Doctor Hate?

[Ischemia1032]

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I get this weird impression that a lot of patients have disdain for physicians, thinking they are money grubbing, idiotic, people. This has been my experiences? Thoughts and opinions whether through research or anectdotes?

 

[Officer Farva]

I get this weird impression that a lot of patients have disdain for physicians, thinking they are money grubbing, idiotic, people. This has been my experiences? Thoughts and opinions whether through research or anectdotes?

A lot of patients think doctors make hedge fund manager money from what I seen lol. Less educated patients also see their extra degree with disdain since they might see them as overeducated.

For me personally. I always had a high opinion of doctors. However, interviewing with them firsthand for medical school made me really question some of their professionalism. I discussed that part on multiple threads and am too lazy to discuss it here lol

 

[whatever5]

It depends on the person. Some people feel doctors have failed them and thus dont like them.

 

[Goro]

Not in my circle of friends or family.

Let's try an experiment:

I get this weird impression that a lot of people have disdain for auto mechanics, thinking they are money grubbing, idiotic, people. This has been my experiences? Thoughts and opinions whether through research or anecdotes?

Think the results will be any different????

I get this weird impression that a lot of patients have disdain for physicians, thinking they are money grubbing, idiotic, people. This has been my experiences? Thoughts and opinions whether through research or anectdotes?

 

[Spinach Dip]

Many in my family see their doctors as "that guy who insists my BMI should be under 60, but won't give me prescriptions for oxycodone when I clearly have intractable foot pain."

There is also a widespread myth that doctors work ~20 hours a week and make several million a year.

 

[0dee]

The only doctor I hate is Dr. Phil, and sometimes Dr. Oz.

 

[redferrari]

I was recently told by a father that I was not allowed to date his daughter because he said I was entering an evil profession.. He was an attorney, go figure.

Some people, for whatever reason, have a disdain for physicians. However, I hardly believe this cohort represents society as a whole.

 

[doc05]

I get this weird impression that a lot of patients have disdain for physicians, thinking they are money grubbing, idiotic, people. This has been my experiences? Thoughts and opinions whether through research or anectdotes?

It's not a "weird impression." It's the truth. Public opinion is unfavorable among a significant part of the population. Do a web search.

 

[coldcase331]

If you've been following politics lately. You can see that a huge part of society have disdain for the successful and financially well off. Unfortunately Doctors get grouped into this bunch despite the work that goes into being successful compared to other professions.

 

[efle]

current top post on reddit

Might be on to something OP...a lot of people do seem to think it's the doctors' fault that things are expensive or that patients only get a few minutes of attention

 

[medic86]

current top post on reddit

Might be on to something OP...a lot of people do seem to think it's the doctors' fault that things are expensive or that patients only get a few minutes of attention

The comment section usually corrects the BS, though.

 

[NotWayneBrady]

I was recently told by a father that I was not allowed to date his daughter because he said I was entering an evil profession.. He was an attorney, go figure.

Some people, for whatever reason, have a disdain for physicians. However, I hardly believe this cohort represents society as a whole.

Oh the irony is unbearable...

 

[Ischemia1032]

I was just reading the reddit post, oh my god. I cannot even contemplate how economically illiterate these people are. At least half actually believed until someone told them that doctors set prices that high without reason, just why not. I honestly hate the government and insruance companies, they just shift all the blame to the big boss, the doctor. Even healthcare has huge class warfare, it is ridiculous. The average US doctor makes 180k, that is not outrageous, it is a solid penny, and is more then enough to live on. The only people who make bank in medicine are subspecialists, neuro, ortho, and the E-ROAD specialties, and they all work very hard( well, I don't know about Derm,).

 

[DubVille]

In some settings patient satisfaction is positively correlated with mortality,a nd patient's "know their body best." Its a tough argument to counter sometimes. Some of the hate is from that, some from misdiagnosis, and a lot from the perception that "we" are responsible for the 5 minute visit. All while making millions of dollars and being responsible for skyrocketing cost of care.

 

[Psai]

I spend 10 minutes writing out a well reasoned reply to someone and they downvote me for it but ****posts like that by some dumb kid gets 5k upvotes

 

[efle]

I spend 10 minutes writing out a well reasoned reply to someone and they downvote me for it but ****posts like that by some dumb kid gets 5k upvotes

Which is why it's a good thing SDN has no voting/sorting by likes

 

[darkjedi]

I was just reading the reddit post, oh my god. I cannot even contemplate how economically illiterate these people are. At least half actually believed until someone told them that doctors set prices that high without reason, just why not. I honestly hate the government and insruance companies, they just shift all the blame to the big boss, the doctor. Even healthcare has huge class warfare, it is ridiculous. The average US doctor makes 180k, that is not outrageous, it is a solid penny, and is more then enough to live on. The only people who make bank in medicine are subspecialists, neuro, ortho, and the E-ROAD specialties, and they all work very hard( well, I don't know about Derm,).

That's the first time I heard the term E-ROAD.

Also whats up with the BU seal

 

[efle]

That's the first time I heard the term E-ROAD.

Also whats up with the BU seal

Whats the E? Emergency med? I've only heard ROAD before

 

[Lucca]

whenever I've shadowed or volunteered patients always seem to have positive things to say about the physician (you are learning from the best! He's a great doctor! Etc etc) but in the public discourse ppl are always like "most doctors are greedy sons of bitches". So we live in a world where most people's doctors are either great, greedy, or both.

 

[Spinach Dip]

I spend 10 minutes writing out a well reasoned reply to someone and they downvote me for it but ****posts like that by some dumb kid gets 5k upvotes

"The greatest argument against democracy is spending 5 minutes with the average voter."



-I don't remember who said this....

 

[darkjedi]

Whats the E? Emergency med? I've only heard ROAD before

ROAD is the commonly used one. People have tried to add EM and I've heard ROADE before, but it's a relatively new field. The original ROAD term dates all the way back to House of God.

 

[efle]

ROAD is the commonly used one. People have tried to add EM and I've heard ROADE before, but it's a relatively new field. The original ROAD term dates all the way back to House of God.

But why would EM be part of the "ROAD to happiness"? Great scheduling, sure, but doesn't it have an insanely high burnout rate?

"The greatest argument against democracy is spending 5 minutes with the average voter."



-I don't remember who said this....

Or even worse, the way-below-average voters, who have just as much power as the best informed !

 

[Petrichor1]

I get this weird impression that a lot of patients have disdain for physicians, thinking they are money grubbing, idiotic, people. This has been my experiences? Thoughts and opinions whether through research or anectdotes?

I volunteer in a hospital and even used to work in one and I have never seen someone outright disrespect the physician. If anything, everyone is usually in awe of them. We may make sly comments about the doctor is incompetent in this or that but it's usually reserved for those that don't have the etiquette to speak on the phone properly...especially when they are trying to override system rules due to "my computer is not showing me what you are saying...so can you just do what we want?" and then being argumentative. But 90% of the time, they are the hot shots and it's good to see people dressed up in the hospital who know so much.

 

[eteshoe]

You think public perception of doctors is bad? Try being a scientist as well

 

[avgn]

But why would EM be part of the "ROAD to happiness"? Great scheduling, sure, but doesn't it have an insanely high burnout?

Because people are dumb and think EM makes bank and/or is cush

 

[Spinach Dip]

I volunteer in a hospital and even used to work in one and I have never seen someone outright disrespect the physician. If anything, everyone is usually in awe of them. We may make sly comments about the doctor is incompetent in this or that but it's usually reserved for those that don't have the etiquette to speak on the phone properly...especially when they are trying to override system rules due to "my computer is not showing me what you are saying...so can you just do what we want?" and then being argumentative. But 90% of the time, they are the hot shots and it's good to see people dressed up in the hospital who know so much.

I have NEVER heard anyone bad-mouth doctors while in the hospital (minus one or two absurdly irate patients who yelled at everyone they could see).

But in Auntie M's backyard during the Super Bowl warm-up party? Absolutely. Mention the word "doctor" and within two minutes everyone will be saying "my doctor couldn't tell me what was causing my ankle pain" and "Dang doctors told me I had di-uh-beetus. Get me another pepsi!" and "bunch of greedy jerks."

And whenever one of the kids says they want to be a doctor, the overwhelming response is, "Damn! You gonna be filthy rich!"



I think it's quite apparent doctors have a public image problem, and the lower you go down the SES, the worse that image is.

 

[Lawpy]

Because people are dumb and think EM makes bank and/or is cush

This reminds me of the Five Fundamental Laws of Human Stupidity proposed by Carlo Cipolla (an economic historian)

1. Always and inevitably each of us underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.

2. The probability that a given person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic possessed by that person.

3. A person is stupid if they cause damage to another person or group of people without experiencing personal gain, or even worse causing damage to themselves in the process.

4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the harmful potential of stupid people; they constantly forget that at any time anywhere, and in any circumstance, dealing with or associating themselves with stupid individuals invariably constitutes a costly error.

5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person there is.

Just added it for fun 😛

 

[Ischemia1032]

That's the first time I heard the term E-ROAD.

Also whats up with the BU seal[/QUOTE

I usually use E-ROAD, People at my med school usually defer to ROAD or E-ROAD, and I go to BUSM, and my brother goes to BU hence the BU seal(although this isn't my account, it is my undergraduate brother's, I was too lazy to make one).

 

[Lost in Translation]

I was just reading the reddit post, oh my god. I cannot even contemplate how economically illiterate these people are. At least half actually believed until someone told them that doctors set prices that high without reason, just why not. I honestly hate the government and insruance companies, they just shift all the blame to the big boss, the doctor. Even healthcare has huge class warfare, it is ridiculous. The average US doctor makes 180k, that is not outrageous, it is a solid penny, and is more then enough to live on. The only people who make bank in medicine are subspecialists, neuro, ortho, and the E-ROAD specialties, and they all work very hard( well, I don't know about Derm,).

Don't forget big pharma, who're allowed to arbitrarily set drug prices thanks to their lobbying power with the FDA.

 

[coldcase331]

Don't forget big pharma, who're allowed to arbitrarily set drug prices thanks to their lobbying power with the FDA.

Not really....drugs cost a lot of money to develop. Of course the new drug for CF that's meant to target a rare mutant form costs 312k a year, only ~2000 people are affected by it and they need to make their money back.

 

[Glashutte32]

Not really....drugs cost a lot of money to develop. Of course the new drug for CF that's meant to target a rare mutant form costs 312k a year, only ~2000 people are affected by it and they need to make their money back.

You can thank the Orphan Drug Act for that. While 300K is a tad preposterous, I do think government offering extra incentives to develop in rare/ultrarare diseases is a good thing otherwise pharma couldn't be bothered with it

 

[Reckoner]

The public dislikes medicine as a whole, but loves their doctor. Same thing with politicians. Congress is the worst, but my rep is one of the good ones. I'm not sure if it's specific to medicine or reflects a shift in society's thinking toward authority figures in general. Let alone how you fix it.

 

[coldcase331]

You can thank the Orphan Drug Act for that. While 300K is a tad preposterous, I do think government offering extra incentives to develop in rare/ultrarare diseases is a good thing otherwise pharma couldn't be bothered with it

It is preposterous, but most insurance only pass a $50/month to the consumer, which I believe is reasonable for a rare drug. And if we do the math, 300k*1000(assuming half the people use it) is 300 million a year. They probably invested around 1.5-2 billion dollars to create the drug, so in the end they only break even on year 5-7.

 

[Petrichor1]

I have NEVER heard anyone bad-mouth doctors while in the hospital (minus one or two absurdly irate patients who yelled at everyone they could see).

But in Auntie M's backyard during the Super Bowl warm-up party? Absolutely. Mention the word "doctor" and within two minutes everyone will be saying "my doctor couldn't tell me what was causing my ankle pain" and "Dang doctors told me I had di-uh-beetus. Get me another pepsi!" and "bunch of greedy jerks."

And whenever one of the kids says they want to be a doctor, the overwhelming response is, "Damn! You gonna be filthy rich!"



I think it's quite apparent doctors have a public image problem, and the lower you go down the SES, the worse that image is.

actually you are right. It gets me very very upset when an idiot relative doesn't see past the "money" aspect of medicine. Hell if that was the reason I entered in medicine, I know I would have left that train years ago for better options. Anyways, most of my family members lighten up their eyes and change their tones when someone is a doctor or is becoming one (sadly, I really wanted it to be a secret until I got in). Even at my work place, they used to talk about dang nurses and all that but the doctor bad-mouthing was only for the ones that made their jobs a living nightmare by saying things like "I can't believe you can't even do this simple thing without documentation!". They used to be really snippy about doctors a year ago so I never mentioned to them that I wanted to be one. It was only until some of the workers had their own kids growing and wanting to go into medicine that they seemed to entertain the idea and speak differently about the profession. In fact, in the recent months I think there have been more workers interested in pursuing medicine but I know that only a few will actually take the guts to do that because they are very busy people. I don't care what the common folks think about a doctor when they aren't around but dare you misbehave in front of them...that is rarely something I get to see thankfully and that is the only thing I care about. I have had one administrative person yell at me like I wasn't even a human...so I have hopes that becoming a doctor would probably shield me from such misbehavior.

 

[coldcase331]

I think it's quite apparent doctors have a public image problem, and the lower you go down the SES, the worse that image is.

I completely agree. Having worked in both a private and a public hospital, I'm dumbfounded at the disparity.