Preliminary Data - ERAS 2023 - It's really bad

[PikminOC]

Number of applicants for EM declines further...View attachment 360451

Do you have the rest of this graph? Like for psychiatry?

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[PikminOC]

Day 1 of 7 off.
Just woke up after nightshift.
Playing Pikmin 3.
Eating cookies.
May not put on pants.

There's a third Pikmin?

 

[RustedFox]

This would seem to indicate that you were the correct age (much as I was) to play Zelda: ocarina of time on the N64 and have it completely and utterly rewrite your world view of video games (and simultaneously take a break to play Goldeneye and yell at your friends for screenlooking and/or playing as oddjob).... and yet you did not enjoy this experience?

Does not compute.

Yeah, I'm 40. You had to say it, huh?

Didn't like LoZ: OoT because of the very reason I already stated. ALttP was peak Zelda.
I played LoZ: OoT at a friend's place and said "Why is half of the game... turning the camera?" No. Thanks.

 

[RustedFox]

There's a third Pikmin?

On Switch.
I had never played a Pikmin game before. My wife knew the series since the first one.
After watching her play for :40 minutes, I said: "I see why you like this so much; it's all about bossing."
Daggers.

 

[sylvanthus]

What the heck is a Pikmin. I figured it was pokemon and you just seized while typing.

 

[PikminOC]

On Switch.
I had never played a Pikmin game before. My wife knew the series since the first one.
After watching her play for :40 minutes, I said: "I see why you like this so much; it's all about bossing."
Daggers.

Yes I looked it up. I have it and I love it too

 

[RustedFox]

What the heck is a Pikmin. I figured it was pokemon and you just seized while typing.

Pikmin is basically "Lemmings" in 3D.
I'm too old for Pokemon.
I haven't had a seizure today because I'm wearing my special helmet with the rad stickers on it.

 

[EMhawkeye]

There's a third Pikmin?

I have my 7 days in a row off. Drove down the PCH im my convertible. Had dinner on the beach at sunset in Malibu.
While my classmates who went into other fields are taking call on a weekday, I’m also playing eldenring in my underwear. Beat it once and going back.
Can’t wait for Star Wars Hunters to come out.

 

[RustedFox]

Day 2 of 7 off.
Woke up spontaneously at 4:35 AM.
Rolled over a few times.
Went to amazingly good B&L joint for a proper lumberjack breakfast.
Went to the gym and hit new bench press personal record (245 x1; I weigh 150).
Came home and napped out while playing Moonscars.
Idle-pose.gif
Wake up, shower. Walk dog.
Wife is making dinner.
Watching Romeo and Juliet (1996). Call me names; but the film is visually brilliant with it's background items and juxtapositions in a way similar to how "Amelie" used colors to grab your eyes.
Will pass out in beanbag watching some loser try to Speedrun Final Fantasy (NES) on Twitch.

 

[PikminOC]

Number of applicants for EM declines further...View attachment 360451

Is the number of total residency slots going down? Because many students are left without a resident alot...

 

[sylvanthus]

Day 2 of 7 off.
Woke up spontaneously at 4:35 AM.
Rolled over a few times.
Went to amazingly good B&L joint for a proper lumberjack breakfast.
Went to the gym and hit new bench press personal record (245 x1; I weigh 150).
Came home and napped out while playing Moonscars.
Idle-pose.gif
Wake up, shower. Walk dog.
Wife is making dinner.
Watching Romeo and Juliet (1996). Call me names; but the film is visually brilliant with it's background items and juxtapositions in a way similar to how "Amelie" used colors to grab your eyes.
Will pass out in beanbag watching some loser try to Speedrun Final Fantasy (NES) on Twitch.

Watched romeo and juliet with my first girlfriend. Cant watch the fishtank scene or ill cry like a little girl. Ugh.

 

[sylvanthus]

Is the number of total residency slots going down? Because many students are left without a resident alot...

Wut?

 

[RustedFox]

Is the number of total residency slots going down? Because many students are left without a resident alot...

Wut?

Yeah; unfortunately no - the number of slots is not going down. That's what we need to have happen. We need these trashcan residencies to close shop.

 

[Arcan57]

Yeah; unfortunately no - the number of slots is not going down. That's what we need to have happen. We need these trashcan residencies to close shop.

New thought. We make it so for a couple of years only the trashcan residencies can write SLORs. Make all prospective students get a taste of what they're be graduating into. Watch the numbers plummet as they're precepted by a community doc who just found out they're now considered core faculty doing a 6p-2a shift who just got hit with 8 new patients at 9pm because a bunch of admit holds finally went upstairs to the rooms that were ready at 7pm but, you know, shift change. Let them learn the primacy of door-to-doc and how to sign up for patients on the board at whatever interval doesn't flag as "too quickly".

Let them sit in on department meetings where a bunch of independent contractors are
- forced to spend 2 unpaid hours on their day off as admin parades the newest specialist in front of the group for 15 minutes
- sit in uncomfortable silence while their performance is compared to the top EM doctors in the country who just happen to work at hospitals that look nothing at all like this hospital
- get aggressively redirected if they start noting that those top hospitals don't start every shift down 50% of their nurses

Have the students see the groups' souls leave their bodies when the 8a shift gets turned into a midlevel shift and a new 5p doc shift gets added to match the evening surge. Bonus points if it's the meeting where the director realizes they need to add another doc shift on the weekends.

My guess is that would go a long way towards leveling out the number of students going into this gig.

 

[hundreddaysoff]

This would seem to indicate that you were the correct age (much as I was) to play Zelda: ocarina of time on the N64 and have it completely and utterly rewrite your world view of video games (and simultaneously take a break to play Goldeneye and yell at your friends for screenlooking and/or playing as oddjob).... and yet you did not enjoy this experience?

Does not compute.

I hated that little twit Oddjob. And the Golden Gun... don't get me started man.

Last Zelda I played was Link To The Past, which is still my point of reference for the series. Got into CRPGs just as N64 was released, so never went that way. Might have to go back and play Ocarina just to see if you're right. My main quest in life right now is changing, educating on, yelling about, and otherwise managing... poop.

Also, that isometric perspective made me want to vomit too. Top down or (rarely) first-person +/- turn-based FTW.

 

[hundreddaysoff]

New thought. We make it so for a couple of years only the trashcan residencies can write SLORs. Make all prospective students get a taste of what they're be graduating into. Watch the numbers plummet as they're precepted by a community doc who just found out they're now considered core faculty doing a 6p-2a shift who just got hit with 8 new patients at 9pm because a bunch of admit holds finally went upstairs to the rooms that were ready at 7pm but, you know, shift change. Let them learn the primacy of door-to-doc and how to sign up for patients on the board at whatever interval doesn't flag as "too quickly".

Let them sit in on department meetings where a bunch of independent contractors are
- forced to spend 2 unpaid hours on their day off as admin parades the newest specialist in front of the group for 15 minutes
- sit in uncomfortable silence while their performance is compared to the top EM doctors in the country who just happen to work at hospitals that look nothing at all like this hospital
- get aggressively redirected if they start noting that those top hospitals don't start every shift down 50% of their nurses

Have the students see the groups' souls leave their bodies when the 8a shift gets turned into a midlevel shift and a new 5p doc shift gets added to match the evening surge. Bonus points if it's the meeting where the director realizes they need to add another doc shift on the weekends.

My guess is that would go a long way towards leveling out the number of students going into this gig.

Honestly, y'all were kvetching about this same stuff on SDN back in 2014 or so, and although I believed you at the time, it never stopped me. Because... $300/h. (At the time.)

If I was a med stud today and you told me today that I *could possibly* make like $250/h+benefits if I was... special... but much more likely would make $180/h 1099 and also get shafted in unpredictable ways by Big PE, then yes, that would make me think about something like rads, gas, or even (yuck!) gen surg instead.

If I had grown up and gone to med school in Albania or wherever? Nah, all bets are off unless I was a normie and wanted to stay in Albania. As EM is probably still a better deal per hour for me than, eg, US peds or whatever options are available to docs in Albania.

 

[BoardingDoc]

Day 2 of 7 off.
Woke up spontaneously at 4:35 AM.
Rolled over a few times.
Went to amazingly good B&L joint for a proper lumberjack breakfast.
Went to the gym and hit new bench press personal record (245 x1; I weigh 150).
Came home and napped out while playing Moonscars.
Idle-pose.gif
Wake up, shower. Walk dog.
Wife is making dinner.
Watching Romeo and Juliet (1996). Call me names; but the film is visually brilliant with it's background items and juxtapositions in a way similar to how "Amelie" used colors to grab your eyes.
Will pass out in beanbag watching some loser try to Speedrun Final Fantasy (NES) on Twitch.

For the record: Amelie is an absolutely fantastic movie. When I think about Baz Luhrmann's R+J, all I can see in my head is the community play in Hot Fuzz (Also an absolutely fantastic movie).

 

[EctopicFetus]

New thought. We make it so for a couple of years only the trashcan residencies can write SLORs. Make all prospective students get a taste of what they're be graduating into. Watch the numbers plummet as they're precepted by a community doc who just found out they're now considered core faculty doing a 6p-2a shift who just got hit with 8 new patients at 9pm because a bunch of admit holds finally went upstairs to the rooms that were ready at 7pm but, you know, shift change. Let them learn the primacy of door-to-doc and how to sign up for patients on the board at whatever interval doesn't flag as "too quickly".

Let them sit in on department meetings where a bunch of independent contractors are
- forced to spend 2 unpaid hours on their day off as admin parades the newest specialist in front of the group for 15 minutes
- sit in uncomfortable silence while their performance is compared to the top EM doctors in the country who just happen to work at hospitals that look nothing at all like this hospital
- get aggressively redirected if they start noting that those top hospitals don't start every shift down 50% of their nurses

Have the students see the groups' souls leave their bodies when the 8a shift gets turned into a midlevel shift and a new 5p doc shift gets added to match the evening surge. Bonus points if it's the meeting where the director realizes they need to add another doc shift on the weekends.

My guess is that would go a long way towards leveling out the number of students going into this gig.

Its like we work together but I know we dont.

 

[RustedFox]

For the record: Amelie is an absolutely fantastic movie. When I think about Baz Luhrmann's R+J, all I can see in my head is the community play in Hot Fuzz (Also an absolutely fantastic movie).

100% correct post.

 

[EctopicFetus]

Honestly, y'all were kvetching about this same stuff on SDN back in 2014 or so, and although I believed you at the time, it never stopped me. Because... $300/h. (At the time.)

If I was a med stud today and you told me today that I *could possibly* make like $250/h+benefits if I was... special... but much more likely would make $180/h 1099 and also get shafted in unpredictable ways by Big PE, then yes, that would make me think about something like rads, gas, or even (yuck!) gen surg instead.

If I had grown up and gone to med school in Albania or wherever? Nah, all bets are off unless I was a normie and wanted to stay in Albania. As EM is probably still a better deal per hour for me than, eg, US peds or whatever options are available to docs in Albania.

I think the question is twofold. 1) Does the applicant have some special "in" in a non crappy job 2) Long term vs short term. I have had half my career making normal money. I went into EM eyes closed expecting to make under 200k a year.

Ill say this too which I used to not believe but it is becoming clearer as a fact of life. The younger group say those currently under 32 really have no interest in working 150+ hours a month. Many want to toil at a mediocre job for mediocre pay at 100-120 hours a month with no demands outside of clinical work. They will serve their masters well.

 

[RustedFox]

Also, that isometric perspective made me want to vomit too. Top down or (rarely) first-person +/- turn-based FTW.

As soon as you put the camera above and slightly behind the character in that 3rd-person perspective, it doesn't "feel like a game" anymore.

 

[RustedFox]

I think the question is twofold. 1) Does the applicant have some special "in" in a non crappy job 2) Long term vs short term. I have had half my career making normal money. I went into EM eyes closed expecting to make under 200k a year.

Ill say this too which I used to not believe but it is becoming clearer as a fact of life. The younger group say those currently under 32 really have no interest in working 150+ hours a month. Many want to toil at a mediocre job for mediocre pay at 100-120 hours a month with no demands outside of clinical work. They will serve their masters well.

It's almost like we could solve this problem by having docs work less clinical hours and be involved in the business end of things, leaving room for more docs.

We also wouldn't have so much of a fight on our hands if the insurers held up their end of a reasonable bargain.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

I think the question is twofold. 1) Does the applicant have some special "in" in a non crappy job 2) Long term vs short term. I have had half my career making normal money. I went into EM eyes closed expecting to make under 200k a year.

Ill say this too which I used to not believe but it is becoming clearer as a fact of life. The younger group say those currently under 32 really have no interest in working 150+ hours a month. Many want to toil at a mediocre job for mediocre pay at 100-120 hours a month with no demands outside of clinical work. They will serve their masters well.

This doesn't make any sense to me given the huge loans the students today are getting stuck with (not saying you are wrong as I've heard it as well). It would be one thing if most people graduated with under 200k in loans like most of our generation did.

But tuition at my old med school has literally doubled in the 12 years since I graduated. That alone hits 200k before living expenses and interest gets factored in.

 

[RustedFox]

This doesn't make any sense to me given the huge loans the students today are getting stuck with (not saying you are wrong as I've heard it as well). It would be one thing if most people graduated with under 200k in loans like most of our generation did.

But tuition at my old med school has literally doubled in the 12 years since I graduated. That alone hits 200k before living expenses and interest gets factored in.

I graduated with close to 350k in debt in 2009. Made my first "real paycheck" in 2012.

 

[EctopicFetus]

It's almost like we could solve this problem by having docs work less clinical hours and be involved in the business end of things, leaving room for more docs.

We also wouldn't have so much of a fight on our hands if the insurers held up their end of a reasonable bargain.

Except they dont want to work less clinically and be involved. They just want to work less and enjoy their life. Minimal interest in admin, politics etc. I was asked to give a talk to residents that were not my own. It was via zoom.

The talk was about finding a job etc. I asked one question to the residents "Define a "good" job." Like sheep no one mentioned money but the first answer was something to the effect of I want to go to work and be done with everything when I am done. My mind said "future lemming". I mean why be a leader your whole youth to be a follower the rest of your life.

Insurers end of the bargain is to maximize returns to their shareholders. They have really held up their end of the bargain. See united health groups stock market return over the last decade.

 

[EctopicFetus]

I graduated with close to 350k in debt in 2009. Made my first "real paycheck" in 2012.

I had 450k in debt at its peak. This is just school. This is private undergrad and med school. Like you took me a while to really earn some dough. I think many of the new grads want to do the WCI thing and live like a resident, pay down loans and settle into a middle class life. Lets be really honest and say that if you make 275k a year and live (once you pay off most of your loans) on 150k a year you will feel filthy rich. Now 150k a year doesnt buy you much anymore but thats a different question.

I work like a filthy slut looking for my next fix. I have no regrets. I carve out time for my kids but I dont have a ton of stuff I do that would count as a hobby. I like the gym, thats cheap. I dont golf, tennis, sail, fly planes etc.

I like to fish which is cheap, the gym is super cheap and then it is family time, hikes etc. I do like to travel but it is tough with our kids schedules and the cost to do stuff.

 

[RustedFox]

Except they dont want to work less clinically and be involved. They just want to work less and enjoy their life. Minimal interest in admin, politics etc. I was asked to give a talk to residents that were not my own. It was via zoom.

The talk was about finding a job etc. I asked one question to the residents "Define a "good" job." Like sheep no one mentioned money but the first answer was something to the effect of I want to go to work and be done with everything when I am done. My mind said "future lemming". I mean why be a leader your whole youth to be a follower the rest of your life.

Insurers end of the bargain is to maximize returns to their shareholders. They have really held up their end of the bargain. See united health groups stock market return over the last decade.

Here's where you're wrong.
They need to hold up the "we need to pay for the things we agreed to pay for" end, not "how do we weasel out of our responsibility to maximize profits"?

 

[EctopicFetus]

Here's where you're wrong.
They need to hold up the "we need to pay for the things we agreed to pay for" end, not "how do we weasel out of our responsibility to maximize profits"?

Nah. read the fine print. also, lets be real. They love getting caught breaking the rules. Did you see the latest fraud article by the NYT? They maximize their profits. Here is the formula. Steal $1b, get caught apologize and pay back $200m.. you profit $800m. this is the game the insurers play.

you want them to hold up their end of the deal but they are loyal to their investors not their customers (who rarely have a choice). Im not wrong, you just dont like what they are doing. Until there are consequences for their actions their actions will continue to be trash (cant use the real word I want).

A business is run for the benefit of its owners not customers (patients) or gasp the people they do business with (docs, hospitals, etc.).


Profits first and foremost.

‘The Cash Monster Was Insatiable’: How Insurers Exploited Medicare for Billions (Published 2022)

By next year, half of Medicare beneficiaries will have a private Medicare Advantage plan. Most large insurers in the program have been accused in court of fraud.

www.nytimes.com

See the tldr version is this. They made docs make the Medicare Advantage patients look sicker so medicare paid them more to run the MA plans. Oddly, when insurers think docs do this its audit time and they inflict pain however they can.

See they want to maximize profit on both sides of this. Throw in PBMs and they are happy to screw patients and society every which way and sideways.

 

[RustedFox]

Nah. read the fine print. also, lets be real. They love getting caught breaking the rules. Did you see the latest fraud article by the NYT? They maximize their profits. Here is the formula. Steal $1b, get caught apologize and pay back $200m.. you profit $800m. this is the game the insurers play.

you want them to hold up their end of the deal but they are loyal to their investors not their customers (who rarely have a choice). Im not wrong, you just dont like what they are doing. Until there are consequences for their actions their actions will continue to be trash (cant use the real word I want).

A business is run for the benefit of its owners not customers (patients) or gasp the people they do business with (docs, hospitals, etc.).


Profits first and foremost.

‘The Cash Monster Was Insatiable’: How Insurers Exploited Medicare for Billions (Published 2022)

By next year, half of Medicare beneficiaries will have a private Medicare Advantage plan. Most large insurers in the program have been accused in court of fraud.

www.nytimes.com

See the tldr version is this. They made docs make the Medicare Advantage patients look sicker so medicare paid them more to run the MA plans. Oddly, when insurers think docs do this its audit time and they inflict pain however they can.

See they want to maximize profit on both sides of this. Throw in PBMs and they are happy to screw patients and society every which way and sideways.

Correct.

I know what they "actually do". They're not holding up their end of "honoring the contract". That's where I said: "you're wrong" (yeah, this doesn't come across easily in text on the web; we're not actually disagreeing... I wanted to make my point clear by pointing out that you didn't even mention *the thing*.)

So, what about this makes it an "insurance" company?

If you ask me - the way to handle this theft is as follows:

"Dickover Insurance Company has been convicted of fraud. Instead of paying a fine, the C-suite goes to jail for 10 years."

You'd see the problem get fixed, real quickly.

 

[WilcoWorld]

Correct.

I know what they "actually do". They're not holding up their end of "honoring the contract". That's where I said: "you're wrong" (yeah, this doesn't come across easily in text on the web; we're not actually disagreeing... I wanted to make my point clear by pointing out that you didn't even mention *the thing*.)

So, what about this makes it an "insurance" company?

If you ask me - the way to handle this theft is as follows:

"Dickover Insurance Company has been convicted of fraud. Instead of paying a fine, the C-suite goes to jail for 10 years."

You'd see the problem get fixed, real quickly.

This reminds me of something I heard a while back: Don't get into a food fight with the owner of a grocery store.

It seems similar here: fining millions isn't going to deter people from committing crimes that profit billions. That's just "operating costs". Jail time would be a much more appropriate deterrent. You can go to jail for years for stealing a car worth $14k, but you steal millions, get caught, and you get fined a portion of it. Of course the system isn't working.

 

[Restart13]

I wonder how long it will be until we start seeing these HCA Trashcan grads really flame out. Like, I know of at least one instance where the director has "effing had it with THAT one", and word is getting out.

We're starting to see some duds or at the very least new grads that need lots of adjusting. Granted we run lean and see a lot, some of the medical decisions, transfers, etc. really leave you wondering if the training has gotten worse in the COVID years, overall applicant pool has decreased or what?

I truly believe the old saying "You will be a good doc, no matter where you trained" is not fully true these days.

 

[Fpg1245]

We're starting to see some duds or at the very least new grads that need lots of adjusting. Granted we run lean and see a lot, some of the medical decisions, transfers, etc. really leave you wondering if the training has gotten worse in the COVID years, overall applicant pool has decreased or what?

I truly believe the old saying "You will be a good doc, no matter where you trained" is not fully true these days.

The filters have been removed

 

[sloh]

The filters have been removed

See that NYT article about the NYU ochem professor getting fired bc too many students failed? Haha

 

[Fecal_Occult]

Do you have the rest of this graph? Like for psychiatry?

Here is the excel sheet for the rest of the specialties. Psych is not significantly changed compared to last year. Looks like anesthesiology had one of the biggest increase in applicants, +300. That's probably where a lot of the formerly EM-bound med students went to.

 

[sloh]

I I think many of the new grads want to do the WCI thing

WCI’s general advice is solid but his life wrt finances (very very comfortable and thriving) is out of reach for many new attendings

 

[Fpg1245]

WCI’s general advice is solid but his life wrt finances (very very comfortable and thriving) is out of reach for many new attendings

Only going to get worse unfortunately especially if they want to live anywhere on the coast.

 

[hundreddaysoff]

WCI’s general advice is solid but his life wrt finances (very very comfortable and thriving) is out of reach for many new attendings

True. He also didn't make most of his money as an ER doc, but as a businessman.

I don't begrudge WCI anything he has, especially given he worked his butt off on here, Bogleheads, and other unpaid forums for a decade or more before he made any profit. It's exceptional to me that someone can do all that and raise kids at the same time. The more likely outcome seems to me more like Panda Bear MD, who also helped me out on here immensely as a med stud, but then IIRC got divorced due to excessive SDN posting.

At the same time, WCI's real estate and other pitches have gotten a bit shady to me. And he's sounding like Old Economy Steve to me with the whole "stocks have gone up forever, on average, and will continue to go up forever, on average, over decades, because America" thing.

To the med studs [a term coined by WCI?] and residents: yeah, buy WCI's first book and understand the basics and manage your money yourself if you can; this is a core competency! But then don't necessarily follow him everywhere he goes, even if you can afford it, even if it seems like all the docs around you are doing it. I'm sure WCI himself would agree with me on that... "many paths to Dublin" and all that.

 

[CajunMedic]

I can't. I can't do the third-person/freeroaming/3D genre. I never have liked it; even since Super Mario 64.

I want 2D platformers (Metroidvanias) or isometric top-down 3D stuff (Bastion, Solstice, et.al).... OR a turn-based RPG.

This "the camera is above and slightly behind you and may not show what you need to see and may or may not need to be moved manually" thing is not for me. Let me enjoy the game, not spend half of my already limited attention span trying to correct the view.

Eff this "Kingdom Hearts" nonsense.

Bought an Xbox Series S with Forza Horizon 5 on this stretch off. Currently driving around Mexico in a C8 Vette, trying to win races and not hit things

Let them sit in on department meetings where a bunch of independent contractors are
- forced to spend 2 unpaid hours on their day off as admin parades the newest specialist in front of the group for 15 minutes
- sit in uncomfortable silence while their performance is compared to the top EM doctors in the country who just happen to work at hospitals that look nothing at all like this hospital
- get aggressively redirected if they start noting that those top hospitals don't start every shift down 50% of their nurses

I did an administration elective at the start of PGY-3, thinking I wanted to move up at some point in time. Nope, no way in hell. I have never wanted more to gouge my eyes out and scream profanities at useless upper admin, nurses that think they're doctors, and random C-Suiters that have no clue how things work. The old Army enlisted guy comes out, I want to "knife-hand" everyone, and yell "SOMEONE MAKE A DECISION! YOU ARE NOT REINVENTING THE F!@(*NG WHEEL!!"

 

[EctopicFetus]

Correct.

I know what they "actually do". They're not holding up their end of "honoring the contract". That's where I said: "you're wrong" (yeah, this doesn't come across easily in text on the web; we're not actually disagreeing... I wanted to make my point clear by pointing out that you didn't even mention *the thing*.)

So, what about this makes it an "insurance" company?

If you ask me - the way to handle this theft is as follows:

"Dickover Insurance Company has been convicted of fraud. Instead of paying a fine, the C-suite goes to jail for 10 years."

You'd see the problem get fixed, real quickly.

Preaching to the choir. That being said seemingly the government doesnt even want to slap them on the wrist. Read that NYT article and the suit. The government seems to want to hide this info to protect those who are defrauding them. Of course the govt doesnt actually care about OUR money. They spend like idiots (both parties).

 

[EctopicFetus]

WCI’s general advice is solid but his life wrt finances (very very comfortable and thriving) is out of reach for many new attendings

Yeah. he lived it (past tense). Im just saying and I think its a good thing that people are taking their finances seriously. I have always tried to outearn my stupidity and have been able to do so. I have always also made sure to pay myself first so I could overcome my stupidity.

 

[EctopicFetus]

True. He also didn't make most of his money as an ER doc, but as a businessman.

I don't begrudge WCI anything he has, especially given he worked his butt off on here, Bogleheads, and other unpaid forums for a decade or more before he made any profit. It's exceptional to me that someone can do all that and raise kids at the same time. The more likely outcome seems to me more like Panda Bear MD, who also helped me out on here immensely as a med stud, but then IIRC got divorced due to excessive SDN posting.

At the same time, WCI's real estate and other pitches have gotten a bit shady to me. And he's sounding like Old Economy Steve to me with the whole "stocks have gone up forever, on average, and will continue to go up forever, on average, over decades, because America" thing.

To the med studs [a term coined by WCI?] and residents: yeah, buy WCI's first book and understand the basics and manage your money yourself if you can; this is a core competency! But then don't necessarily follow him everywhere he goes, even if you can afford it, even if it seems like all the docs around you are doing it. I'm sure WCI himself would agree with me on that... "many paths to Dublin" and all that.

Yes. Totally this. more recently he has sold out and has decided that his business comes first. he has said so. also, over time there is only so much content you can put out there before it is basically repeating yourself.

HIs love of noctors im not fond of. But yeah as he expanded his empire he has started to pimp money making schemes (Passive income MD) and stopped making sure doctors were not being taken advantage of. Now it is "do this real estate syndication" etc. Here is a slimy tax pro who wants to charge you an arm and a leg.

 

[Franzd'Epinay]

This would seem to indicate that you were the correct age (much as I was) to play Zelda: ocarina of time on the N64 and have it completely and utterly rewrite your world view of video games (and simultaneously take a break to play Goldeneye and yell at your friends for screenlooking and/or playing as oddjob).... and yet you did not enjoy this experience?

Does not compute.

I didn't hear the term "screenlooking" until I was much older and had already stopped playing games in groups, so this is always a very interesting perspective to me. Growing up, the idea that you could ask others to not look at the full tv screen seems ridiculous. How did you even enforce this?

 

[RustedFox]

I didn't hear the term "screenlooking" until I was much older and had already stopped playing games in groups, so this is always a very interesting perspective to me. Growing up, the idea that you could ask others to not look at the full tv screen seems ridiculous. How did you even enforce this?

You just punched the guy who fragged you and accused him of screenlooking. Like this:

"*👊* Knock it off, fugger. Quit screenlooking."

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

I graduated with close to 350k in debt in 2009. Made my first "real paycheck" in 2012.

Sure, one of my co-residents was in the same boat. Same with a fraternity brother. But when I graduated in 2010 the average debt nationwide was 160k (156 if we're being picky).

 

[RustedFox]

Day 3 of 7 off.

Woke up again inexplicably at 4:45 AM. Had to be quiet until the wife woke up at around 8:30 or so.
Watched twitch for about 2 hours in the beanbag.
Made preparations to go MTB'ing in the afternoon. Replaced my pedals with fresh ones. Wiped down the frame. Lubed the chain.
Made killer sandwich for lunch. Publix subs have got nothing on the way that I stack ingredients.
Played video games. Walked the dog.
Afternoon hailstorm (yes, hailstorm) cancelled my MTB plans.
Fell asleep from like, 4 to 6 pm.
Woke up to find that the wife had finished Pikmin 3.
Made questionable purchases on Amazon.
Considered going to the gym. Did not go to the gym.
Cooked dinner, went to bed early like a loser.

Day 4 of 7 off.

Finally slept thru the night. Woke up at 10:30.
Went to local pub for Steelers/Buccaneers at 1pm.
Came home and napped for 2 hours. Didn't consume any alcohol, wasn't tired... but there I was, asleep upright on the couch.
Pumped iron in home gym. Played video games. Cleaned things that needed to be cleaned.
Ordered PF Chang's for dinner and Eagles/Cowboys at 8pm.
PF Chang's was awful. Those nonrecyclable plastic takeout trays need to die because not only are they non-recyclable, but they steam the food the entire time DoorDash is bringing it to me, thus making it mush by the time you eat it. Yuck.
Ate mango-pepper popsicles (homemade). Yep. Cool and sweet, yet with a burn at the finish. Yum.
Argued with people on various subreddits for a good hour because all of reddit is ostriched and I'm right.
Going to bed. Gym with trainer tomorrow. Adventures at Lowe's after that.

 

[xaelia]

Day 3 of 7 off.
...

What you need are a couple children to make all that pesky free time evaporate.

 

[RustedFox]

What you need are a couple children to make all that pesky free time evaporate.

I have a dog and a cat. The dog is a rePAWblican; and then there's the demoCAT. Balanced household.

 

[RustedFox]

Day 5 of 7 off.

7 am wakeup. Wife still asleep.
Made coffee. The coffee steaming, beeping, and whistling did not wake the wife.
Played video games for 5 minutes before wife walks out of room angry that my "buttonmashing woke her up".
I didn't point out that the coffeepot is far louder and the cat has been yowling for an hour outside the bedroom door because it wanted to snuggle.
Went to the gym from 10-12. Pull day.
Returned shoes that were too small (standardize your sizes, manufacturers - I'm not a woman and numbers mean things to me) and an entirely incorrect order (I ordered manly smelling antipersperant, so they sent... bars of soap?) to Amazon.
Came home and made more questionable Amazon purchases.
Worked on double-secret COWABUNGA project from 3-6.
Went shopping for ingredients to make chili.
Cooked chili.
Watched "Rocky Horror Picture Show" as the wife had never seen it. It's still as uncomfortable as I remember, but I like surreal humor.
LETS DO THE TIME-WARP AGAAIIIIN.
Dishes.
Too tired to game.
Considered the merits of buying either a Jeep or one of the new Broncos.
Still cannot locate cat.
Going to pass out with conspiracy theory radio show on (I'm not a believer, but I like to listen to the crazy people go on and on).
Good night.