Depends on Private or Public, Resident or Non Resident.

Low end is 15-20K for STATE RESIDENT STATE UNIVERSITY (your Parents address must be in the state) high end is $50K for a private.

Not includiing transporation, housing or incidentals.

Education is 8 years at this amount.

There there is 1 year internship which costs just for housing and food and incidentals.

Then you go into Surgical REsidency which pays you a stipend of $20-25K a year.

It takes 3 years minimum to be a decent surgeon and 4-5 to get certfied by a board in common surgery, 6 – 7 for esoteric surgery like Cardiology or Neurosurgery.

Employers look for a good Medical School diploma a license to practise and pending Board Certification helps.

As for an office, you usually buy a practise for upwards to $1 million. You get office, staff, patients or you become an Associate at an existing practise and build your clientell.

You need to get referrals from GENERAL DOCTORS.

Malpractise insurce costs a bundle.

So does an office in a Medical Building, like $5 to $20 per square foot.

You can rent office space in unfalliated suites which might be shared by Genearl Doctors, Anthesiologists, Surgeons and other specalists with a common recoptionist and waiting room.

YOu pay for “commonalities” and get a small office room.

Generally you start off working for an Emergecy Room service and you are “on call” so they call you when some general Emergency room gets an Appendicitis person.

As an Associate you probably start off at $125-150K

What happens is like what happend to me. I had a hernia and I go to see my regular doctor and he gets on the phone to YOU the SURGEON he likes and knows and says YOU have to see me TODAY or TOMORROW at the latest.

I then go and see yoiu at your office and you cahrge me $150 for the visit and tell me how much it’s going to cost for surgery and if you take my insurance or not.

Let’s say the Hernia repair charge is $10,000 and the Surgeon will tell you he also need an Assistant, who will be My Doctor who gets paid separately (about $500 today) and an Anethesiologist who gets paid spearate (about $1,500 today)

And then if you say lets do it, he calls up the HOSPITALS he has PRIVILLAGES WITH as asks for more time on Friday and set ME in for 11 AM after two other people he’s doing.

He tells me the Hospital room will be extra or he does it IN OFFICE, which they do do these days.

IT’s Surgeons choice.

If it’s IN OFFICE you must have a full Anthesiology cart (and that’s explosive, increases your insruance rates, lots of cottom balls covered with a highly flamable liquid called HALOTHANE) he has to have a CRASH CART in case you go into arrest

He has to have WHOLE BLOOD ON HAND in case you need a transfusion.

He has to have PENNICILIN DRIP on hand.

SALINE DRIP on hand

GLUCOSE DRIP on hand.

Enough nurses and surgical equipment to do the job

OTHERWISE it goes to a hospital who charges

$4,500 for the Surgery Room and $650 per day for a semi-private room for two days.

The Surgeon picks the assistant (my personal Doctor) and the Anesthiologist (same person doing the other two jobs that morning).

The surgeon orders up a Chem pack and EKG (that’s another $2,000 in expenses).

Then the surgeon does 1/2 to 3/4 hour work on me on Friday and I’m out by Sunday Morning at 9 AM or the same day in some isntances.

I get billed close to $20K and the Surgeon gets $10K plus a $150 first visit fee.

The surgeon did three jobs that day and make $30K that day.

The Anthesiologyst make $4,500 that day.

MY Doctor made $500 that day for 3/4 hour work, that’s 3 times his normal pay.

The Hospital made $8,000 that day.

My current Insruance Carrier has a $2,000 deduatable and then pays 80% so I have to pay $5,400 and they pay the rest.

The Surgeon, with a VERY HIGH insruance premimum ($5,000 a month or more) walked away with $30,000 that day and only needs a small office with a secretary.

That Secretary makes $40K a year and that office costs $3K a month

My surgeon made some bucks, but ONLY because he knows enough Doctors to get 15 or 20 surgical referrals a month.

That get’s him $200,000 a month in income before taxes and he has to pay $25,000 in expenses.

But if you only get ONE PATIENT A MONTH you have to pay $15,000 out of your pocket for all that stuff.

So you need 4 patients a month to make $10,000 for yourself.