Physicians: Overrated Career

[Narmerguy]

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I was browsing through US News (www.usnews.com) and found a section on the most overrated careers as of 2008. Surprise surprise, one of the three newest additions is a physician. They end each description with a suggestion of a better career. I think it's amusing that their alternative to becoming a physician is to become a Physician Assistant.

Attorneys and advertising executives, for example, often find their work is more tedious than outsiders would guess. People enter such careers as teacher or nonprofit manager to make a difference, only to encounter frustrating roadblocks at every turn. And most chefs and small-business owners will find that it's much more difficult than they imagined to achieve others' storied success. New to this year's list are three of the most prestigious careers: physician, medical scientist, and architect. They, of course, are not bad careers, but they have downsides that many career seekers are unaware of, and those drawbacks are becoming ever more serious. That's why, for each of the jobs on our list, we list an alternative career that might be more rewarding.

The total list of the 13 careers is:
Advertising executive
Architect
Attorney
Chef
Chiropractor
Clinical psychologist
Medical scientist
Nonprofit manager
Physician
Police officer
Real estate agent
Small-business owner
Teacher

For those not looking to follow any links, I'll quote what they say for physicians. I found it seemed to be fairly in line with what's moaned and groaned about on here.

The Appeal: You get to help keep people healthy and cure them when they're sick. Prestige is high as is the pay.
The Reality: Fewer and fewer patients see their physicians as godlike, especially those whose first instinct is to go online for medical information. Doctors are spending less time than ever with patients and more on paperwork. Insurers keep hacking away at physician costs. And if a Democrat is elected president, some form of national health insurance may be enacted. That could reduce physicians' pay and increase their workloads as the nearly 50 million uninsured people in the United States will need to be cared for by the existing cadre of physicians.

And those are just the new problems. This career has long had other liabilities. The training spans more than a decade, including four years of science-heavy college coursework, four demanding, expensive (often $200,000) years of medical school, followed by an internship year of 90-plus hours a week, and capped by a few years of residency. After completing all that, there's usually the ongoing stress of managing your office, trying to care for noncompliant patients, giving unsuspecting patients bad news, and seeing some get sicker and die.
An Alternative: Physician Assistant

Something to keep all the hardworking aspiring troops going 👍

What do you think?

 

[taponthecloud]

"List Compiler" for US News <-- most overrated job of all

 

[Narmerguy]

"List Compiler" for US News <-- most overrated job of all

Haha, there are so many lists on that site. Often I clicked something looking forward to an interesting article and probably some useful information but instead found several bundles of lists to about 40 other articles. Talk about deflating.

 

[GalaxySystem]

Most overrated source => US News and World Report

 

[brianmartin]

And if a Democrat is elected president, some form of national health insurance may be enacted. That could reduce physicians' pay and increase their workloads as the nearly 50 million uninsured people in the United States will need to be cared for by the existing cadre of physicians

Sorry to hijack but this statement is complete BS. The 50 million uninsured already receive medical care - it's just being subsidized by the rest of us. And they cost more because they don't have access to good preventive care. To say that a "democrat" being elected would result in lower physician pay and increased workload is a reflexive statement uttered by people with no real knowledge of politics or how the health system works.

 

[ACSurgeon]

Sorry to hijack but this statement is complete BS. The 50 million uninsured already receive medical care - it's just being subsidized by the rest of us. And they cost more because they don't have access to good preventive care. To say that a "democrat" being elected would result in lower physician pay and increased workload is a reflexive statement uttered by people with no real knowledge of politics or how the health system works.

Going to the ER for a cold doesn't count as receiving medical care. Not seeing a doctor when you really need one for a while doesn't count either.

 

[Lokhtar]

Going to the ER for a cold doesn't count as receiving medical care. Not seeing a doctor when you really need one for a while doesn't count either.

Going to the ER when you have a cold costs a lot more than going to the PCP would.

 

[Law2Doc]

What do you think?

I actually think every word under "The Reality" section is fairly accurate, except perhaps suggesting that the Democratic healthcare plans are going to be any worse for physicians than the Republican one will. In both cases workloads will go up even as cost-cutting measures and insurance company strangleholds drive salaries down. Doctors are an easy target for blame because joe public thinks they are paid too much, and as mentioned in the article, fewer folks hold them up on a pedestal these days. Anyone in a white coat will do.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

I actually think every word under "The Reality" section is fairly accurate, except perhaps suggesting that the Democratic healthcare plans are going to be any worse for physicians than the Republican one will. In both cases workloads will go up even as cost-cutting measures and insurance company strangleholds drive salaries down. Doctors are an easy target for blame because joe public thinks they are paid too much, and as mentioned in the article, fewer folks hold them up on a pedestal these days. Anyone in a white coat will do.

Until ...

1. That massive subdural with a midline shift comes rolling in.
2. Your 2 week old child is febrile and seizing.
3. We have a REALLY bad flu pandemic (avian vs. other).

 

[coralfangs]

It's funny that they recommend PA. "the salary for physicians will go down, so just be their assistants"

 

[Law2Doc]

Until ...

1. That massive subdural with a midline shift comes rolling in.
2. Your 2 week old child is febrile and seizing.
3. We have a REALLY bad flu pandemic (avian vs. other).

No, you miss my point. I'm not saying it's a good idea. I'm saying that joe public would just as soon have an NP do his craniotomy at half price, as a licensed physician. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

No, you miss my point. I'm not saying it's a good idea. I'm saying that joe public would just as soon have an NP do his craniotomy at half price, as a licensed physician. Ignorance is bliss.

I know man, I wasn't disagreeing with you. Just pointing out the idiocy of not caring who's taking care of you.

 

[phonyreal98]

I like the alternative career suggestion for medical scientist.

 

[s1lver]

What do you think?

I think it's great! Hopefully, a few pre-meds will get discouraged so less competition for the rest of us.

 

[Narmerguy]

I think it's great! Hopefully, a few pre-meds will get discouraged so less competition for the rest of us.

Actually, I think it's funny because it seems that the prestige still motivates many premeds despite the fact that it declines. I actually think that's part of the problem because as Law2Doc was saying, the general public still think that a Physician is a cushy job where everything's made simple for you and that very misconception is what drives others (or drives mommy and daddy to drive their children) to the field.

I like the alternative career suggestion for medical scientist.

Haha I thought the same thing when I read that one. I think that's a horrible alternative to actually researching and getting your hands dirty in the field--no offense to librarians.

 

[Livingapparatus]

It is overrated, but I cant imagine doing much else

 

[Calf]

Yeah LOL wtf. Who in their right mind is going to become a librarian instead of a scientist if science is what they love? Who the hell wrote this ****?