Where have all the doctors gone?
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Anonymous
That’s good to hear. Wonder how many people you harmed with your laziness. |
Anonymous
Only the a@@holes, don’t worry |
Anonymous
Other countries have students enter medical school as undergrads. Do you really have to spend four years doing an undergrad degree before you can even apply to med school? |
Anonymous
Just like any other complex system. You figure it out. I’m not a doctor and I manage to navigate it just fine. It isn’t optimal, but nothing in life is optimal. I also don’t roll into my PCP appt with 10,000 complaints and a stack of pub med citations. So that helps. |
Anonymous
Not the poster you are responding to. But this is rich. Invariably the ones complaining the most are the ones whose time is worth the least. Want more specific care, go develop a skill that makes your time worth more money so you can go out onto the open market and buy whatever attention you want. Stop being so lazy and low rent. |
Anonymous
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Was just discussing this with a friend who manages her dr husband's practice (internal medicine). They went concierge because of insurance. They live in a fairly high COL college town but because the town is in a rural area they only get reimbursed at "rural" rates, well below what is reasonable. Also her husband likes to spend more time with patients and actually address all their issues but insurance will only reimburse for the primary reason for the visit. That's why if you go to the dr about X but also want to discuss Y they will often force you to make another appointment. They reached the point where the only financially feasible options were sell to a big medical conglomerate and get paid as an employee and still have to deal with the current insurance environment or switch to concierge. They still keep on some grandfathered-in elderly patients but have enough people willing to pay for concierge.
It is just not a good work experience for primary care doctors. I was looking up something at the pediatrician we've gone to for years (now transitioning out because kids are in college) and noticed that there was only one doctor I recognized at the large practice. Must have been a big wave of retirements. |
Anonymous
What a loser you are!!! This is one of the problems with the sytem, crazy patients! |
Anonymous
Was it ever satisfying? Did you regret studying medicine? |
Anonymous
| Every time I read this threads I feel discouraged about becoming a doctor and feel like despite whatever I do it’s not worth it to anyone. That’s def making me consider retiring/ cutting back early. Also more women are entering medicine and they tend to have a higher attrition. I get it- I’m a mom and having to have emotional labor placed on me by patients and my family is tough. At the end of the day, I’ll pick my family over mg patients. |
Anonymous
What was your vision when you started your studies? I imagine doctors see a lot of people at their unhappiest. I can't imagine being a psychiatrist listening to people complaining all day. |
Anonymous
Yes/ it’s frequently satisfying. Most patients are reasonable and normal. Recently, the stagnant pay combines with squeezing so many patients and extra admin work into my schedule makes work less satisfying. The patients are usually the bright spot. I like using my knowledge to help people. But when a patient is a total dick and blames me for the system that I am trying mg hardest to navigate well for them, yes, I get the visit over with quickly and move on. They’re never going to be happy with my care, they can go elsewhere, and we will both be better off. |
Anonymous
| NP. I'm an MD. I like my job and take insurance in private practice. But the insurance companies have refused to increase what they pay me since I originally negotiated the first contract with them many years ago. There is no cost of living adjustment. The market is now flooded with midlevels whom they can pay less, so they have no incentive to keep up with inflation for MD-level care. I mostly just work because I enjoy it, and have a partner with a good income and no debt. If I needed to make a lot of money, it would be a major issue. Also, there's an increase in for-profit startups that provide really poor quality care. Some of these work with insurance companies, so the insurance company has even less incentive to pay for real doctors. |
Anonymous
Are you a doctor? Cuz if you are you sound like a compassionate doctor who is trying their best. Thank you. In the end it’s not the patient’s fault. It’s the system that sucks. But you have many doctors who blame their patients not recognizing that care has become so disjointed and confusing that they are just trying their best to get the care they need. |
Anonymous
If women have higher attrition rates, shouldn't medical schools be admitting more students? From this thread we've learned that there are more insured patients creating more demand, there are more women entering medicine who are more likely to work part-time, older doctors are retiring, and electronic records and insurance demands are a drain on time. Have medical colleges and residency programs increased the number of graduates to address doctors shortages or is the supply of new doctors capped? |
Anonymous
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