venting

[meerkat111]

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This forum has always been a crucial part of my 10 yr career in medicine. It has guided me through the admissions process, and board exams countless number of times.

I am getting very disillusioned with the way physicians are treated. How can you survive a system that employs 10 people to check on every line you write, every order you place? Why aren't we as a physician community standing there doing nothing about this? We claim to be super human beings who can work endless hours, put up with endless abuse and rightfully so, we are being abused physically and emotionally.

Just the other day a classmate of mine quit his job at a clinic because he was being asked to report to a PA who used to work for him.

The other day, I found this hospitalist union page where the members are kept secret. Has it really come to this?

 

[PlutoBoy]

This forum has always been a crucial part of my 10 yr career in medicine. It has guided me through the admissions process, and board exams countless number of times.

I am getting very disillusioned with the way physicians are treated. How can you survive a system that employs 10 people to check on every line you write, every order you place? Why aren't we as a physician community standing there doing nothing about this? We claim to be super human beings who can work endless hours, put up with endless abuse and rightfully so, we are being abused physically and emotionally.

Just the other day a classmate of mine quit his job at a clinic because he was being asked to report to a PA who used to work for him.

The other day, I found this hospitalist union page where the members are kept secret. Has it really come to this?

Yes. Focus on making money while doing good for your patients (it is not their fault) and get out ASAP. Pay off your mortgage and student loans. Financial freedom can get you places, even a job in medicine that you can tolerate.

 

[chessknt]

If youre employed it might be your work environment in which case you can quit and find another job--we are in demand in most areas so you have that going for you.

Otherwise the above is right--imagine how much nicer things would be if you only worked part time, like 1-2 days per week or something? Once you have saved enough to achieve financial independence you can work as little or as much as you want without having to get caught up in the rat race of working until you cant bear to get up in the morning.

 

[jdh71]

Yes. Focus on making money while doing good for your patients (it is not their fault) and get out ASAP. Pay off your mortgage and student loans. Financial freedom can get you places, even a job in medicine that you can tolerate.

Agreed. At this point you want to pay off your debt as soon as you can and create a pile of FU money and then just plan to move. Lots.

Of course don't lose the calling and do your best for every patient, every time wherever you are. But the only "leverage" any of us have now is our feet.

Maybe we'll see something change with physicians acting more like a workers union but I bet we are decades away from that.

 

[meerkat111]

Thank you all, for your comments. It is just that it breaks my heart whenever my little boy says "I want to be a doctor like you.". Is this the legacy we want to leave behind?

 

[DNM]

I think a lot of this is due to a focus on metrics, administration, overhead etc. Life will certainly not be as great for us as it was for our senior colleagues. That said, it's still pretty damn good. I share your sentiment, I want to be at a place where the focus is the patient and doing what's right, not solely what administrators think. I believe the best way to accomplish this is to find a place which has strong physician leadership (in addition to good administrators that ensure we are making financially viable decisions). Again though, the strong physician leadership is key. I will not work at a place where the physicians are strictly subservient to the administrators who run the show. There are not many places like that around other than private practice (though they certainly do exist, i.e. Mayo's CEO is a physician).

 

[ShuperNewbie]

So I have a patient vented in the ICU on two pressors. This is a thread on vent management right?

 

[Moose A Moose]

Unlike nurses with their lobbying power, physicians are too busy working. So it goes.

 

[anonperson]

This forum has always been a crucial part of my 10 yr career in medicine. It has guided me through the admissions process, and board exams countless number of times.

I am getting very disillusioned with the way physicians are treated. How can you survive a system that employs 10 people to check on every line you write, every order you place? Why aren't we as a physician community standing there doing nothing about this? We claim to be super human beings who can work endless hours, put up with endless abuse and rightfully so, we are being abused physically and emotionally.

Just the other day a classmate of mine quit his job at a clinic because he was being asked to report to a PA who used to work for him.

The other day, I found this hospitalist union page where the members are kept secret. Has it really come to this?

Find a new job. There are plenty out there where the physician is treated with respect. Don't forget that you have a relatively special set of skills that not many people have. You can walk and find a new job pretty readily.

Mainly, stand up for yourself. No one else will. Management will try to squeeze every dollar out of you at the expense your health and sanity if you let them. You have to push back at times.

I just started working my first post fellowship job. Not my ideal choice but it's a paycheck. The owner wanted me to do elective cases and see patients in the office while on call covering a busy labor and delivery service. I tried that for a few weeks before I said f$ck that. Too dangerous and too stressful. I'm not superman and not looking to work myself to death for my current salary. Told them it's not going to happen anymore and would operate on other days . Pay me more and then we can talk. Was willing to walk over it. They backed down because they are shorthanded and because I'm a good doctor and finding a good replacement is hard.

 

[CatFactorial]

So I have a patient vented in the ICU on two pressors. This is a thread on vent management right?

My suggestion is to wean pressors, do daily sedation holiday/SBTs, all the while demanding respect for yourself and colleagues.