions (legal mumbo jumbo).

[ update Nov 6, 2011 ]
A psychiatry resident on the SDN forums shared their experience about psychiatry salaries.  Listen up because it’s great info of what’s possible out there.  It goes to show that you should always check your local hospitals for current market trends to get an idea of the salary ranges for your particular geographical area.

The average starting salary in academics is about $145,000. This is usually for a pretty relaxing gig supervising residents and having “administrative time”.

State gigs in Texas average about $185,000 with no call, no holidays, and vacation time.

The average starting salary in private practice is about $215,000 (your 75%ile). Many of our residents start higher than this while only working 45 hours/week with little call.

If you are willing to take call, work longer than 45 hours/week, run a clinic, have PA’s, be fellowship trained, or any number of other opportunities, you can blow well past $350k/year.

Adult Psychiatry is generally a 4 year endeavor.  It’s one of the few specialties that do not require a preliminary year of internal medicine at a different residency program.  Meaning, most psychiatry residency programs integrate adult medicine into their 1st year of training.  The last 3 years are specialized in psychiatry.

You can also do a residency in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry but you are required to do an internship year plus 2 years of general psychiatry first.

There are also a few fellowships you can do :

• addiction psychiatry
• geriatric psychiatry
• psychosomatic medicine

Psychiatry is about listening to patients and helping them live their life with a mental disorder via medications and psychotherapy.  A Beautiful Mind, Fight Club, Shutter Island, Rain Man.  All excellent movies right?  Well, they’re all about psychiatry.

It’s a very interesting field and very people oriented.  You need excellent listening skills and a big heart.  Got what it takes?

Sources
Salary.com, Psychiatry Salary
Medscape Compensation Survey
Allied Physicians – Physician Salary Survey
ACGME

The post Psychiatry Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Obstetrics & Gynecology Physician Salary Radiology Physician Salary GI Physician Salary

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation doctors are often called Physiatrists for short or PM&R docs for even shorter.  They specialize in rehabilitation medicine which focuses on improving a patient’s functional ability and quality of life.

Patient’s who have disabilities from stroke or car accidents or worse may need help getting back to their baseline daily living.  Physiatrists use medications, physical therapy, adaptive devices, orthotics, and electrodiagnostics.

These doctors work in private practice, academics, and in the hospital.  They also have a pretty good lifestyle with mostly no call.

Physiatrists make a pretty good living.

The median expected salary is $200,339 dollars with most of the physicians making $1788,888 to $224,545.  This range is actually only a little more than family medicine salaries.  The maximum reported salary is $313,000 dollars.

Here are a few actual PM&R physicians and their salaries :

• Dr. Karen Jean Kowalske – $317,200
• Dr. Fatma Gul – $262,100
• Dr. Benjamin Nguyen – $164,800

To become a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Doctor, you must complete four years of training.  Three years is dedicated to PM&R but the first year is a tossup to one of a few specialties.  It depends on the program but it’s possible to do your first year of residency in any one of these specialties before going into Physical Medicine :

• Internal Medicine
• Surgery
• Pediatrics
• Preliminary/Transitional

After you’ve done residency, PM&R doctors can subspecialize in sports medicine, pain management, or pediatrics physical medicine. Right now, there are only 77 residency programs offering training in this field.  That’s not as much as other specialties so the competition may be tough.

Physiatrists have a great lifestyle.  Their residency has no call, repeat NO CALL**.  And that translates into the real world too.  Their salary is more than primary care but less than many specialist fields.

Let’s not forget the patients.  It’s a great feeling being able to connect with them and see their improvement over time.  It’s traumatic walking your whole life and then become debilitated from a stroke.  You can help them regain some of their independence.  A smile from a happy patient you’ve helped is extremely gratifying.

**Jersh55 wrote in the comments that PM&R residents DO have call.  There’s NO PM&R residency which does not have call.  Too bad, it was too good to be true huh?  I’m gonna have to knee my PM&R friends for embellishing.  Here’s a link to a thread about doing PM&R call in residency.

Sources
Salary.com – Physiatry Salary
The Texas Tribune – Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Salaries
Allied Physicians – Physician Salary Survey
NRMP Match Statistics
ACGME

The post Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Pain Medicine Physician Salary Sports Medicine Physician Salary Emergency Medicine Physician Salary

cervical carcinoma

The first time I met a pathologist was when I was in pre-medical school in the caribbean.  We were standing in line to get through customs when the doctor noticed my alma mater’s t-shirt.  He introduced himself to me as a pathologist on vacation with his family.  I had no idea what that was so asked him about it.  He said it was the best job because he had no call, a lucrative salary, and most importantly, he said, a tremendous amount of time for his family.  Lucky guy.

When I think of pathologists, I often think of them as the smartest physicians. They have to know the nitty-gritty details of all aspects of the medical spectrum clinically as well as it’s anatomy.

Do you have cancer? Only a pathologist can really tell you based on the cells from your tissue biopsy.  Let’s look at the field’s demographics in more detail.

salary.com

Just how much do pathology physicians make?

Majority of pathologists make between $216,626 and $292,307 dollars.  The median reported salary is $247,408.  Interestingly, the starting salary out of residency is one of the lowest starting salaries of the non-primary care specialties.  There have been reports of a starting salary of $169,000. That’s along the same starting lines as family physicians and internal medicine doctors.

The maximum reported salary from the pathologist is $610,000!

Becoming a pathologist is a four-year postgraduate affair.  It’s one of the few specialties that do not require a preliminary year in internal medicine or surgery.  Right now, there are 146 programs offering residency training.

If you want to sub-specialize,  you can.  Here are just a few of the choices:

• transfusion medicine
• cytopathology
• forensic pathology
• pediatric pathology
• neuropathology

Pathology is a clinical field but without patient contact.  It offers an excellent lifestyle with minimal to no call, a very good salary, and shift work.  It’s a well respected field and requires immense attention to detail.  If you enjoy anatomy and clinical medicine but don’t particularly enjoy interacting with patients, take a look into pathology to see if it suits you.

Sources
Allied Physicians, Physician Salary Surveys
Salary.com, Pathology Physician Salary
ACGME

The post Pathology Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Ophthalmology Physician Salary Radiology Physician Salary Internal Medicine Physician Salary

Nuclear medicine involves the use of radioactive materials aka tracers in order to diagnose and help treat a disease.

An x-ray and ct-scan can identify abnormalities because of difference in normal anatomical structures.  But nuclear medicine tracers can determine problems based on the functioning of the organ or tissue.

Nuclear medicine physicians are specialists in these nuclear tracers, the instrumentation necessary, and the interpretation of it’s results.

salary.com

Just how much do nuclear medicine physicians make?

Salary.com reports the median to be $265,180.  Most physicians in this specialty are making between $221,096 and $329,645.  Some physicians report salaries near $400,000!

Cejka states the average salary for nuclear physicians is actually $331,000.

To become board certified in nuclear medicine as of 2007, physicians are required to train in the field for 3 years.  This is interesting because there are some residencies that only provide 2 years which means you will have to transfer elsewhere for the final year.

The total time commitment is 3 – 4 years.  Think 4 if you want to be board certified.  Programs require that you do a preliminary/transitional year of adult medicine prior to entering a nuclear medicine residency.

The competition is very tough.  There are only 54 nuclear medicine residencies and some accept applications outside of the match.  Last year, only 6 positions were offered in the match which could mean the rest were pre-match’s or utilized an external application system entirely.

Nuclear medicine is a focused field that can use radioactive materials to diagnose and treat patients.  You can cure people with thyroid cancer or help with bone pain from the assaulting effects of cancer.  If you’ve ever had a patient with a bulging goiter or cachectic from cancer, you can appreciate the magnitude of which this specialty helps patients.

The training is only 4 years long and has good compensation for established physicians.  If you enjoy the possibilities of radiation therapy, look into this field and see if it suits you.

Sources
Salary.com, Nuclear Medicine Physician Salary
Cejka Physician Compensation Survey
NRMP Match Statistics
ACGME

The post Nuclear Medicine Physician Salary appeared first on MD Salaries.

Related posts:

Pain Medicine Physician Salary Radiation Oncology Physician Salary Family Medicine Physician Salary