match thoughts!?

[Mman]

We didn't go to medical school to have a JOB. I can have a job at walmart.

Well then maybe you went into it for the wrong reasons.

I went into medicine because it's a career I find interesting and mentally stimulating, but day to day it's a job. It always was and it always will be. You can have a job at Walmart or as a dentist or as an engineer or a teacher or a doctor. Is it a professional job? Of course.

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[deleted171991]

Well then maybe you went into it for the wrong reasons.

I went into medicine because it's a career I find interesting and mentally stimulating, but day to day it's a job. It always was and it always will be. You can have a job at Walmart or as a dentist or as an engineer or a teacher or a doctor. Is it a professional job? Of course.

I think what he meant is what I would mean: we didn't go into medicine to be employees/cogs. We went into it to be at least partners in a business, to have a better say about our own lives (and lifestyles). We did not expect this corporate medical revolution, and it's far from our dream "job".

It is definitely not a professional job anymore, at least not in the old sense of the word. We are about as "professional" as an accountant at KPMG, or a hospital nurse.

 

[scutdoc]

Congratulations to everyone who matched! If I can paraphrase Gandhi: may you be the change you want to see in anesthesiology!

 

[skypilot]

I think what he meant is what I would mean: we didn't go into medicine to be employees/cogs. We went into it to be at least partners in a business, to have a better say about our own lives (and lifestyles). We did not expect this corporate medical revolution, and it's far from our dream "job".

It is definitely not a professional job anymore, at least not in the old sense of the word. We are about as "professional" as an accountant at KPMG, or a hospital nurse.

This is the problem. When you suddenly realize that Nurse executives are setting the Anesthesia policies for your department and some corporate executive in Texas is paying your salary, making a fortune off of your sweat and labor, and making hiring and firing decisions for you. You suddenly realize you are nothing more than an Anesthesia provider. You can let it eat eat you up inside, you can change jobs, or you can just roll with it.

 

[deleted126335]

Sorry you feel that way. You're probably one of those "we are all equal and should listen to what everyone, even a nursing student, has to say...you can learn from anyone!" douche canoes. I for one feel that because of the sacrifice and hard work that I have undergone, I am special. The hazing one must undergo to become a doctor is unlike any other profession. When I walk into the hospital and pass the cafeteria workers, nurses, respiratory therapists, housekeepers, etc. I don't think I'm better than them - I KNOW I AM. That's right - I said it. Most here feel the same exact way but won't have the nuts to admit it.

Half agree. Most of us are brighter and have worked harder and longer and smarter than most of the people we meet. I do think that we should be compensated for it. But to deny that we are also lucky is just plain dishonest. I have met broom pushers and police officers and nurses who had they been born to the right parents would be doctors or college professors or CEOs. There are probably plenty of criminals and homeless people that fit that description as well.

 

[psychMDhopefully]

Sorry you feel that way. You're probably one of those "we are all equal and should listen to what everyone, even a nursing student, has to say...you can learn from anyone!" douche canoes. I for one feel that because of the sacrifice and hard work that I have undergone, I am special. The hazing one must undergo to become a doctor is unlike any other profession. When I walk into the hospital and pass the cafeteria workers, nurses, respiratory therapists, housekeepers, etc. I don't think I'm better than them - I KNOW I AM. That's right - I said it. Most here feel the same exact way but won't have the nuts to admit it.

wish med students could say stuff like this without getting hung by the administration. To much BS, PC "everybody is special" crap nowadays, and med schools admit kids that drink that kool-aid non stop.

 

[psychMDhopefully]

Half agree. Most of us are brighter and have worked harder and longer and smarter than most of the people we meet. I do think that we should be compensated for it. But to deny that we are also lucky is just plain dishonest. I have met broom pushers and police officers and nurses who had they been born to the right parents would be doctors or college professors or CEOs. There are probably plenty of criminals and homeless people that fit that description as well.

My mother raised 4 kids making 14k a year, she didn't push us to do well in school, the school system I was forced into was horrible, and here I am in med school. There is a lot of opportunity in this country you just need the intelligence and foresight to take advantage of it.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

My mother raised 4 kids making 14k a year, she didn't push us to do well in school, the school system I was forced into was horrible, and here I am in med school. There is a lot of opportunity in this country you just need the intelligence and foresight to take advantage of it.

Personal motivation and responsibility takes you far.
You don't have to be smart/gifted/intelligent.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Half agree. Most of us are brighter and have worked harder and longer and smarter than most of the people we meet. I do think that we should be compensated for it. But to deny that we are also lucky is just plain dishonest. I have met broom pushers and police officers and nurses who had they been born to the right parents would be doctors or college professors or CEOs. There are probably plenty of criminals and homeless people that fit that description as well.

Not all of us were born into privileged households. Some of us were born into lower class households barely making it into the lower middle class. It takes motivation. Intelligence means nothing without it. I've seen motivated people who aren't necessarily gifted/intelligent (average intelligence maybe above avg) succeed.

 

[deleted171991]

Personal motivation and responsibility takes you far.
You don't have to be smart/gifted/intelligent.

Intelligence helps, money helps (up to a point, above which it has the opposite effect), ambition too, but nothing matters like grit.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

Some call it ambition, but I think it's grit.

Yep.
Tomato tomaato.

 

[NOsaintsfan]

Half agree. Most of us are brighter and have worked harder and longer and smarter than most of the people we meet. I do think that we should be compensated for it. But to deny that we are also lucky is just plain dishonest. I have met broom pushers and police officers and nurses who had they been born to the right parents would be doctors or college professors or CEOs. There are probably plenty of criminals and homeless people that fit that description as well.

I didn't realize that all those weekends I stayed home studying during undergrad to make a high GPA and MCAT was called luck. I also didn't realize that being the son of a mail man and a stay at home mom was luck either. I had no idea that being the first in my family with a college degree was luck.

I feel silly now thinking what I was doing was hard work and discipline.

 

[Psai]

I didn't realize that all those weekends I stayed home studying during undergrad to make a high GPA and MCAT was called luck. I also didn't realize that being the son of a mail man and a stay at home mom was luck either. I had no idea that being the first in my family with a college degree was luck.

I feel silly now thinking what I was doing was hard work and discipline.

My story is eerily similar to yours

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

My story is eerily similar to yours

As is mine, minus the mail man part. He was still making the same. Mom worked as a waitress at 2 restaurants.

 

[pjl]

I didn't realize that all those weekends I stayed home studying during undergrad to make a high GPA and MCAT was called luck. I also didn't realize that being the son of a mail man and a stay at home mom was luck either. I had no idea that being the first in my family with a college degree was luck.

I feel silly now thinking what I was doing was hard work and discipline.

You were lucky to be shown one way of life that caused you to learn to work hard and want something more.


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[NOsaintsfan]

You were lucky to be shown one way of life that caused you to learn to work hard and want something more.


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Absolutely!

I'm also lucky I haven't been killed in traffic or cought the plague.

 

[Psai]

I just wanted to throw this out there...
Anesthesiology residencies MIGHT become much more competitive in 2020... here's why

With ACGME merging all residencies (MD & DO), a lot of the top DO applicants that would typically go into AOA neuro optha ortho ENT urology residencies will now be shunned under the merger... They will look for alternatives... Rads, Anesth, EM might get more competitive as a result.
This is all just a guess...

I dont think they have that that many of those spots

 

[Temeraire]

I just wanted to throw this out there...
Anesthesiology residencies MIGHT become much more competitive in 2020... here's why

With ACGME merging all residencies (MD & DO), a lot of the top DO applicants that would typically go into AOA neuro optha ortho ENT urology residencies will now be shunned under the merger... They will look for alternatives... Rads, Anesth, EM might get more competitive as a result.
This is all just a guess...

Nah. As long as Blade and FFP continue to post sobering real talk on this forum, and Consigliere continues to be a grouch, and Criticalelement continues to moan hysterically about his PTSD, they'll do a good job of keeping this field's competitiveness down.

 

[bashwell]

I think with US health care changing, and no one knowing for sure how this cat will land, then (all other things equal) at this point in time it seems more prudent to be in a specialty where you can be in as much control as possible over your own life and how you wish to live it than in a specialty where these things aren't as much in your control (granting all doctors could all become employees someday).

If US health care was stable, then maybe this wouldn't matter or not matter as much. But right now US health care is undergoing significant changes. It's sort of like musical chairs. No one knows when the music will stop, and who will be left chair-less. Hence better to be the person who is more in control over the changing circumstances than the person who is more subject to the changing circumstances.

 

[Doctor4Life1769]

I think with US health care changing, and no one knowing for sure how this cat will land, then (all other things equal) at this point in time it seems more prudent to be in a specialty where you can be in as much control as possible over your own life and how you wish to live it than in a specialty where these things aren't as much in your control (granting all doctors could all become employees someday).

If US health care was stable, then maybe this wouldn't matter or not matter as much. But right now US health care is undergoing significant changes. It's sort of like musical chairs. No one knows when the music will stop, and who will be left chair-less. Hence better to be the person who is more in control over the changing circumstances than the person who is more subject to the changing circumstances.

This is why the ASA is pushing hard for a larger role in the patient centered surgical home. Else, anesthesiologists lose value especially with CRNAs claiming equivalency. Folks who are not required to be in the hospital will do much better. Surgeons, specialists who admit, PCPs who admit are the ones bringing value to the hospital by means of patients and this means more money. I was recently invited to partake in the Clinical Integrated Network since I'm joining a practice in the community that does admit to their hospital. We will be playing a huge role in terms of clinical documentation and setting up criteria involved in institutional PCMH/PCSH, and also with regards to ensuring quality measures in the outpatient and inpatient setting. The immediate goals and outcomes (and likely long-term) will dictate bonus structures accordingly. It is important to be at the table when these decisions are being made. They have PCPs, surgeons, and looking at some other specialists being involved. However, anesthesiologists were not even mentioned in the equation. Generally, the consensus thought is "they don't care" or "we (hospital administration) don't care."

 

[amLOLdipine]

Nah. As long as Blade and FFP continue to post sobering real talk on this forum, and Consigliere continues to be a grouch, and Criticalelement continues to moan hysterically about his PTSD, they'll do a good job of keeping this field's competitiveness down.

Ding ding ding

 

[WholeLottaGame7]

Sorry you feel that way. You're probably one of those "we are all equal and should listen to what everyone, even a nursing student, has to say...you can learn from anyone!" douche canoes. I for one feel that because of the sacrifice and hard work that I have undergone, I am special. The hazing one must undergo to become a doctor is unlike any other profession. When I walk into the hospital and pass the cafeteria workers, nurses, respiratory therapists, housekeepers, etc. I don't think I'm better than them - I KNOW I AM. That's right - I said it. Most here feel the same exact way but won't have the nuts to admit it.

I'm pretty sure that's not true. There are myriad other professions with similar (or worse) lifestyles, including everyone's favorite fall-back, B-school and the Wall St fast-track. Nobody's working 100-120hrs in med school/residency anymore. Plus, we're not getting shot at or shipped overseas to some BFE country for months at a time (unless you volunteered, thanks guys and gals).

Also, being a doctor doesn't MAKE me better than anyone else. I might work harder and know more and shoulder more responsibility, but that doesn't make me a better person than anyone else. There's a crap-ton of sleazy doctors out there; you can't tell me that they're automatically a better person than some single mother of two who works three jobs and volunteers at the homeless shelter on weekends.

I'm not pretending everyone is equal in the hospital; there should definitely be a hierarchy for medical decision-making. But it's based on experience and knowledge (and political maneuvering), not the inherent morality of the individual. I know this for a fact: look at who is running hospitals these days...

 

[Random Anesthesiologist]

I agree, we are not better people. But, the training is still intense. 80 hours vs 100 isn't terribly different. No one, except maybe the military, trains for a job as hard or as long as we do or gives up so much of our soul doing so.

I think respect is the key issue. But it's a two-way street.

 

[criticalelement]

No one, except maybe the military, trains for a job as hard or as long as we do or gives up so much of our soul doing so.

I think respect is the key issue. But it's a two-way street.

Well said!!