The End of PandaBearMD (the blog)?

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I've been browsing through the archives of PandaBearMD's blog today, and when I clicked over to the home page just now, there was a new post:

There Are Days...

It looks like he's giving up his blog. I may not always (or ever) agree with his politics, but he has a lot of really good advice for pre-meds and med students, so I will be sad to see his blog end.
 
He's a prick, good riddance.
 
BabyJ said:
He's a prick, good riddance.
Click to expand...


He's a person who doesn't dance around the truth and realizes that we don't always live in a world of rainbows, lollipops, and sunshine. That hardly makes him a prick.
 
Yeah he's bitter, like a good high cacao content chocolate.
 
rogerwilco said:
He's a person who doesn't dance around the truth and realizes that we don't always live in a world of rainbows, lollipops, and sunshine. That hardly makes him a prick.
Click to expand...

No, but he only lives in a world filled with festering piles of feces. There's a difference between pessimism and realism, and I'll take the latter, thanks.
 
This makes me a sad panda...
pandas75za.jpg
 
DrZaius said:
Yeah he's bitter, like a good high cacao content chocolate.
Click to expand...
nice analogy. i'll admit i didn't like him much at first--i found him to be pretty abrasive. but eventually i saw that he has a lot to offer, even if you disagree with him sometimes. his blog is really well done, so it's too bad that he's going to take it down.
 
Of course he can be a prick. I think we all can -- it just depends how often you're a pick and if, when you're pricking your way through life, you're throwing down straight talk or bullsh*t. I think manners are of penultimate importance, but constant altruism and perpetual optimism are signs of idiocy and disingenuity.

He's an older guy and I think some social and racial beliefs die hard. As such, I've found some of his references elitist and even foolhardy. But the fact remains, he writes with spectacular bravado and his posts make even the most mentally ossified among us question and challenge ourselves and our notions. He walks an extraordinarily fine line between sharp, critical analysis and ego-feeding *******dom, and does it with exacting prose and a good head on his shoulders.

That takes talent and class, and regardless of his personal beliefs, I'll continue to be quite grateful.
 
I almost cried. 🙁


So when his "book" comes out, how will one know?
 
Panda Bear - if you read this - or if anybody knows - why is he leaving residency next year with $250k in debt? I thought he went to a state school (LSU, maybe?) and am surprised by that accumulated debt, unless it includes a big chunk from UG or the debts of a significant other...
 
2 threads in 10 minutes.:
Full Story Tonight at 8!
 
flip26 said:
Panda Bear - if you read this - or if anybody knows - why is he leaving residency next year with $250k in debt? I thought he went to a state school (LSU, maybe?) and am surprised by that accumulated debt, unless it includes a big chunk from UG or the debts of a significant other...
Click to expand...

just speculation here, but it's not hard to accumulate that much debt.

You've got tuition, fees, room and board. That can easily add up to $40-50K a year, even in-state. That's not counting any debt from undergrad. Plus, there's interest that might be accruing on undergrad loans and any private loans and any undeferred interest from med school loans. It's a reasonable guess that he wouldn't be able to make substantial loan payments on a resident's salary.

I'm fully expecting to be just shy of the $300k mark by the time I graduate with some private undergrad loans, 1 year of OOS tuition/fees/etc and then 3 more years of IS tuition/fees/etc.
 
If he ever gets that book together, I'll be among the first to preorder. The man has a gift for wit. Personally, I found his perspective a refreshing antidote to the usual pandering idealism coming out of medical blogs, and I'm glad that there are doctors like him out there. Sometimes he made me wonder if I'm a closet conservative...

Here's hoping Panda just had a bad day and will reconsider. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem like the type to waffle after such an epic pronouncement...
 
WellWornLad said:
If he ever gets that book together, I'll be among the first to preorder. The man has a gift for wit. Personally, I found his perspective a refreshing antidote to the usual pandering idealism coming out of medical blogs, and I'm glad that there are doctors like him out there. Sometimes he made me wonder if I'm a closet conservative...

Here's hoping Panda just had a bad day and will reconsider. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem like the type to waffle after such an epic pronouncement...
Click to expand...
I had the same thought... "maybe it's just a bad day..."

but I agree, he has never struck me as that whimsical or impulsive. if he's doing this, my guess is that he's been thinking about doing it for a while now.
 
This prognosticator, a procurer of pernicious principles once prominent but now put by was the primary portent for precocious premeds in a paranoid place. A provocative persona produces from a pantry of powerful profanities both perception and penetration of past-prime philosophies of physicians. The possibility of his premature passing and the paucity of his presence provide poor provisions for a population preordained to pessimism. The only possibility to postpone a prodigious predicament is to plead for permanency, but I predict I may prove periphrastic, so it is my very sad duty to say adieu to the man called P.
 
I'm a little surprised at the $250K figure too. It's not hard for a single person to accumulate this, but that's with tuition and living expenses. I always assumed his wife worked to pay most of the living expenses during medical school. Also, it surprises me he hasn't been able to pay at least some of that down during residency (especially if there is a 2nd income). Mysteries abound >). Perhaps it's just the debt he had at one point, not necessarily the debt he has right now. Anyway, his blog will be greatly missed!
 
I'd rather read pessimism than a bull****-coated rainbow enema of the world. Thanks for the posts PandaBear.
 
Depakote said:
This makes me a sad panda...
pandas75za.jpg
Click to expand...

I laughed so hard I had coffee coming out of my nose! Time to get the replacement keyboard...thanks Depa for the good laugh 🙂
 
kypdurron5 said:
I'm a little surprised at the $250K figure too. It's not hard for a single person to accumulate this, but that's with tuition and living expenses. I always assumed his wife worked to pay most of the living expenses during medical school. Also, it surprises me he hasn't been able to pay at least some of that down during residency (especially if there is a 2nd income). Mysteries abound >). Perhaps it's just the debt he had at one point, not necessarily the debt he has right now. Anyway, his blog will be greatly missed!
Click to expand...

She'd have to have a pretty good job to cover the full living expenses of two people and hope to have any money left over at the end of the month to try to squirrel a few dollars away to cover the inevitable bad luck that is dental bills, car repairs, high electricity bills, etc. Me and my fellow med students with spouses/SOs who work still take out at least part of the living expense loans. And if he or she had any UG loans to pay down or CC debt or car payments then it's even harder. And you've gotta let your SO have a little fun with the money they earn too. You can't say "I'm putting us 200k in debt so you therefore can't buy any new clothes for 4 years."
 
Damn. 🙁 I really really like his blog. I usually checked it daily. I love his sarcastic humor.
 
you will be missed, PandaMD Blog...


*sniff* :cry:
 
I really enjoyed his blog, particularly the way he approached many topics with such conviction and a unique sense of humor, even if I didn't agree with certain aspects. Bye bye Panda. 🙁
 
kypdurron5 said:
I'm a little surprised at the $250K figure too. It's not hard for a single person to accumulate this, but that's with tuition and living expenses. I always assumed his wife worked to pay most of the living expenses during medical school. Also, it surprises me he hasn't been able to pay at least some of that down during residency (especially if there is a 2nd income). Mysteries abound >). Perhaps it's just the debt he had at one point, not necessarily the debt he has right now. Anyway, his blog will be greatly missed!
Click to expand...

People often max out the loan money for expenses other than tuition. If he has kids to support and other debt (a mortgage) it's actually not very hard to believe. If you have kids, often the second income goes mostly to childcare costs, so they are really working just to get out of the house (and to get health benefits), and not netting much.
 
About that debt...isn't he on the military track?
 
Depakote said:
This makes me a sad panda...
pandas75za.jpg
Click to expand...

Awww. The posts and blogs I've read; he speaks from real experience and doesn't sugar coat it; thanks Panda Bear for all the truth and your efforts. You will be missed. 🙁🙁
 
Depakote said:
just speculation here, but it's not hard to accumulate that much debt.

You've got tuition, fees, room and board. That can easily add up to $40-50K a year, even in-state. That's not counting any debt from undergrad. Plus, there's interest that might be accruing on undergrad loans and any private loans and any undeferred interest from med school loans. It's a reasonable guess that he wouldn't be able to make substantial loan payments on a resident's salary.

I'm fully expecting to be just shy of the $300k mark by the time I graduate with some private undergrad loans, 1 year of OOS tuition/fees/etc and then 3 more years of IS tuition/fees/etc.
Click to expand...


And he has a family too; does his wife work? it's not easy going to school and bearing the expenses of a family.
 
mc4435 said:
About that debt...isn't he on the military track?
Click to expand...

I think he's just ex-military (Marine to be specific). I don't think he was on a military scholarship.


ChubbyChaser said:
isnt a thread like this against TOS??
Click to expand...

Not a violation, might not be the most topical for this board... then again neither is the Crew thread. 🙄
 
Depakote said:
I think he's just ex-military (Marine to be specific). I don't think he was on a military scholarship.




Not a violation, might not be the most topical for this board... then again neither is the Crew thread. 🙄
Click to expand...
HUSH YOUR MOUTH!!! we occasionally talk about med school stuff...
 
Depakote said:
I think he's just ex-military (Marine to be specific). I don't think he was on a military scholarship.




Not a violation, might not be the most topical for this board... then again neither is the Crew thread. 🙄
Click to expand...
😱 that's just mean!!! 3 days ago, we talked about apps.
 
Shame he is completely shutting it down. Would have loved to still have it around to reference, like Ah Yes Medical School.
 
Depakote said:
I think he's just ex-military (Marine to be specific). I don't think he was on a military scholarship.




Not a violation, might not be the most topical for this board... then again neither is the Crew thread. 🙄
Click to expand...

Yeah and any of the personal stuff on here is stuff that is already known by his own posts.

PandabearMD,
If you read your goodbye thread, I'd like to say I've enjoyed discussion with you and I wish you luck. When you eventually publish, I'm sure many people will read your book. You are witty, funny, and very tell it like it is. so while I might not agree with every point you make, I'll always respect you for your ability to tell what's on your mind.
 
Depakote said:
I think he's just ex-military (Marine to be specific). I don't think he was on a military scholarship.
Click to expand...
Yep. He was an engineer mowing his own lawn when his wife suggested they get a lawn service. He said they couldn't afford it, and she said they could afford it if he were a doctor. So he went to med school. 😀
 
PB will definitely be missed. I enjoyed his writing, stories and rants. Thanks Panda for all the work you put into your blog!!!
 
Depakote said:
lol. awesome story.
Click to expand...

But true. Although I became obsessed with the application process (because you have to) I decided to apply on a whim, had no real medical experience to speak of (although I spun the usual lies), and only applied at all because there was a medical school down the road. It seemd like a good idea at the time and I am, despite everything, in it almost exclusively for the money...and I have just signed a contract for a lot of that.

Total debt: $160,000 from direct medical school-related loans. $40,000 private loans. $30,000 or so in credit card debt and sundry other obligations.

No, my wife does not work. Although she has a degree in physics, the jobs she could get would barely cover day-care and other expenses.
 
gatorsbball said:
:laugh:, that one was a classic
Click to expand...
By twelve I was volunteering at a suicide crisis center/free needle exchange hot-line for troubled transgendered teens. I'll never forget Jose, a young Hispanic male with HIV who had just been kicked out of his casa by his conservative Catholic parents. He had turned to black tar heroin as his only solace and he was literally at the end of his rope when he called.

"How about a condom, Hose," I asked. The J, as you know, is pronounced like an H in Spanish.

Annoying silence on the line. Hesus, I was there to help him.

"Condoms will solve all of your problems," I continued, "In fact, in a paper of which I was listed as the fourth author, we found that condoms prevent all kinds of diseases including HIV which I have a suspicion is the root of your depression."

More silence. No one had ever had such a rapport with him. He was speechless and grateful and I took his sobs as evidence of my compassion.

"Hey, it was double-blinded and placebo controlled, vato." Cultural competence is important and I value my diverse upbringing which has exposed me to peoples of many different ethnicities. I always say "What up, Homes," to the nice young negroes who assemble my Big Mac and I think they accept me as a soul brother. "

"We also have needles, amigo. Clean needles would prevent HIV too."
 
Panda Bear said:
But true. Although I became obsessed with the application process (because you have to) I decided to apply on a whim, had no real medical experience to speak of (although I spun the usual lies), and only applied at all because there was a medical school down the road. It seemd like a good idea at the time and I am, despite everything, in it almost exclusively for the money...and I have just signed a contract for a lot of that.

Total debt: $160,000 form direct school-realted loans. $40,000 private loans. $30,000 or so in credit card debt and sundry other obligations.

No, my wife does not work. Although she has a degree in physics, the jobs she could get would barely cover day-care and other expenses.
Click to expand...

Well if it makes you feel any better, know that there will always be job security. I know you were a civil engineer before. My father has been a civil engineer for more then 30 years. However, everytime the economy goes down, the threat of his job goes down. And although you had your own firm, firms are getting bought up left and right because of lack of work and lack of contracts. I've seen it often enough to know that even if money is the only reason for your entry into medicine, at least in the end you'll have job security for life.
 
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