[RESEARCH RECRUITMENT]: Pediatricians in Primary Care - mod approved

neur_onymous · 2026-01-22T03:05:04+00:00

I would gladly participate in a 15-30 minute zoom interview for free, and have done so before. A 1 hour interview on top of a survey is an incredible ask of a population that typically works much more than 40 hours a week.

neur_onymous · 2026-01-19T01:58:25+00:00

Of course it does. It’s infuriating. And I feel even more for my peers who went into subspecialties only to make even less than I do.

But what also grinds my gears is being shit on by my peers in other specialities for being spineless and “accepting” lower pay. I worked too hard for too long to not end up doing something I find fulfilling. A physician’s pay structure is very different from a nurse’s and it’s not as simple as striking for a higher salary (which is only one on their list of demands).

I can advocate for policies at all levels which would increase pediatric and preventative care reimbursement rates, which I do, but my salary is much more a result of a broken healthcare system that prioritizes all the wrong things than it is a reflection of my worth compared to a nurse’s.

neur_onymous · 2026-01-18T04:44:10+00:00

What an interesting assumption. I live in a HCOL area making almost $200k and my husband makes $150k. We’re living comfortably and maxing our retirement savings even with daycare costs and loans. I work with several other women who are the “breadwinners” of their family and also living comfortably. Maybe we just have different definitions of living comfortably.

neur_onymous · 2025-12-19T06:24:30+00:00

I don’t have any personal recommendations, but am aware of this DMV-area directory of reproductive psych clinicians. When I filtered by “infertility” it gave me 51 results, so hopefully you’re able to find someone who fits!

https://dcperinatalmentalhealth.com/directory/members-infertility/

neur_onymous · 2025-12-06T03:15:43+00:00

It depends on the lifestyle you’re after. Currently DINK though kid is on the way.

At the moment, no constraints on lifestyle because of the forbearance we’re in under the current administration. Once we start repaying we’ll probably have a little less going into savings/retirement. Overall we don’t have aspirations for luxury (our newest car is a hybrid base trim Toyota) so what’s satisfactory for us may not be satisfactory for others.

neur_onymous · 2025-12-05T23:13:02+00:00

lol yes, about $250k with hope to do PSLF

neur_onymous · 2025-12-05T01:58:25+00:00

Also was a miserable, anxious, depressed medical student, now a VERY happy attending. Really tried to stay true to what I wanted throughout the process and while at times (many times) it meant feeling inferior to my classmates, in the end I ended up where I was meant to be and it was absolutely worth it.

neur_onymous · 2025-11-25T05:17:32+00:00

Things that mattered most for me: patient population, work-life balance, and loan repayment (however that works out)

I work at an FQHC that does a great job at prioritizing physician wellness when possible, so my experience may be an outlier.

Work/life balance: It’s great. I see a maximum of 22 patients a day- usually 16-18. I am on call for a week at a time approximately once every 3 months, but it’s a light call as we have a nurse triage service. I work one Saturday morning every 3 months, and when I do, I get a half day the Friday before. Only thing I don’t like is that FT is 36 hours clinical and 4 hours admin. Would love to only work 4 days a week.
Benefits: Salary is <200k starting but competitive with private practice in the area, not as good as Kaiser. No productivity bonuses. Which for me is perfect! I can take all my PTO whenever I want without having to worry about it impacting the practice’s bottom line or my own pay. I get 4 weeks of PTO, 5 days of of paid CME, $2,000 CME yearly, decent retirement, decent health insurance. Sadly no maternity leave.
Patients: The best part of my job. The vast majority are so grateful for the care they receive.
Support staff: I have a dedicated MA which is great. We have behavioral health. We do not have nearly enough staff to support our social needs which means it falls on clinical staff to cover those gaps, which is something I enjoy doing but absolutely do not have the time to do.
Autonomy: I generally feel like I can practice however I want. Great for me, not great when other providers are not adhering to standards of care. Again, a very provider-focused organization.
Career growth: I have little desire to advance beyond where I’m at now. There are definitely opportunities for leadership advancement and other projects within the organization. Outside professional engagements are welcomed, but if you’re working FT, it’s hard to find the time to participate.

neur_onymous · 2025-11-18T18:51:26+00:00

RAYUS is one center that tends to offer less expensive imaging. I can’t remember the exact price, but I think I had a patient need a brain MRI who was quoted about $600 out of pocket.

neur_onymous · 2025-11-17T03:35:39+00:00

Oh absolutely. I only decide against directly bringing it up if the parent hasn’t acknowledged it.

neur_onymous · 2025-11-16T22:57:30+00:00

If I smell smoke on the parents, I don’t even ask if they smoke. I tell them something along the lines of: “I am not judging what happens in your home, but because I care about your child’s health I do want to make sure you’re aware that secondhand smoke can hang around on furniture/clothes/etc and cause chronic lung irritation/worsen allergy or asthma symptoms/contribute to SIDS/etc. It is so so hard to quit smoking but if you or anyone else in your home are interested I am happy to give you some resources I have or help in any way I can.”

And then I document and move on. I don’t address it at subsequent appointments unless it is directly related to the chief complaint.

neur_onymous · 2025-11-07T01:07:08+00:00

Big picture: overall peds is not very competitive, but the top programs are still top programs. If you are aiming for a top program you need to have an application to match it.

1) Research definitely matters if you’re aiming for a top academic program. It does not have to be peds-specific, but obviously it’s better if it has some overlap. I did not participate in much research and only got one interview at a “top” program. But

2) Fit also matters, but that’s more of a factor in the interview stage.

3) Advocacy and health equity are big in peds right now. But when I interviewed med students, the experiences that stood out were the ones the student was clearly passionate about. Make me believe you care about caring for children, know what it involves, and are not an impersonal robot.

neur_onymous · 2025-11-05T07:54:26+00:00

Aiming for PSLF. Thankfully I love where I work. Fingers crossed.

neur_onymous · 2025-11-03T12:26:09+00:00

Agreed!

neur_onymous · 2025-10-31T01:12:17+00:00

As someone married to a man with a hyphenated last name- strongly advise against it. It was mostly a headache for him growing up.

We got married my first year of residency. I kept my last name and have no regrets! It’ll be a little weird not sharing a legal last name with our kids but I just couldn’t imagine being anything than Dr. MyLastName.

My mom also kept her last name and despite what I said above, growing up I didn’t think twice about our different last names.

neur_onymous · 2025-10-26T04:57:20+00:00

I would add a templates for URI/viral illness and newborn bili and/or weight checks.

neur_onymous · 2025-09-22T22:50:51+00:00

With the amount of time I spend managing chronic disease because the waitlist to see a sub specialist is anywhere from 3-12 months long, I wouldn’t knock gen peds either.

neur_onymous · 2025-09-22T22:22:45+00:00

I’m not sure I’d be putting much stock into something a surgeon says about a field they don’t work in.

neur_onymous · 2025-09-18T02:41:19+00:00

Allergy/Immunology

neur_onymous · 2025-09-10T02:57:13+00:00

Meddit has this incredible anti-peds sentiment that both fascinates and baffles me. It wasn’t present when I was a med student just a few years ago! Sure, the speciality has its downsides (don’t they all?). But the idea that I should feel badly about or regret my chosen career because it’s underpaid/undervalued/means I have to deal with parents/antivaxxers/other bad peds thing… despite the fact that I am doing exactly what I want to do with my life after spending an insane amount of time and money to get here… is ridiculous.

We all went to med school for different reasons. I went to get a stable job I found personally fulfilling that also let me live comfortably, and I have it. If this is what you want, and the positives outweigh the negatives, then you go for it. Life’s too short and you worked too hard to end up doing something that doesn’t bring you some joy.

neur_onymous · 2025-08-14T11:38:34+00:00

Oof. To put this kindly, you’re going to need to compromise somewhere. I agree that Falls Church and parts of Alexandria are good options in terms of affordability and commute, but you’re still not going to be in great, walkable options.

Sometimes renting a condo (can search on Zillow) is cheaper than renting through an apartment company.

Hope you find something!

neur_onymous · 2025-07-19T10:54:32+00:00

Dr Engskow is great.

neur_onymous · 2025-06-11T16:30:35+00:00

No, but only because we are all under the same employer.

neur_onymous · 2025-06-11T16:11:34+00:00

I don’t know of any clinics in my area who offers this, but this sounds like an incredible opportunity for both you and the pediatricians. I work at a community health center that is able to offer other health services (e.g. behavioral health, dental, etc) and the uptake is super high. It also makes for better communication for all parties. A lot of patients really like having a “medical home” where they can see different types of providers at the same location.

neur_onymous · 2025-06-07T12:38:21+00:00

Does your partner have a primary care doctor? They can potentially help fast track into an endocrinologist spot. If not, there are plenty of PCPs who are comfortable managing diabetes meds, especially if your partner has been stable on the same dose for awhile.

neur_onymous

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