GENERAL SURGEON SALARIES
Like we discussed earlier on the post about geriatrics not delivering on it's promise, procedures pay ! and Surgery is all about procedures - cut-stitch-earn and more cut-stick-earn ..money-comes-a-knocking ;-). Of course, the million dollars income days have receded into the past, thanks to Managed care, case-based payment, capitated payments, etc. - but the money is still not that bad. Most Surgeons I have known are workaholics, perfectionists and love to stay back in the hospitals doing their stuff !
On the other hand, there was this surgeon I met, who left his practice, did a fellowship in Medical informatics and went to work with Cerner Corp. (a Leading Hospital Information Systems firm) which pays him more than he ever made as a surgeon...(Well I should be starting a blog on other career options after MD somewhere in the future.)
For the IMGs, the scene for Surgery has been discussed on my Tips4Match Blog Here. Scene for the 5-year Surgery Residency aspirants looks positive for the IMGs, if not too easy [nothing is ever really easy, and easy is relative ;-) ] for the moment as I hear, plus as the AAMC site puts it :
"According to the American College of Surgeons, the annual salary for general surgeons ranges from $249,700 to $336,000"
Here are how the rounded up, median, mid-career, base-pays for a typical general surgeon look :
One point to note is that surgeons do pay lotsa year malpractice insurance each year.
And let me add that after completing residencies, a lot of fresh surgeons will move on to 2-year sub specialty Fellowships in the following areas :
Hand Surgery , Critical / Trauma Surgery, Pediatric Surgery , Vascular Surgery
You might find it amusing to know that docs known to play video games are found to make better Laparoscopic surgeons or any other surgeries involving manipulations via television screens. So if you wanna be a good key-hole surgeon, get yourself a Sleek X-Box Video Game
! LOL ( Disclaimer: Am kidding !). But do Read about it Here. The findings on the article say:
"Young surgeons who spent at least three hours a week playing video games in the past made 37% fewer errors, were 27% faster, and scored 42% better overall than surgeons who had never played a video game at all"
The celebrated Surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande, Rhodes scholar, recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, Harvard medical school graduate and author of "Complications" and "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
" prefers to have iPOD music playing in the OR , read more here.
And of course you heard about the fighting surgeons who left the patient opened up on the operating table to settle their score outside the OR!
Also Read:
- General Surgery and IMGs
NOTE: Salaries here are the 50th Percentile Salaries and may apply to mid-career levels - the lower percentile salaries (for fresh physicians) may actually be lower by 30,000- 40,000 $
Google keywords to this blog article:
- "How much do general surgeons make in the USA"
- "scope of General Surgery in the USA"
- "surgeon incomes"
- "how much does a surgeon get paid"
- "average surgeon salary 2005"
- "salaries for vascular surgeons"
- "how much do trauma surgeons earn"
-"How much does a surgeon earn a year?"
- "surgeons paychecks"
On the other hand, there was this surgeon I met, who left his practice, did a fellowship in Medical informatics and went to work with Cerner Corp. (a Leading Hospital Information Systems firm) which pays him more than he ever made as a surgeon...(Well I should be starting a blog on other career options after MD somewhere in the future.)
For the IMGs, the scene for Surgery has been discussed on my Tips4Match Blog Here. Scene for the 5-year Surgery Residency aspirants looks positive for the IMGs, if not too easy [nothing is ever really easy, and easy is relative ;-) ] for the moment as I hear, plus as the AAMC site puts it :
"According to the American College of Surgeons, the annual salary for general surgeons ranges from $249,700 to $336,000"
Here are how the rounded up, median, mid-career, base-pays for a typical general surgeon look :
- Houston, TX : $264,000/-
- Los Angeles, LA : $287,000/-
- Miami, FL : $255,000-
- New York, NY: $300,000/-
- Seattle, WA : $280,000/-
One point to note is that surgeons do pay lotsa year malpractice insurance each year.
And let me add that after completing residencies, a lot of fresh surgeons will move on to 2-year sub specialty Fellowships in the following areas :
Hand Surgery , Critical / Trauma Surgery, Pediatric Surgery , Vascular Surgery
You might find it amusing to know that docs known to play video games are found to make better Laparoscopic surgeons or any other surgeries involving manipulations via television screens. So if you wanna be a good key-hole surgeon, get yourself a Sleek X-Box Video Game
! LOL ( Disclaimer: Am kidding !). But do Read about it Here. The findings on the article say:"Young surgeons who spent at least three hours a week playing video games in the past made 37% fewer errors, were 27% faster, and scored 42% better overall than surgeons who had never played a video game at all"
The celebrated Surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande, Rhodes scholar, recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, Harvard medical school graduate and author of "Complications" and "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
" prefers to have iPOD music playing in the OR , read more here.And of course you heard about the fighting surgeons who left the patient opened up on the operating table to settle their score outside the OR!
Also Read:
- General Surgery and IMGs
NOTE: Salaries here are the 50th Percentile Salaries and may apply to mid-career levels - the lower percentile salaries (for fresh physicians) may actually be lower by 30,000- 40,000 $
Google keywords to this blog article:
- "How much do general surgeons make in the USA"
- "scope of General Surgery in the USA"
- "surgeon incomes"
- "how much does a surgeon get paid"
- "average surgeon salary 2005"
- "salaries for vascular surgeons"
- "how much do trauma surgeons earn"
-"How much does a surgeon earn a year?"
- "surgeons paychecks"
Labels: General Surgeon, General Surgery, Surgery
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posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 5:02 PM
Comments on "GENERAL SURGEON SALARIES"
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Post Your Comment !i am curious, do you have any idea about the salaries of abdominal organ transplant surgeons. it should be high compared to the long working hour and very demanding job and their numbers.
Salary for General Surgeon should NOT be confused with the income a surgeon makes being a General Surgeon in private practice of general surgery. Many general surgeons in private practice are actually insolvent practicing general surgery, and engage in other activities to pay for their overhead. Such activities include Cosmetic surgery, Trauma surgery, Workers compensation clinics, wound care clinics, etc.
If one wishes to be a General Surgeon, one must be an employee, and do as one is instructed or else...
Anonymous2
i wanted to know how much do surgeons make and how much they get when tax comes. basicly i am trying to figure out how much i will make when i grow up. i really want to be a surgeon and i really want some BIG MONEY.
anonymous #3,
surgeons make about 200000 a year, and their average salaries r posted above. i am a middle school student doing research about my future (hopefully) career, in cardiothoracic surgery, for a project, and this is my advice though, if u want the big bucks. i do think though that you should specialize into some kind of surgery, like cardiothoracic surgery, or neurosurgery. its all up to u. there is a huge difference in salaries though. neurosurgeons and cardiac surgeons make about half a million per year. good luck :)
you shouldnt get into a health career just for the salary it's more or less if u like helping people and lead an exciting job to you. Neurosurgeons make big bucks but its boring. I'm a high school student and i believe general surgery is great because you can specialize into many different fields.
Relpy to "I want Big Money" when your fresh out of medschool (for general surgery) you'll only make around 40,000 a year. whick increases to around 60,000 and the end of your 5 year residency. so big money comes about 15 years later bud.
Im a medic in the U.s Army, and am currently going to school to become a General Surgeon. I believe anyone who wants to become a doctor of any kind in order to make "the big bucks" is wrong. The hours in which surgeons put into thier jobs are unbelievable, and most dont really have much time to really even enjoy it. If I am wrong it would be great if someone corrects me. I plan to live for my job.
There are a lot easier ways to "make big bucks" than becoming a physician/surgeon. If money is your main passion, please consider a different career. Medicine is about passion for science and helping others.
What about those plastic surgeons? Are you telling me they have a "passion" for helping others look more attractive? Are you kidding me? People become doctors for either two reasons, help others or make money. It's as simple as that. Personally I would become a doctor for the money and become an even better doctor to make even more money. Call me immoral if you'd like, but myself and all the other doctors who have nothing to do with life related specialties will just live our lives pleasurably and die when we get too old. Whether you like it or not, that's reality.
I dont think ppl become surgeons just to help other ppl, that would be stupid to go through all that work just to help someone. U could become a nuse or other career and help ppl just the same. In reality ppl become surgeons because they love to cut ppl open and ,some more than others, their salary. Helping people is a bonus for some but not their main passion, learning about the body and cutting ppl is.
hi.after reading this article i was tempted to write this comment. i am one of that docs who really loves to play video games. i have played them my entire life. and now also i have PlayStation 3 on which i used to play games and now i had to quit gaming cos of USMLE preps :( so does that mean that i should go for Surgery residency in US? my brother is doing preliminary IM. and yes i forgot to mention,my dad is a good surgeon in India
Hello! I am a surgeon and have been working on this position for eight years in Baku, Azerbaijan( one of the 15 republics of former USSR). I think that there are two type of motivations for people who shoose our speciality as well as other professions ad jobs. There are extrinsic and intrinsic motives that direct our behavior. Extrinsic motives are those like money and any other material values that money can buy, or attention, acclaim, applause. On the other hand there are intrinsic motives like pleassure, selfsatisfaction, acomplishment. Most people have both type of motivations with variable proportions of both motives. And very few people about 5% of the population have purely only one type of motive. I mean for very few people the main goal of their life is only the money or only the professional satisfaction. Most people (95%)have as I said mix of these two major stimuli. And one interesting thing is that those who mostly atracted to the money are from the poor families, pleese note i said mostly not all. And those younfg doctors who have wealthy parents and family are intended mostly to make big acomplishment in the medical practice as well in scientific field.
Good luck for everybody!
its not acceptable when you say only surgeons can make good money.
hi everyone i am a medical student studying in india ... after finishing my grduation i m planning to do a fellowship course in surgery in us ......before that i will be giving my usmle as well .. so sny surgeon can please tell me that is it possible to get a surgery fellowship without a residency programme .... thank u 4 reading my question ........
For that you will first need to complete a PG Surgery after medical school in India - direct fellowships in US are not possible if you only do medical school
US Medical Costs are too high. US Medical salaries are too high. They system is rigged to take money from the people. Since the US is the richest country in the world this scheme works fine. It’s a nice ‘scam’ for the medical industry. Nothing lasts forever.
When the US runs out of money then the healthcare system will self correct. National Health Care is around the corner. 9 out 10 of richest countries in the world have National Health Care.
I am a qualified M.S.(general surgeon)working as Asst.professor of surgery at Gandhi medical college,Hyderabad,India since 8 years.I want to do paid fellowship in surgery without USMLE exam.Can you suggest me how to proceed?
i don't think you can be in it purely for the money b/c you'll be miserable. 1st of all, you're working your butt off just to make it. my dad has been a surgeon for over 30 yrs and he's still coming home at all hours of the night/morning. 2nd of all, you'll need an alternate form of motivation when ppl are suing you for malpractice trying to take the money away. Or when you're getting your butt kicked during residency.
i think the most important thing is to have a genuine passion about what you're doing. i would LOVE to be a surgeon. i think it's fascinating, but i don't have the passion to work un-godly hours week in and week out.
Futurechiefofsurgery is right. You won't be making that kinda money until 10-15 years into your profession and that doesn't even take into consideration all your student loans which could be anywhere from $250,000-500000 once your finished with residency.
Also consider that you'll be working 60 hour weeks. That's 43 solid days a year more work than an average 40 hour a week job.
You could also be sued for malpractice for millions of dollars and simply lose your license after all that hard work. And this is just looking at it objectively.
most doctors are not in it for the money. making it through the academic demands of med school would be near impossible if they did not have a genuine interest in the sciences and passion to help others. I have been a cardiac surgeon for about 18 years and all the doctors I personally know, do not pay much attention to their incomes because they are happy doing what they love and happiness is much more valuable than monetary compensation. till this day, I love what I do and look forward to going to work every morning... it is very satisfying to know that you helped someone live another day.
if becoming a doctor was all about the money everyone would apply. to be a surgeon one must be a kind, determined person who wont let anyone or thing get in their way on saving a patient.
my future husband is studying to be a heart surgeon. i used to want to be a doctor, but hospitals kind of gave me the hibbity gibbities after my sister was twice placed in there nearly dead. but now i know i wont have to worry about paying his bills as well. lol.
Being in the medical field is partly about money. why's everyones excuse I want to help people if you want to help people become a garbage collector they help people to. Become a teacher is helping people in the greatest way. I am a doctor who traded it all to become a professor and I much rather be a professor (hint to students don't go to medical school interviews saying you want to help people I'm sure there tired of hearing that )
D3v
for the kids in middle school and high school that want to become a DR. for the money dont have any idea what its like to have a person die in front of you. im just a PCT in a ER right now, the bottom of the medical feild. i get payed next to nothing 9.00 an hour, and i love trying to make a difference, i had 3 people die today and if your in it for the money you wont last. try talking to a someone who just lost there dad or mom, or wife of 50 years!!! im sorry but money doesnt control emotions, what r u going to think...oh well at least i make alot of money. i want to become DR. and if i got payed the same i would do it. as long as i didnt get sued haha. its a passion. bring someone back from death feels better then deep pockets.
whats a PCT and whats ER?
Anyway, for the middle school and high school kids, if you want to have a hughe big salary you need lot of experience as a surgeon and also become succesful as a surgeon. They dont make that much money, surgeons who make the big bucks are succesful, recognized surgeons, and they have around 15-20 years of experience. My mom is a oral surgeon, she is not practicing but when she was she was making an average of 145000 thousand a year, less the loans (school of maxilofacial surgery), just paying the office secretary and assistant was half of her salary, and also the claims for malpractice, luckily she was a good oral surgeon but some of her friends were sued for malpractice, and they are not just a couple of bucks, we are talking about 50 thousand dollars and sometimes 150 thousand dollars. So think again if you want to become a surgeon just for the money. I want to be a dentist and I know its going to be a long way but i am going to enjoy it because that is my passion.
I forgot to mention you also have to pay for all the stuffs they use for surgery and they are not cheap, just one of those things is very expensive, and there are new ones every year that you will have to get.
My boyfriend is a surgeon and I dont think he makes that much money, he has a normal house and wear normal clothes, and my car is even better than his car, he drives a 1996 Audi, very old car. But I know he has to pay a lot of money for his office, he has a "fancy" office in an expensive area, but the rest is just normal, he doesnt make the lot of money like the kids said, and when he talks about the surgeries never says anything about the money I can feel the excitment and emotion of saving a life. Most of the surgeons are surgeons because they like what they do. Cosmetic surgeons like to make people look better, thats what they like, and also they are getting paid for doing something they like. My boyfriend has been practicing for 8 years and his salary is not high, it is just a normal salary.