Healthcare Career Blog, Physician Blogs

Physician Salary

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 01.12.2009 | Category Healthcare Career Blog, Locum Tenens, Medical doctor jobs, OB/GYN physician jobs, Physician Career Path, Physicians, healthcare software, jobs

Despite the current economic climate, health care positions are still in great need. According to Medical Group Management Association, physician salaries continued to show a modest increase throughout 2008.

Of course not all physician jobs showed the same demand and salary increase. Though there continues to be a shortage of primary care physicians, including family practitioners, general internists, and pediatricians, general practitioners continue to show the smallest salary increases, while cardiac and neurosurgeons show the highest trends in physician salaries.

Locum tenens physicians also find themselves in these higher earning categories. Leading staffing agency, Candidate Direct, offers great benefits for locum tenens positions, including private housing, transportation, and malpractice insurance. Locum tenens jobs are posted on their easily searchable database and advertised on their live RSS feed, which sends updates on new physician job opportunities. The Candidate Direct website also offers links to financial resources to help physicians make the most of their salaries in these difficult economic times. Physicians can also increase their earnings by signing up for per diem shifts using Candidate Direct Stay Staffed Internal Staffing Management Software, which shows new shift openings in real time.

Locum tenens jobs offer the perfect career opportunity for young physicians just starting out and for retired physicians wanting to keep up with their careers, as well as for anyone looking to travel and earn strong benefits. Visit Candidate Direct to apply online today.

MacArthur Genius Grant Goes to Physician/Researcher

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 22.09.2009 | Category Family Medicine, Healthcare Career Blog, Hospitalist physician, Physician Career Path, Physicians, Surgery jobs, jobs

Every year the MacArthur Foundation awards a five year grant of $500,000 to around  20 very talented people. The money goes to individuals who exhibit extraordinary creativity and potential in their work, and allows them to spend more time working and less time fundraising. The awards are often referred to as “Genius Grants,” although the Foundation itself tries to avoid the term “genius,” preferring to recognize the value of hard work, too.

Winners can be U.S. residents of any age, working in any field. Historically, many of the winners have been in the arts — as well as in science and healthcare research.

One of this year’s winners is Dr. Mary Tinetti, a geriatrician at Yale medical school, who has researched falls among the elderly. Physicians who work with seniors know that the risk of serious disability from a fall can be just as high as that caused by a stroke. Dr Tinetti’s research showed that healthcare professionals often regard the possibility of falling among seniors as an inevitability, rather than as a preventable occurrence.

Dr. Tinetti and her colleagues have demonstrated that there are distinct factors that increase the risk of falls among the elderly — factors like muscle weakness, balance problems and use of multiple medications. They also found that by screening for and addressing these issues, doctors can reduce seniors’ risk of falls by about 30%.

It will be interesting to see if a focus on screening and prevention (coupled with the potential financial impact in critical care due to reduced incidences of falling injuries) will affect the treatment outcomes of seniors overall.

More grant winners in the healthcare field:

• Lin He - Molecular Biologist, for researching the role of microRNAs in the development of cancer and laying the groundwork for future cancer treatments.
• Jill Seaman - Infectious Disease Physician, for adapting 21st-century medicine to treat infectious diseases endemic to Southern Sudan and other war-torn regions.

Click here to learn more about the MacArthur foundation’s  2009 winners .

Physician jobs are as varied as the people who hold them. Newer specialties like  hospitalists and locum tenens are changing the way we think about the profession.  And while the general public may think of MD’s as running a family practice or a hospital surgery, grants like these  shine a spotlight on the many physicians who are also working in research.

How to Start Medical School

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 28.08.2009 | Category Education, Healthcare Career Blog, Medical Student Loans, Medical Students, Medical doctor jobs, Physician Career Path, Physicians

The decision to become a physician is not one that should be made lightly.  Medical school is a long, grueling, and expensive process that is not for everyone.  Some students grow up knowing that they will become a doctor and grow into a physician career; others make that decision after several years in another career or perhaps after starting a family.  Whichever category you fit into, you should think long and hard about your reasons for wanting to pursue a medical career, taking time to weigh all of the pros and cons of your decision.

Why Choose a Medical Career?

The reasons a person chooses to become a physician are as varied as they would be for any other profession: intellectual curiosity, a desire to help people, money, prestige, family tradition, etc.  The question to ask yourself is whether or not your reasons for wanting to become a doctor are going to lead you to be happy in your medical career.  As a medical doctor, you will likely be working long hours with patients from all different walks of life; how does that fit in with your desire to become a physician?

The medical profession is an interesting one because, as heavily as it relies on the sciences, the humanities are also incredibly significant.  To be a successful doctor, you must have not only the scientific knowledge to understand what is happening in the body, but also the analytical and interpersonal skills to work well with your patients.

What next?

Once you have decided that a medical career is right for you, what next?  If you are still an undergraduate student, the first step is to take the required science classes and to be assigned a premed advisor who can walk you through the medical school admissions process.  If you are an older student who graduated college without taking the required science classes, you can look at classes at a local college and begin the process on your own, or you can consider a formal post-baccalaureate premedical program, which will give you more structure and guidance but may be more costly.

Choosing a Medical School

Choosing a medical school is not unlike choosing an undergraduate university.  Many of the same factors come into play as you decide what medical school is going to make you the happiest and most productive student possible:

Location may be one of the most important factors in the decision process.  Consider how far from your home and family you’d like to be.  Do you want to live in a particular region of the country?  Do you prefer urban, suburban, or rural areas?  How will location affect clinical or volunteer opportunities?  Is cost of living a factor?  Does the campus itself appeal to you?
Curriculum should also be a major influence.  Do you prefer the traditional lecture-based format, or is a problem-based learning format more effective for you?  What clinical opportunities are available?  Are you looking for research opportunities?  What is the grading system like (pass-fail or letter grades)?  How important is the reputation of a medical school for you?
Money, like it or not, must also be heavily considered.  How are you going to finance your medical education?  What financial aid opportunities are available at particular medical schools?  Would an in-state public medical school be the best option?

The student body could make or break your happiness at a particular medical school.  Think hard about the size of the school at which you see yourself.  How competitive of an atmosphere are you looking for?  Some people enjoy the cut-throat competition of many medical schools, while others prefer a more collaborative style.  Also consider the gut-feeling you get as you walk around a school; do you feel comfortable there?  Talk to current students and ask questions about their experiences.

College counselors at high schools around the country often share the mantra, “College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.”  The same should hold true for medical school admissions.  While the U.S. News and World Report rankings may mean the world to some people, they do not necessarily make for the happiest and most successful students.  Decide what you personally value in a school, and make your decisions accordingly.

Free from Medical School Debt?

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 11.08.2009 | Category Education, Family Medicine, Healthcare Career Blog, Locum Tenens, Medical Student Loans, Medical Students, Medical doctor jobs, Physician Career Path, Physicians, Pre-Med Students

CNN’s recent article “Free Medical School for 40 Lucky Students” must have had premedical students salivating. The article celebrates the University of Central Florida Medical School, which opened its doors at the beginning of August, for offering free tuition to all 40 members of its inaugural class. Whether this will become the status quo at UCF or whether it is just a one-time deal to entice students to take a risk on a new medical school, is anyone’s guess, but the fact remains that this is “the first time that an entire class will go through medical school completely debt free.”

Dr. Deborah German, dean of the new medical school, says, “We’re giving our students the opportunity to come get a medical education free from debt so that they can pursue their passion.” German here is referring to two passions: 1) the students’ passion for medicine, in general, and 2) their passion for particular fields and specialties.

The astronomical cost of a medical education has two unintended consequences. First, it hinders qualified and passionate students of modest financial backgrounds from pursuing careers in medicine. Over 60% of medical students come from families in the top 20% of the annual income bracket, and a recent survey conducted by the AAMC cites cost of medical school attendance as the number one reason qualified minority students choose not pursue a medical career. Secondly, it deters students from going into less lucrative specialties, like internal and family medicine, and from working in under-served areas where they may not be paid as much. It is easy to accuse a physician of greed when he or she chooses a specialty based primarily on financial gain, but it’s not quite that simple. When a young physician is looking at $200,000 of debt, how can he or she afford not to consider salary a primary factor when making career choices? If students could come out of medical school debt-free, they could, in turn, have the freedom to practice whatever type of medicine they choose without the burden of loan payments hanging on their shoulders.

So, what does UCF’s decision mean for the rest of us? If this was simply a one-year lucky break for these 40 students, it could mean very little to the rest of the county. But, if UCF can set a precedent for medical schools and for the government to offer greater financial incentives for medical students, it could be the beginning of a new model of medical education.

Medical Students Weigh in on Healthcare Reform

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 03.08.2009 | Category Medical Students, Medical doctor jobs, Physician Career Path, Physician Shortage, Physicians, Pre-Med Students, Video, healthcare reform

Like the doctors they aspire to be, medical students are not in total agreement on an ideal healthcare reform proposal. Many worry about the effect that reform will have on their chosen profession, others feel skeptically optimistic about the current bill, while still others feel that President Obama’s proposal is not enough.

A major personal concern of many medical and pre-medical students stems from the astronomical cost of medical school. Over 75% of medical students graduate with well over $100,000 of debt. The only thing that makes this cost a valid investment for many students is the fact that physician jobs salary are high enough to allow for repayment of those loans, but medical students and physicians alike worry about the effect that national healthcare reform will have on doctors’ salaries. Not only will salary reduction affect individual physicians trying to pay back medical school debt, but it is also likely to discourage future would-be physicians from making such an investment in the first place, leading to an even greater shortage of physicians.

Still, many medical students are optimistic about healthcare reform – if it is done right. One current student addresses the public’s fear of socialized medicine by saying that these fears have, ironically enough, “been realized in our privatized system […], with insurance companies and HMO’s dictating the care that can be provided and who can provide it.”

Medical student supporters of healthcare reform, including the American Medical Student Association, have a number of criteria and suggestions for a successful healthcare proposal, including:

• Coverage for all must actually mean coverage for all.  In order for healthcare reform to work, all patients should have access to all doctors, and no discrimination should exist against the elderly or against those with pre-existing health conditions.
• Transparency and accountability are necessities.  Insurance companies must be held accountable for their increasing costs.  Beyond that, insurance companies must not be allowed to deny claims for provider-prescribed care.
• There must be a greater focus on preventative care and cost-effective health care maintenance.  Great Britain, for example, rewards primary care physicians who maintain the health of their patients and who effect positive health changes in their patients (quitting smoking, eating healthier, starting a workout regimen, etc.).
• Incentives should be developed to encourage medical students to pursue primary care, rather than a more specialized field.  With the influx of patients expected from increased health insurance coverage, PCP’s will be in high demand.  Scholarships and loan repayment programs for medical students intending to focus on primary care will lessen the need to go into a high paying sub-specialty in order to pay back debt.

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