Gastroenterologists are doctors that specialize in the treatment of chronic digestive conditions. These conditions can affect the esophagus, stomach, intestines and the colon. There are a few gastroenterologists that also practice hepatology as well, which is the treatment of liver disease. Becoming a gastroenterologist is no easy task, as you have to complete many, many years of school and training. If you are interested in this field of expertise you will have a long road ahead of you, but if this is your interest you will be fulfilled and well paid.
Gastroenterologists have to complete 4 years undergraduate, 4 years medical school and 3 years of residency. Gastroenterologists also have to complete three years of fellowship training in the gastroenterology field. Gastroenterologists can have quite a large salary depending on how well they do their job and if they own their own business or not. Many gastroenterologists choose to work in hospitals but some desire to open their own practice. The average pay for a gastroenterologist is $496, 139 per year. There are some gastroenterologists however that do not fall into the average range and are making such salaries as $775,000. So as you can see this field pays quite nicely. If you are willing to get through all the hard work, it will pay off in the end.
A lot of gastroenterologists like this field because they not only get to see patients in a normal office setting, but they also get to perform procedures as well. This field is good for a physician that cannot decide whether he or she likes being in the office more or doing surgery best. Gastroenterologists get to do both, so there is no choice that has to be made. Basically for the doctor that can’t decide between the two, it is the best of both worlds.
As a gastroenterologist you will perform many scopes that are called endoscopes. You will use them to see things in the upper and lower digestive tract. Some scopes are used to see and diagnose, while others are used to treat such things a polyps and tumors. The scopes are inserted by you as the doctor into the patient’s mouth and into the digestive tract. These scopes have tiny cameras on the ends of them to help you to see what exactly is going on inside the patient. As a result of using the scopes you will be able to diagnose and treat the problems and therefore make the patient’s life more bearable.
If you are thinking about moving from your current physician position into a specialty, you may want to look further into becoming a gastroenterologist and help treat patients with problems the typical doctor cannot fix.
