dear all,

How much a Thai doctor earn per month if they are working at goverment hospital ?

many doctors are very hardworking people

you will find some will split their week between a private and a government hospital

its just a rumour that private hospitals have better doctors ,than public

they have better faciities ,and less patients so no over-crowding ,but the doctors are in many cases the same

They also get tips from Thai.

government hospital, bog standard doctor, approx 25kpcm

But doctors often work 3 different paying jobs in different hospitals/clinics

Uncalled for and Libelous post removed

I posed the question to a impressively qualified doctor with whom I am on excellent terms who works at a private hospital. The reply that came back was "If it less than 60K per month then they are not trying." I took this to mean from just one appointment. They may of course also work at other hospitals or lecture to students. Then there are those doctors at Government hospitals who demand under the table payments from farangs for procedures that they cannot afford to have performed at a private hospital.

I will not bore you with a catalogue of errors that have been perpetrated upon me and my family, but they gave me cause to ask the following to the same doctor. "Seeing that professional qualifications can be bought and the universities and other seats of learning are loath to fail students so as to maintain their reputation, would you say that some doctors practising in Thailand are a positive danger to their patients?"

There was a long and significant silence before an answer was forthcoming. It was, "You are an intelligent and well read man. I think you know the answer to that question." How very diplomatic.

A nod is as good as a wink to a blind man.

http://www.adecco.co.th/Uploads/Knowledge-Center-Thought-Leadership/Thailand-Salary-Guide/Adecco-Thailand-Salary-Guide-2012.pdf

http://www.adecco.co...-Guide-2012.pdf

Very useful guide, thanks for posting

many doctors are very hardworking people

you will find some will split their week between a private and a government hospital

its just a rumour that private hospitals have better doctors ,than public

they have better faciities ,and less patients so no over-crowding ,but the doctors are in many cases the same

I went to Naton hospital today for x rays and low and behold there was my doctor, who normally only has surgery after 5 pm. He told me that he was there on a temporary casual basis, but had been working there 5 days a week for 4 years. At 11 am he had already seen 27 patients . Then at 5 pm he goes to his surgery, so there cannot be much money at the hospital.

Edited April 3, 201214 yr by oldsailor35

You will find some of the top guys from private bkk hospitals spend a bit of the week at public hospitals, surgeons ie.

many doctors are very hardworking people

you will find some will split their week between a private and a government hospital

its just a rumour that private hospitals have better doctors ,than public

they have better faciities ,and less patients so no over-crowding ,but the doctors are in many cases the same

I went to Naton hospital today for x rays and low and behold there was my doctor, who normally only has surgery after 5 pm. He told me that he was there on a temporary casual basis, but had been working there 5 days a week for 4 years. At 11 am he had already seen 27 patients . Then at 5 pm he goes to his surgery, so there cannot be much money at the hospital.

he may not go there just because hes "strapped for cash "

in all likelyhood he gets some satisfaction from treating the poor as well as the rich

if it was cash motivated only ,every doctor would be in his own practice or spending time in private hospitals only

Ive been informed by someone working in this field that newly graduated docs are on a basic 10k plus per month. With allowances for shift, overtime, other duties and remote location they can take home 50k per month. Apart from being the only dr in some of the small more remote hospitals they are expected to run the hospital too.

"tips"?

dont some sum tum shops make 30k a month? it seems docs are underpaid.

I am on good terms with a doctor and her family in a small village in the south. For a General Practitioner, it takes 6 years after high school to become a practicing doctor. After they finish medical school, they are required to spend 3 years working for the government, in a hospital or clinic. They doctors basically have to go wherever they are sent. If a doctor does not want to do their 3 years, then they can buy themselves out. It is something like 300,000 baht for the total 3 years. You could do only one year and then buy out the remaining 2 at 200,000 baht or something. The doctor in question ran a private clinic in a rural village with her husband who was also a doctor. They had a Mercedes, iPhones, swimming pool, etc. so they were doing very well. Their clinic was a one stop shop which also had a pharmacy inside. From what I saw this is where they made the real money from (a checkup is only 100 baht, so not much money there). Everyone who went to visit always walked out with about 10 different bags of different colored pills!

Did they need all of those little pills? I'm sure you know the answer.

I have discussed this issue with a fellow physician who is Thai grew up in Thailand but is a radiologist here in the USA. His father is a successful family practice physician in Bangkok.

His father is encouraging him to return to Thailand. And although his pay will be less. If you take into account US income tax (for him federal 33% + state 9.3%), plus self employed Social Security and Medicare Tax (10.4 + 2.9 percent) = 55.6% tax . And then you factor in the lower cost of living. The actual amount of money left over for many doctors is not much less.

However, for him, since he is a radiologist, he pretty much can only work in a hospital and his income would most certainly decrease very significantly. In this area a radiologist can easily make $250,000 per year and is a very difficult specialty to get. When he was a medical student and worked as a volunteer in Bangkok helping AIDS patients, he was embarrassed to tell the other doctors that he was going to be a radiologist (I assume because it is not considered a desirable specialty).

Edited April 4, 201214 yr by stickyrice

When he was a medical student and worked as a volunteer in Bangkok helping AIDS patients, he was embarrassed to tell the other doctors that he was going to be a radiologist (I assume because it is not considered a desirable specialty).

what about someone who goes in proctology ? does he have to have desire to look up /put objects up people ass's ?

or someone in the STD department ? you might say thats a pretty un-appetising job to have to wake up to every morning

After they finish medical school, they are required to spend 3 years working for the government, in a hospital or clinic. They doctors basically have to go wherever they are sent. If a doctor does not want to do their 3 years, then they can buy themselves out. It is something like 300,000 baht for the total 3 years.

Not quite right.

After they finish medical school they are invited to work for the government, at a place of the governments choice, in order to have their university school fees written off. If they were happy to pay their own university fees, then they can work wherever they want.

After they finish medical school, they are required to spend 3 years working for the government, in a hospital or clinic. They doctors basically have to go wherever they are sent. If a doctor does not want to do their 3 years, then they can buy themselves out. It is something like 300,000 baht for the total 3 years.

Not quite right.

After they finish medical school they are invited to work for the government, at a place of the governments choice, in order to have their university school fees written off. If they were happy to pay their own university fees, then they can work wherever they want.

My quote:

"After they finish medical school, they are required to spend 3 years working for the government, in a hospital or clinic."

You're quote:

"After they finish medical school they are invited to work for the government"

My quote:

"They doctors basically have to go wherever they are sent."

You're quote:

"at a place of the governments choice"

My quote:

"If a doctor does not want to do their 3 years, then they can buy themselves out."

You're quote:

"If they were happy to pay their own university fees, then they can work wherever they want."

Aside from Semantics, what exactly is not quite right?

I have discussed this issue with a fellow physician who is Thai grew up in Thailand but is a radiologist here in the USA. His father is a successful family practice physician in Bangkok.

His father is encouraging him to return to Thailand. And although his pay will be less. If you take into account US income tax (for him federal 33% + state 9.3%), plus self employed Social Security and Medicare Tax (10.4 + 2.9 percent) = 55.6% tax . And then you factor in the lower cost of living. The actual amount of money left over for many doctors is not much less.

However, for him, since he is a radiologist, he pretty much can only work in a hospital and his income would most certainly decrease very significantly. In this area a radiologist can easily make $250,000 per year and is a very difficult specialty to get. When he was a medical student and worked as a volunteer in Bangkok helping AIDS patients, he was embarrassed to tell the other doctors that he was going to be a radiologist (I assume because it is not considered a desirable specialty).

In addition to the high taxes, you can also factor in the exorbitant "Medical Malpractice" Insurance (average annual cost $82,473 in NYC) as a result of the barrage of frivolous lawsuits that doctors face in the U.S.

Aside from Semantics, what exactly is not quite right?

It's not something they have to do, its a way of them having their school fees for free, they still get paid the going wage for their work. Most students in Thailand go to university and take out a loan for the University fees, doctors can get something for (almost) nothing.

Edited April 4, 201214 yr by TommoPhysicist

"tips"?

dont some sum tum shops make 30k a month? it seems docs are underpaid.

There were postings that Air hostess (spelling???) at Thai Airways get 50-100K a month