How much is the anesthesiologist’s salary really? «To earn 50. PLN, I would have to work over 400 hours a month »

Stanisław Karczewski publicly stated that anesthesiologists earn 50 a month. Outraged medics retort that this is not true and emphasize that PiS politicians deliberately undermine the public’s trust in doctors. How much are their salaries really?

1. A lot of controversy was caused by last week’s statement by Senator Karczewski, who said that he knows the case of an anesthesiologist employed in one of the “covid” hospitals, who earns PLN 50 a month. zlotys. However, he did not provide details that would allow the verification of this statement
2. These words disturbed the medical community. – Senator Karczewski’s statement about the enormous salaries of doctors is to polarize society and create the impression that doctors are greedy people, focused only on getting rich – said anonymously the owner of one of the private clinics
3. – My contractual rate is PLN 120 net per hour of work. To earn 50. PLN, I would have to work over 400 hours a month! Seven days a week, 13 hours each. So from 8 a.m. to 21 p.m. Unrealistic – says one of the anesthesiologists.
4. Prof. Alicja Chybicka: anesthesiology is a difficult field of medicine, because the doctor of this specialization stands on the border between the patient’s life and death. So he should be paid so high that he would not have any financial problems
5. More similar information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page

The statement by PiS politician Stanisław Karczewski about the high salaries of anesthesiologists caused a huge storm. The former Speaker of the Senate, appearing in the TVN24 program “One for One”, said that he knows the director of one of the “covid” hospitals, where the anesthesiologist can count on a salary of PLN 50. PLN net. However, when asked for details, the politician did not reveal which particular institution was meant.

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The majority of the medical community, not only those employed in single-name hospitals, are appalled by these words so far.

– The statement of Marshal Karczewski on the earnings of anesthesiologists totally surprised me – says prof. Alicja Chybicka, pediatric oncologist and hematologist. – Anesthesiology is a difficult field of medicine, because the doctor of this specialization stands on the border between the patient’s life and death. So he should be paid so high that he would not have any financial problems. After all, these people are fighting for the lives of the sick, and that should be their focus. And let Marshal Karczewski show those anesthesiologists who earn 50 a month. I do not know such – emphasizes prof. Chybicka.

How much do anesthesiologists really earn?

It largely depends on the type of employment. If they work in a hospital job, their monthly salary may amount to approx. 6–8 gross. But most hospitals offer contracts, not jobs, to anesthesiologists.

– Apart from the three permanent employees, I have all the other anesthesiologists on contract. How much do they earn? I can’t reveal that because it is confidential data. But I categorically deny that it is 50 zlotys, about which Marshal Karczewski spoke – emphasizes the director of one of the specialized hospitals in western Poland, who asks for anonymity.

1. 50 a month on hand for an anesthesiologist? We check

The issue of doctors’ earnings raises considerable emotions and sometimes controversy, which is why most interviewees ask not to mention their names in this context.

Doctors admit, however, that in the case of contract employment, specialists can earn more money than on a full-time job. Why?

Because they are paid for the number of hours they work. The downside, however, is that, as self-employed physicians, doctors have to pay insurance premiums and are not entitled to paid leave.

So what about the 50 a month?

– The words of senator Karczewski can be verified with a simple calculation – an anesthesiologist with 30 years of experience, working in one of Szczecin hospitals, is nervous. – My contractual rate is PLN 120 net per hour of work. To earn 50. PLN, I would have to work over 400 hours a month!

400 hours a month means work seven days a week, 13 hours a day. So from 8 a.m. to 21 p.m. Unreal.

Anesthesiologists in one of the private gynecology and obstetrics clinics in Lower Silesia are also employed under contract.

– 8 doctors of this specialization work for me and each of them gets around 16 zlotys – admits the head of the facility. – I know that my clinic is not their only place of employment, but if someone wants to earn money this way, why not? They work in several places for a simple reason: they are afraid that something will happen in one of the hospitals and they will fall off the schedule. This is how they protect themselves.

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Opinions about doctors are unfair

According to the owner of the clinic, the statement by Senator Karczewski about the enormous wages in the health service is primarily intended to undermine the trust of Poles in doctors. To polarize society and give the impression that doctors are greedy people, focused only on getting rich.

– Unfortunately, Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin has recently joined the creation of a negative image of doctors, saying that some of them evade their duties. This is a very unfair, untrue opinion – he adds.

Without an anesthesiologist, no surgery is possible

It is worth emphasizing that there is a dramatic shortage of anesthesiologists in Poland. We have 6872 doctors of this specialization, of which 1266 are over 65 years of age.

Common knowledge of the importance of their role in the operating room is negligible. It is the anesthesiologist who makes the decisions on which the vital functions of the patients depend. It not only anesthetizes but also diagnoses problems during surgery.

The role of anesthesiologists goes beyond the operating room: they are experts in pain management and run intensive care units where they care for patients with respiratory, cardiovascular and renal failure and coma patients.

– Without us, no doctor: no orthopedist, cardiologist or gynecologist will perform the operation. All our actions require great responsibility, because the consequences of the slightest mistake can be tragic, including the death of the patient. We are especially needed now, during a pandemic, when the most seriously ill have to be connected to ventilators, concludes one anaesthesiologist.

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