Pediatric Neurology (Child Neurology) Salaries in America

A Pediatric Neurologist is a physician for whom a kid is a "bundle of Nerves" - LOL....that was some real bad humor but a good start line for this article ;-)

A 2005 Article featured on Neurology.org by the American Academy of Neurology mentioned the average income of Child Neurologists to be about $150,000/- a year.

In this 2004 article, a Pediatric Neurologist says:

"Pediatric neurologists earn about $18,000 less annually than other pediatric subspecialists and $22,000 less than adult neurologist"

In fact, some Child Neurologists may see some adult neurology patients to improve their incomes.

Child Neurologists who do a lot of Electrophysiology work and those in private practice see higher pays with academic positions or predominantly laboratory research work.

The same article cited above also says: "the finding that almost half of pediatric neurology residency positions are occupied by international graduates suggests that the specialty is unattractive to graduates of American medical schools" - suggesting it is not a very competitive specialty. But then, given the big increase in the number of IMGs applying to residencies and that IMGs are always inclined for fellowships, competition might get stiff within IMGs themselves.

But that was years ago, Click here to see the latest statistics on residency positions filling up at Child Neurology Programs. In the year 2007, though the match rate for IMGs was 92%, they represented 31% of all positions filled up.

Either ways, a shortage for child neurologists is predicted in the future, and an increased demand might drive up salaries to some extent.

Q. How To Become A Pediatric / Child Neurologist in the USA ?

A. To become one, a candidate must complete a three-year training in Pediatric Neurology - These programs are usually called residencies, but also called as fellowships at some programs, since they have some pre-requisites that must be met before entering a Pediatric Neurology Training Program. Here are the pre-requisites of entering a Pediatric Neurology Program.

1. 2 years of residency training in Pediatrics in the United States or Canada, or

OR

2. 1 PGY-1 year (as described in the Program Requirements for Residency Education in Neurology, Section I.A.1) and 1 year of residency training in Pediatrics,

OR

3. 1 year of Pediatrics plus 1 year of Neuroscience research training approved by the program director.


Note: Pediatric Residency admissions are handled by the NRMP Matching System while the Child Neurology Admissions are handled by the SFmatch System

The Three Year Training period itself is standard with 1 year of Adult Neurology training and 2 years of Child Neurology training.

Q. Can a Neurology Resident Get into Pediatric Neurology ?

A. While there may be some programs that offer child neurology as a fellowship after Neurology, you may not be certified as a Child Neurologist. Why ? Here is what is mentioned on the Pediatric Neurology training webpage of the Cleveland Clinic Program:

"The American Board of Pediatric Neurology has specified that in order to sit for the boards, candidates should complete their board eligibility requirements in pediatrics before they enter their neurology training. The American Board of Pediatric Neurology has, therefore, suggested that candidates completing neurology training in the United States before their pediatric training in the United States may not be eligible for ABPN board certification."


Q. Can Pediatric Neurologists also practice Adult Neurology i.e. see Adult Patients ?

A. A Child Neurologist is certified by the ABPN as "Neurologist with special qualifications in child neurology". In fact, one complete year in a Child Neurology program is devoted to adult Neurology. Apparently in private practice setups, child neurologists do resort to variable amount of adult neurology in their practice to improve income levels, since most children either have minimal insurance coverage, no coverage of the programs that cover children do not pay very well, unlike adult patients. In many academic centers devoted to research and education, pediatric neurologists may stick to only pediatric patients.

I came across this written on a private practice website:

" Dr. Michael Saito is an established pediatric physician who also specializes in Pediatric Neurology and can see patients up to the age of 35."

Thus, considering pediatrics as a pathway to get into Neurology might just work, but switching from Neurology to Pediatric Neurology may not get your certified as a Child Neurologist. Adult Neurologists not being able to see pediatric patients might add some salary protection for child neurologists, but I am not entirely sure.

Click here to read an interesting interview with a Child Neurologist in Canada with Dr. Lawrence Richer, who also gives tips about improving chances of selection in a Pediatric / Child Neurology training Program. He mentions that in Canada, the incomes for Child Neurologists is variable, ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 a year in Canadian Dollars.



Nice Books:

- Child Neurology (Child Neurology (Menkes))
- Pediatric Neurology : Essentials for General Practice
- See More TextBooks for Pediatric Neurology