"USMLEtoMD updates by Digitaldoc" via Digitaldoc in Google Reader

2010: Specialist Salary Cuts & Primary Care Pay Raise?

2009-07-05T19:27:00Z

This had to happen some day...Medicare recently proposed readjustments in their payment amounts and here are numbers that reflect an approximate effect on payment to different physician specialties. Biggest losers seem to be Cardiology and Radiology. While Primary care (Internal medicine, Family Medicine, Geriatrics) would see higher payments...SPECIALTY OVERALL

July Already ! Purchased an ERAS Token Yet ?

2009-07-05T16:32:00Z

The "token" is nothing but a big unique number that you will need before you can create your AAMC ID. The AAMC ID, is turn, is used to access to your MyERAS i.e. the online Residency Application system. The same ID will also be used later at NRMP.org to participate in the Residency match, for which you will need to register separately before DecemberYea ! we are doctors, we NEED TO HAVE every

Work Hours/Week by MD Specialty: 2008 MA Data

2009-07-04T03:19:00Z

While deciding a specialty of your choice, besides the salary, medical students also wish to know how much will they need to sweat it out each week to earn their $$$. In fact, surveys show that newer docs of today rate lifestyle higher than salary when it comes to picking up a specialty and also a location to practice....slackers!!!! ;-)Previously I had posted data on work hours per week by

U.S. Cardiologist gets 10-Year Jail for excess procedures

2009-07-04T02:46:00Z

Right in the time of the healthcare debate and the enlightening article by Dr. Gawande about excess healthcare driving up costs, comes this news about Cardiologist Dr. Patel going to jail for doing a lot of unnecessary procedures. He is trained as an interventional cardiologist and performed at least 51 unwarranted stent placements. He allegedly falsified medical records and included chest pain

AMGA's Multi-Specialty MD Salary Survey Report (2008)

2009-07-03T18:14:00Z

Another addition to the stream of salary survey data strewn all over this blog....This salary report published on the CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services)Website should be very reliable. Here are income figures for some specialties that I have been too lazy to cover on this blog so far:Surgical:Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgeon: $337,000Breast Surgeon : $204,000Surgical Oncologist:

ER Doc Salaries in Winnipeg touch $500K !

2009-07-03T17:30:00Z

Supply and Demand Laws at work again ! Physician paucity in Winnipeg, MB (Canada) has led to some big-ticket jumps in ER doc salaries to prevent them from being pulled away by other employers. Figures released by Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WHRA) show that some docs enjoyed a salary jump as high as 178% in a year, pushing their salaries higher than the top paid administrators.Their top

Dr.Conrad Murray's Salary: (Michael Jackson's Doctor)

2009-06-29T23:54:00Z

With the amount of money that Michael Jackson owed, I am surprised he paid Dr. Murray anything at all !But according to this source, Dr. Conrad Murray's salary was set contractually at $150,000 a month, or $1.8 Million a year ! Which is still a tad less than what a cardiologist I recently met makes, but making all that with just one patient to treat and follow was easy money for the

Internal Medicine Externships at Univ. New Mexico

2009-06-26T04:10:00Z

The Internal Medicine residency program at University New Mexico is IMG-friendly, has lotsa fellowships and about fills up about 40-50% of those fellowship positions with it's own Internal Medicine graduates ..and apparently, if you did an externship there and you are liked, you have a good chance of getting into their program.An anonymous reader posted information about an externship available

Orthopedics Observership @ Univ. Calif, San Diego

2009-06-24T23:29:00Z

This gotta take the cake for most obsessive-sounding degree of caution & fear about having students/docs over for observerships..lol..read onLike the website says:"Opportunities for, and sanctioned activities of, observers are very limited! Per UCSD policy, all opportunities for Visiting Observers must be for no more than 5 days. Most visiting observerships with the Department of Orthopaedic

Typical Day: 1st Year Internal Medicine Rotation

2009-06-21T22:33:00Z

This is how it works at the VA Hospital inpatient rotations where I am currently at. In the first year, we spend about 4 month-long VA hospital slots scattered in the first year. The other two hospitals we do not take any calls and spend 3 months doing that. The rest of the 5 months of the first year were relaxing elective rotations with weekends off and fixed work times anywhere from 8 /9am to 4

Doctor's White Coat might be history in US Hospitals

2009-06-21T19:15:00Z

Full sleeve white coats that look sparkling, clean & scientific also harbor resistant hospital germs like C.Diff, MRSA etc. that make nosocomial infections more likely. In fact, Residents & physicians at the prestigious Mayo clinic wear only full business attire, no white coats:"More than 2,800 staff physicians wear business attire, unless they are in surgical scrubs, to convey professionalism

Pocket Books for New Internal Medicine Residents

2009-06-21T17:53:00Z

Here are some good recommended ones to carry as quick reference :(Most residency program will pay for books for a total specific sum each year) My Favorite ! A Must-Have !

My Stethoscope Light Makes Life Easier

2009-06-21T14:31:00Z

A Simple concept that does it's bit in simplifying a residents life - a steth light is a good one to have instead of adding more weight to your overburdened white coat ! And unlike a separate penlight, I never forget to carry this one and have not lost it since a year !And it is an example of a useful 'gift' from Pharma companies ;)

A Look into Top-Doc salaries @ Univ. South Florida

2009-06-20T16:10:00Z

Salary Data = Feasting time for MDsalaries blog ! Lol 2008 figures made public about employees at University of South Florida reveal the following top earning designations:Chair & Professor1. Dermatology = $ 1.3 Million 2. Surgery = $843,514.003. Ob / Gyn = $532,374.004. Neurosurgery = $528,691.005. Pediatrics = $347,192.006. Psychiatry = $341,502.00Molecular Medicine = $325,000.00 7. Neurology =

MGMA: 2008 saw higher starting MD salaries

2009-06-19T21:22:00Z

These days the talk about specialists losing income to primary care under the Obama administration is gaining traction. The CMO of the hospital system where I work told us : "Specialists had their good days, they should thank god for their boom times and move on to smaller pay checks - its's inevitable". But as of last year, specialists continue to ride the higher Y-axis slots of income increase

Getting on the "other side" of Step 2 CS Shocks me!Well not

2009-06-18T02:11:00Z

Getting on the "other side" of Step 2 CS Shocks me!Well not really Step 2 CS, but almost. One of the benefits of being in a University residency program is getting to teach and learn from all the bright new American medical grads. One of the exercises we residents had was grading a observed clinical encounter of a medical student on a video that we watched together, pretty much how the doctors

Can IMGs apply to Osteopathy Residency Match ?

2009-06-13T14:39:00Z

There are two main tracks of medicine in the USA : Allopathic and Osteopathic. The others would include the Chiropractors & Podiatrists, but it's tough to consider them truly comprehensive medicine. Other systems in the rest of the world include Homeopathic, Ayurvedic, Naturopathic, Yunani, etc. !Though this may not be technically correct, for all practical purposes, Osteopathic medicine =

IOM's New Resident Hours Recommendations

2009-06-12T02:40:00Z

There are tons of articles talking about reducing medical errors by giving residents more sleep time on one hand and the extra 1.6 Billion dollars cost of doing that, on the other.So what exactly are the new Resident duty hours recommendations?A Brief Summary:1. 4 Week average work hours of not more that 80 hours a week2. No More than 16 hours continuous work at any time, unless a 5-hour

Basics: Socialized v/s Single-Payer v/s Universal Healthcare

2009-06-10T11:25:00Z

Every once in a while, this blog might go into a "tutorial mode" - but that's more so for me than for you fellas, since teaching is the best form of learning and there is a lot for me yet to learn !Socialized Medicine / Healthcare: System of healthcare delivery where the government owns the healthcare facilities and all healthcare providers are direct employees of the governmente.g. Britain's

Should Non-Profit Hospital Salaries be Capped ?

2009-06-08T11:09:00Z

I just reading this interesting article giving an interesting angle to looking at salaries in Non-profit sectors, with the reporter being amused about finding that that non-profit organizations could also pay tons of dollars in salaries:"Working for or leading a nonprofit does not necessarily mean taking a vow of poverty, as the Times Herald-Record discovered" and then gives a list of salaries