February 2008 Archives

Interesting article in The Age today:

 'Crisis looms for doctors at the limit

VICTORIA’S doctor shortage is close to crisis, and many GPs are suffering burn-out as figures show a huge jump in patient-doctor ratios.

The Australian Medical Association says that despite a huge increase in the state’s population, the number of GPs has barely changed in 10 years.

It has called for urgent action to boost the ranks as Federal Government figures revealed the average number of patients per GP rose from 759 in 1996-07 to 841 in 2006-07. In rural areas the shortage is worse, and there can be more than 1700 patients for every doctor.

Many GPs are so overburdened they are suffering health problems and chronic stress. Some have been forced to close their books to new patients, and one GP even had a stroke during a shift because of the workload.

There are dire predictions that within five years Victoria will face the largest doctor drought the state has seen...'

 

A great case study of Dr. Cosmin Florescu with a wonderful photograph has been added to the My Medical Career case studies section.

Make sure you consider everything you’re interested in before fully commiting to and one specialty. It’s important to consider what radiology actually involves before deciding that’s the only specialty for you. Check out the profile on this site and talk to some registrars and consultants about their careers. If you think you’d be happy doing what they’re doing then it’s probably the right specialty for you. Getting some research under your belt, particularly radiology research will probably increase your chances of getting a spot.

Read the Dr. Cosmin Florescu case study.

The Melbourne Vascular Surgery Association (MVSA), together with the Victorian Department of Human Services, have developed a program to collect data about, and report on, vascular surgery in Victorian hospitals.

Participating Hospitals:

• The Alfred Hospital
• Austin Hospital
• Ballarat Hospital
• Box Hill Hospital
• Dandenong Hospital
• Frankston Hospital
• Geelong Hospital
• Monash Medical Centre
• Northern Hospital
• Royal Melbourne Hospital
• St. Vincent's Hospital
• Western Hospital
• Williamstown Hospital

This report of the vascular surgery audit program describes the data from surgery performed during 2005-06 at Victoria's thirteen vascular surgery units.

 

 Please shed light on this issue .It will be very helpfull to the overseas trained doctors.

 Anybody's comment is welcome.

Article from the University of California San Diego Guardian about medical students choosing higher-paid specialties because of heavy postgraduation debt.

Some key points include:

• Students’ medical school experiences come at a price­­ — almost $130,000 in educational bills, according to a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges
• The cost of tuition fees and health insurance has risen from last year at UCSD’s School of Medicine: The fees for 2007-08 are $22,959 for residents and $35,204 for non residents.
• “Students with high debt are less likely to pursue family practice and primary care specialties and instead seek specialties with higher income or more leisure time,” the report said.
• On average, a family practice doctor earns about $160,000, as suggested by a 2007 report by physician-staffing firm Merritt, Hawkins & Associates. Such a salary is far less than what other medical practitioners are earning. According to the report, radiologists earn an average salary of $380,000, neurosurgeons make roughly $530,000 and urologists can earn up to $400,000 per year

Read complete report:

http://ucsdguardian.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9562&Itemid=2 

Alpharetta, GA (PRWEB) February 5, 2008 -- Physicians who contemplate making a career move involving relocation are likely to consider lifestyle issues more important than potential or immediate income when selecting an opportunity, according to a newly released " Willing to Relocate Survey " issued by Jackson & Coker. The survey is a 20-year update to a similar survey commissioned by the company in 1987, which showed distinctly different trends among career-minded practitioners.

The firm surveyed 2,831 physicians in 25 major medical specialties to determine the chief motivators for accepting new full-time employment. Respondents included residents who are preparing to launch their careers along with seasoned physicians who are well entrenched in their practices.

Demographic statistics include the following:    

 

• 53.3% of respondents were under the age of 50
• 68.7% were male
• 53.8% of respondents acknowledged having children
• 73.42% preferred to relocate to the Southwest or Southeast.

According to the current survey, physicians weighing employment options are greatly influenced by the quality of life that they and their families will enjoy in a new area, including flexible or fewer work hours. Potential income and immediate income rank second and third in physicians’ overall calculation of whether to accept a practice opportunity involving relocation.

By contrast, twenty years ago doctors were concerned with associating with hospital facilities where they could develop their practices and potentially stay for a considerable length of time. Potential earnings and lifestyle considerations ranked second and third among the majority of survey respondents in 1987.

Tim Sheley, Executive Vice President with Jackson & Coker’s Retained Search division, commented on the trends shown in the 20-year updated survey: “Living in a highly mobile society, physicians today have more career options and are more flexible in selecting opportunities that enhance their lifestyle and enjoyment of the new community.

“Doctors are certainly money-motivated, but they also want to enjoy the fruits of their labor outside the office,” he added.

Sandy Garrett, President of Jackson & Coker’s Locum Tenens division, echoed similar observations. “Knowing their market worth, today’s physicians can selectively choose from among many employment offers when they decide to make a career move. Along with potential income, they are greatly concerned with the overall lifestyle that they and their families will enjoy should a relocation move be involved.”

Given the acute shortage of physicians in major medical specialties, the survey results have direct implications for hospitals and medical groups in terms of hiring strategies. “If a hospital is really interested in hiring a doctor, they need to convince him of the benefit of taking the position in terms of how the relocation move can enhance quality-of-life considerations that drive his search,” advised Mr. Sheley.

‘In structuring employment offers, hospitals need to be sensitive to a candidate’s long-range earning expectations as well as concern to improve their life apart from their practice involvement,” added Ms. Garrett.

The entire survey results are available on Jackson & Coker’s Industry Report website at (http://www.jacksoncoker.com/newsletter/Long_1312008.aspx).

The Jackson & Coker primary site www.jacksoncoker.com also includes a useful Return on Investment calculator that hospitals and medical groups can use to calculate the economic impact of services provided by their staff physicians in various medical specialties.

About Jackson & Coker

Begun 30 years ago, Jackson & Coker is a prominent physician recruitment firm headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia. The firm places physicians in over 40 medical specialties and advanced practitioners in temporary (locum tenens) and permanent placement opportunities.

Jackson & Coker is a member of a “family of companies” known as Jackson Healthcare Solutions that provides information technology and human resources solutions to hospitals and healthcare organizations across the nation. For more information on Jackson & Coker, visit the corporation’s website at www.jacksoncoker.com.

For further information contact:
Edward McEachern
Vice President of Marketing
800.272.2707
emceachern @ jacksoncoker.com

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Very interesting article in the Daily Times about Medical Specialties in the United States.

Some key points include:

• 150 neurosurgeons finish training each year
• Some candidates request $500,000 salaries with a $50,000 signing bonus
• The Eastern Shore is undersupplied in 60 percent of medical specialties today, and the gap is expected to grow to more than 83 percent by 2015
• The reality nowadays is the average med student can have well over $100,000 of debt; some over $200,000
• Maryland's retention rate of about 52 percent of medical residents is expected to drop to 25 percent by 2015, according to the workforce study
• 33 percent of physicians are 55 or older. Twenty-five percent of surgical work force is 60 or older. By 2015, 32 percent of workforce is expected to retire
• To increase the supply of physicians, 93 of the country's 126 medical schools have boosted or plan to add to their 2002 levels, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges

Read the complete article:

 http://www.dailytimesonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/NEWS01/802030301/1002

An insightful response to the common question "How Should I Choose a Medical Specialty?" is available from Medscape Med Students...

Go there now

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Radiopaedia is a clever radiology "wiki" - a collection of information generated and reviewed by its community of users. With doctors from around the world already contributing, and sponsorship from Toshiba, this site is sure to keep growing. Already included is an online textbook, collection of mnemonics, and study guides for radiology trainees in several countries. And best of all, it was started by a Melbourne-based radiologist and has plenty of information relevant to Australian trainees.