How much do emergency doctors make? do they suffer more stress than office doctors?
Answer:
Average income last in last year's poll was $119/hr., but that's not necessarily accurate, and the range is pretty wide.
The stress is in going back and forth between day and night shifts, especially as we age. Nights, weekends and holidays are always there. Also, many hospitals think of their Press Gainey scores as sacrosanct, and (not all, but many) they tend to play "blame the doctor" instead of "what can we do to help" when patient satisfaction surveys aren't up to expectations.
In terms of the work itself, it's usually not that stressful. After all, it's the patients, not the doctors, who are in trouble. One of my teachers in medical school put it rather well: "Medicine is easy; first, do no harm; then, do the right thing, and that's all there is to it."
I disagree with the other answer about massive workloads and adrenaline junkies. As a matter of fact, I try to hire the calm type. If the doctor's excited, everybody else gets that way, and mistakes pop up. The TV scenario with a doctor yelling "Somebody get me a crash cart!" means it isn't coming in time, and if it does, it's coming with panicked staff, where "Mary, would you bring the crash cart, please?" gets it done right now.
Likewise, if you're overworked and understaffed, you can work to a degree with the hospital administration on fixing problems, but you don't have the autonomy of an office practice, and if you're routinely having to juggle 30 patients, it's past time to find another job. which isn't hard to do. It normally all comes down to how well you can work with the administration. In the not to distant past, the ER was the red-headed stepchild of most hospitals, but that's beginning to change.
I personally like working 14 shifts (12 hours) a month, and having days at a time when I'm not working and can do something else. I'm one of the older guys, but I'd not want to work in an office and have to deal with all the business aspects that often go with office practice. I especially like being able to treat everybody almost without consideration for their insurance status.
ER docs make roughly $100/hr, depending on what region of the country they work. Bear in mind they typically work independently of the hospital and threrefore have to set aside and arrange for their own taxes quarterly so it gets complicated. Add on malpractice insurance and it's not so lucritive. The hours are anywhere from 8, 10 -12 hour shifts. Newbies get the nights or some places rotate. Usually their is no call involved and when your shift is over you get to go home. Do they suffer more stress? You bet. Unless they are in a low key ER (hard to find these days) they never know what is going to come through the door and have to always expect the unexpected. They have to think the worst and juggle up to 30 patients at times. Their job is no picnic but for the most part they are adrenaline junkies and they aren't in it for the money.
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