There is an interesting study that has been published by the online recruiting site TheLadders. After analyzing the names of their six million members, they have found that people with shorter names make more money. They don't give an explanation for this finding. Maybe it is all just a publicity stunt. But it is still worth a look.
According to the firm, the highest paid male names all have five letters or less: Tom, Rob, Dale, Doug, and Wayne. The top five female names also tend to be shorter though there is less of a correlation: Lynn, Melissa, Cathy, Dana, and Christine. In fact, when they analyzed the numbers, they found that for each letter that a name is lengthened, the person makes $3,600 less per year.
TheLadders also found that people who use shorter nicknames make more money than the corresponding longer names. Bills make more money than Williams. Debbies make more money than Deborahs. Philips earn more than Phillips. Again no reasons are given for this.
This must be the reason why I make a lot of money. Other than the fact that I am an anesthesiologist, I have an extremely short first name. Are you ready to find out what it is? My first name is spelled--D-r. But you can call me Z, which is even shorter and more portentous of future fortune. A website that I had never heard of before wouldn't lead me wrong, would it?
Hello Dr. Z. My name is Joel and I am a pre-med student in Orlando, Florida. I just wanted to say that I enjoy reading your blog! You provide great useful information about the wonderful specialty of Anesthesia, as well as humor to help us get through the day. Thank you for sharing your experiences and knowledge with us. I also wanted to ask you a few questions regarding anesthesia. Other pre-med students believe Anesthesiologist are loosing the battle vs crna's, and that they are being made to supervise rather than practice anesthesia. What are your thoughts on these statements? I enjoy the art of anesthesia and if I get the privilege of becoming a anesthesiologist I would like to do my own cases. I enjoy being part of a team, but I know I would not enjoy supervising crna's doing most of the cases. Is it possible for me to perform more vs supervise Dr. Z?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your compliments. I wish I had a crystal ball that can tell you about how the CRNA vs. anesthesiologist dichotomy will pan out. All I can say is that there is a projected shortage of anesthesiologists in the future, some estimate it to be in the thousands, so there should be plenty of work for everybody.
ReplyDeleteYou most certainly can practice in an anesthesiologist only group. I specifically chose my workplace because no CRNA's work here. Especially coming right out of residency I didn't feel comfortable supervising CRNA's who have years more experience than me and probably wouldn't give a darn about my suggestions for how a patient should be anesthetized. That sounded like a recipe for disaster since I would still have to sign her records as if I approved her actions. Therefore I chose an MD only group.
However I know some anesthesiologists who LOVE supervising CRNA's. They are in the OR lounge all day while the CRNA's are working. They're reading their Wall Street Journals, watching CNBC, and scarfing down all the OR doughnuts while getting paid to sit there watching other people work. So it really depends on what you want to do when you are an attending.
THe unflattering stereotype of the lounge sitting anesthesiologists doesn't need to be advanced by our fellow anesthesiologists who have a superiority complex because they personally provide anesthesia care. Many of us are supervising 4 rooms with high intensity patients and or high turnover cases and some of us take our obligations very seriously.
DeleteI'm just keeping it real. While most anesthesiologists are very hard working like yourself, whether working alone or supervising CRNA's, there are definitely some who prefer to lead a more relaxed lifestyle. And that is their choice. Just like it is your choice to work with four CRNA's taking care of "high intensity patients". Those are just the possibilities I was pointing out to Joel.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if a CRNA could be a male?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response Dr. Z. I hope you have a great day.
ReplyDeleteOf course a CRNA can be a male....troll!!!
ReplyDelete