Hematology: Overview

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Neurocritical care is a relatively new field within neurology and emergency medicine.

According to the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS), neurocritical care physicians typically work within a hospital's ICU, treating and diagnosing emergency situations involving the brain and nervous system.

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Hematology Procedures

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Over 85% of neurocritical care physicians work in ICUs, treating patients with emergency brain and nervous system complications. A typically night as a neurocritical care physician might involve treating and diagnosing patients with brain aneurysm, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, and others.

• Brain aneurysm
• Paralysis
• Multiple sclerosis complications
• Another terrible affliction

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Hematology Salary

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Since neurocritical care is a relatively new field, and relatively small, compensation data is not as thorough as it is for neurologists. However, according to the NCS, the median salary of a neurocritical care physician is within the range of $250,000–$300,000 USD.

Only 7% of respondents earned over $401,000 annually. The median salary for males was $276,000–$300,000, while for females, it was $251,000–$275,000 (Table 2).

The most common compensation model was receiving salary only (Fig. 1). Generally, the more an intensivist worked, the higher the pay. The median income for a physician working 26 or more weeks was $301,000–$325,000, while those working 13 weeks or less made a median income of $226,000–$250,000 (Fig. 1).

Across the USA, median incomes were similar except for the West with a higher median income of $301,000–$325,000 (Table 2).

As you might expect, private practice and multi-specialty group practices tended to earn more on average than the academic setting.

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Hematology Lifestyle

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The median service weeks for academic faculty were 18–21 ICU weeks (Online Supplement). All other practice settings work a median 26 or more service weeks. Salary characteristics are further broken down in the Online Supplement.

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Hematology Career Path

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The vast majority of neurocritical care physicians are board-certified in neurology, and go on to pursue a fellowship in neurocritical care from an accredited program.

A small percentage of neurocritical care physicians are board-certified in urgent care or emergency medicine before being accepted into a neurocritical care fellowship program.

Most neurocritical care fellowships are 1 year.

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Hematology Fellowship Programs

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As neurocritical care is relatively new, there are just 10 accredited programs in the US as of February 2021.

• Stanford University Hospital Neurocritical Care Fellowship
• University of Michigan Hospital Neurocritical Care Fellowship
• University of Michigan Hospital Neurocritical Care Fellowship
• Stanford University Hospital Neurocritical Care Fellowship
• University of Michigan Hospital Neurocritical Care Fellowship

These programs are highly competitive. To stand out, having a strong background in neurological research or demonstrated interest in the field can help you land an interview.

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Learn More About Hematologists

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To learn more, visit these websites: 

• Neurocritical Care Society (NCS)

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Know a Hematologist?

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MedCareer would love to interview hematologists to help aspiring physicians and medical students learn about your field!

Contact drew@medcareer.io if you are interested :) 

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