As I write this, there are possibly only about 1500 to 1600 practicing retinal surgeons in the United states in an overall pool of over 830,000 practicing MDs - that makes them fairly exclusive, and exclusivity in the health arena means huge dollars in income.
You will agree when I say high dollars, when you know that average yearly incomes these guys make hovers around $500,000 to $600,000 and can climb upto $800,000 a year on the higher end.
As I went through various online physician salary survey sites, the minimum for a Retinal Physician was about 250,000$, which climbs up quickly with incentives and production bonuses, pulling from the competition with higher offers and so on...
A 2010 Survey by Allied physicians quotes a minimum of $280,000 a year, an average of $469,000 a year and a Maximum of $716,000 a year for retinal physicians
Another survey on DrJobs.com quotes a minimum of $275,000 a year and a maximum of $711,000 a year.
In an excellent 2009 article, John Pinto talks about a whole lot of practical career issues and the money than a retinal practice can expect to generate. Here are some highlights:
- The best setting for a retinal surgeon to work is probably a Group Single Sub specialty setting - meaning a group practice run only by fellow retinal physicians. "this is often the "sweet spot" of every sub specialty. In a group setting, call coverage is far less of a burden, costly capital investments can be shared, and an intellectual peer is just down the hall in the next office.", as Mr. Pinto rightly says.
Both Retinal Medicine and Retinal Surgery (Often called Vitreo-retinal surgery depending on the emphasis) career tracks take two years of Fellowship Training following a Residency in Opthalmology
Total Years for an American Medical Student = 14 Years, as follows:
4 Years of Pre-Med plus
4 Years of Medical School plus
1 + 3 Years of Ophthalmology Residency plus
2 Years of Retinal Fellowship (Medicine or Surgery)
Here's a sample look at a Vitreo-Retinal Fellowship at Mayo Clinic
International Medical Graduates who have completed residency training in opthalmology in their own countries have sometimes found fellowship spots in the US without doing a US Residency. They still need to take the USMLE Steps though. Read More about Direct Fellowships without Residency Here
And what's more - you don't have to be a retinal surgeon to earn as much - for example, you can simply be ;-) who in 2006 made more in a month than what a retinal surgeon would make in a year - or $737,868 per month , to be more specific :-p !
You will agree when I say high dollars, when you know that average yearly incomes these guys make hovers around $500,000 to $600,000 and can climb upto $800,000 a year on the higher end.
As I went through various online physician salary survey sites, the minimum for a Retinal Physician was about 250,000$, which climbs up quickly with incentives and production bonuses, pulling from the competition with higher offers and so on...
A 2010 Survey by Allied physicians quotes a minimum of $280,000 a year, an average of $469,000 a year and a Maximum of $716,000 a year for retinal physicians
Another survey on DrJobs.com quotes a minimum of $275,000 a year and a maximum of $711,000 a year.
In an excellent 2009 article, John Pinto talks about a whole lot of practical career issues and the money than a retinal practice can expect to generate. Here are some highlights:
- "As compared to the general ophthalmologists, retinal ophthalmologists can earn an extra $500,000 or so each year for an average of 33 years, which is nearly an extra $10 Million after taxes for just those two years in Fellowship Investment"
- Getting into a Retinal Fellowship is no easy task, as many of you might have guessed looking at the income potential - As Mr. Pinto puts it: "It takes luck, connections, brains, some lifestyle concessions and 2 years (5500 hours) to transform a general ophthalmologist into a retinal surgeon"
- The best setting for a retinal surgeon to work is probably a Group Single Sub specialty setting - meaning a group practice run only by fellow retinal physicians. "this is often the "sweet spot" of every sub specialty. In a group setting, call coverage is far less of a burden, costly capital investments can be shared, and an intellectual peer is just down the hall in the next office.", as Mr. Pinto rightly says.
- "The average doctor was generating annual collections of $1.3 million. The most productive practice generated $2.6 million in annual collections per doctor, and the least productive just $848000"How to Become a Retinal Physician in America ?
Both Retinal Medicine and Retinal Surgery (Often called Vitreo-retinal surgery depending on the emphasis) career tracks take two years of Fellowship Training following a Residency in Opthalmology
Total Years for an American Medical Student = 14 Years, as follows:
4 Years of Pre-Med plus
4 Years of Medical School plus
1 + 3 Years of Ophthalmology Residency plus
2 Years of Retinal Fellowship (Medicine or Surgery)
Here's a sample look at a Vitreo-Retinal Fellowship at Mayo Clinic
International Medical Graduates who have completed residency training in opthalmology in their own countries have sometimes found fellowship spots in the US without doing a US Residency. They still need to take the USMLE Steps though. Read More about Direct Fellowships without Residency Here
And what's more - you don't have to be a retinal surgeon to earn as much - for example, you can simply be ;-) who in 2006 made more in a month than what a retinal surgeon would make in a year - or $737,868 per month , to be more specific :-p !
wow
ReplyDeleteThis is something, i should have been an eye surgeon
ReplyDelete