Information about Residency Specialties

[AmeliePoulain]

Your DH is wanting to finish his IM residency and start over with a ER residency?! OMG, I would have a massive fit!

I know what you mean lol but I don't worry because I really doubt he would do that, I think he will do hem/onc.

[AmeliePoulain]

I would first make him look at jobs that don't require board certification. The reality is, many places that can't attract BC emergency physicians will hire FP or IM (and not have them see kids). Theres just too great an EM shortage. We had a one residency rule in my house.

Ps - no one let my DH know I dispensed this advice. I condone this as a spouse, not a healthcare professional.

That's what the guy doing Family said he will apply for, and the job posting he mentioned that pays almost 300k would hire someone with some ER experience.

[EvieLee]

Thanks for this thread everyone. I have been trying to better understand what is ahead for me and for us as my DF aspires to get matched to NSG. I have my concerns for whether or not I can handle it without being resentful and walking away. But I think I will ask a few more questions on that side of things once I reach enough posts to get acces to the private forums.

Would someone please be able to tell me what the Q# codes stand for?
Thank you

[EvieLee]

[MENTION=1247]GrayMatterWife[/MENTION] thank you very much for all the info.
Are you (or any other NSG Spouses) able to give a guide of what NSG residents earn through the years? I am just trying to be as prepared as possible particularly as my earning potential is substantially limited until I can properly transfer to being a US OT...a long and costly road.
Thanks in advance

[corn poffi]

Resident salaries are based on institution, and not program. It all depends on where you go, not what you do while you're in residency.

[SoonerTexan]

That^ The range seems to be $45k on the low end to $65k on the high end, often influenced by cost of living, but not always. And it increases each year, but not by much.

[GrayMatterWife]

[MENTION=1247]GrayMatterWife[/MENTION] thank you very much for all the info.
Are you (or any other NSG Spouses) able to give a guide of what NSG residents earn through the years? I am just trying to be as prepared as possible particularly as my earning potential is substantially limited until I can properly transfer to being a US OT...a long and costly road.
Thanks in advance

Like others mention below, it is by institution. Residents in the same year at an institution generally make the same salary as all other residents of the same year; NSG residents do not make more or less than their internal medicine counterparts, for example. $45K - maybe $65K or so, I think. But $65K a year at UCSF or MGH would go a heck of a lot less far than $65K a year in Kansas City or Detroit or St. Louis.

[MarissaNicole]

Some programs post the salaries. I think DH started at $43,000 as an intern. They've greatly raised the salaries though, interns this year make $51,000.

You can google "program name" resident stipend or salary to try and find some.

Wife of a PGY-5

[MarissaNicole]

Thanks for this thread everyone. I have been trying to better understand what is ahead for me and for us as my DF aspires to get matched to NSG. I have my concerns for whether or not I can handle it without being resentful and walking away. But I think I will ask a few more questions on that side of things once I reach enough posts to get acces to the private forums.

Would someone please be able to tell me what the Q# codes stand for?
Thank you

What Q# codes?

Wife of a PGY-5

[corn poffi]

Posting on the fly, but I think she's referring to call.

[MarissaNicole]

Ah, that is how often they are on call. Q2 would mean on call every 2nd day or every other day. Q4 would be on call every 4th night etc.

The lower the number the more often they are gone.

You can pm me with questions... but I'm not sure you want to start worrying about it in case he changes his mind. My DH was pretty set on ortho but went into NSG.

Wife of a PGY-5

[EvieLee]

Oops [MENTION=1550]MarissaNicole[/MENTION]
I was reading about Q2, Q3, and Q12 etc I think it's part of the roster or call system so was wondering what it meant

[Lynnea]

Yep. It's not just two years though, it's two years for Fellowship, plus an addition year to 18 months of post-fellowship education, like a masters degree, on top of your Fellowship. And yes, it does make a shit ton of money. HOWEVER.. as the spouse i'll say that between the brutal Anesthesia residency he's just finishing, and the taking on of another BRUTAL Fellowship for 2 + years... often the pay off of the $$$ doesn't seem worth what our family has lost in time together. My kids have never, ever known their dad to be home. I think i'd rather have less money, and more quality of life, than more money, and my kids never knowing their dad.

Can you tell me anything about the Anesthesia residency? I know all programs are different but I'd be interested to hear your story. My BF who is MS1 is interested in this and we are wondering if it is lifestyle friendly both during residency and after. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

[MarissaNicole]

Full disclosure, my dh is NOT anesthesia, but if I could have chosen his passion, that would be it!

Residency is 4 years and its considered one of the better lifestyles. Decent pay and more reasonable hours.
[MENTION=1488]ladymoreta[/MENTION] can speak in more detail though.

Wife of a PGY-6

[adoe.adeer]

Can you tell me anything about the Anesthesia residency? I know all programs are different but I'd be interested to hear your story. My BF who is MS1 is interested in this and we are wondering if it is lifestyle friendly both during residency and after. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

Hi Lynnea - this is Ms.Conception - it has been so long that i've been away from these forums, that I couldn't remember my password and was locked out of the forums, so i've re-registered.

We are Canadian, and our programs / training specialties are quite different than in the US - but I can tell you a little bit about it. In Canada medical students do 4 years of medical education, and then go on to their residency programs - here, Anesthesia is a 5 year program. You would think it would end there - but for the majority of anesthesiologists trained in Canada who have gone on to pass their FRCP, they are now required to do a Fellowship subspecialty - and that can range between where they're hoping to find work - for my husband, this meant one fellowship year of medical educator / medical simulation training (which he did via Harvard) - most of his colleagues have gone on to do cardiac or neuro anesthesia, pain, pediatrics etc.... Where we live, and according to our friends who have moved to other larger teaching centres, they must do a minimum of one year fellowship training post-residency - some centres will not hire until there are 2-3 years of sub-speciality. My husband did his fellowship in med simulation training - and then was told if he wanted a permanent contract, he would need to train further - so he went on to do another 2 years of critical care medicine which he finished this last year.

Lifestyle? I can't speak for everyone - for us, the first two years of Anesthesia residency were pretty low stress, the last three years... not so much - however that was because of demanding schedule (pgy4 and 5 had 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 in house call), plus research, plus grand rounds, plus plus plus and we had two children in second and third year respectively - compounded by a high cost of living and very crappy resident salary - when my husband wasn't fulfilling his clinical and call duties, he was picking up HMO coverage to make some more money. This continued for us because he went on to have to do three more years of training (8 total, post-grad). Now that he is done he practices a .6 in anesthesia (4 OR days, 3 in house call / month) plus 12 weeks of intensive care per year, plus or minus some weeks here and there if he decides to pick up. He now takes about 6 weeks a year holidays. (3 weeks in summer, 3 weeks in winter). Lifestyle is perception though - we had children during residency which really compounded the demand on both of us - for many years I felt very "alone" because he was rarely home, and the six months leading up to his exams were absolute hell - but now that it's all done? Life is great.

I know that in the US anesthesiologists make about 20% less than Canadian physicians, but the income is still very good.
In the US Anesthesiologist many will run multiple OR's with CRNA's assisting, whereas here, anesthesiologists only run the OR they are working in.
It's hard to get a good grasp of things and where they will go in the end - my husband was determined to do neurology or radiology from day one - but when it came to his match, he realized he was much better suited for anesthesia - and then finished that and realized he was much more interested in teaching and critical care - and went on to do that. What they "think" they want... isn't always what pans out - but if you guys can stay grounded and look at the long term and he is really happy in his specialty - you guys will have a lot of fun.