why does medical school cost so much?

[mdavey]

reading the thread about kids in debt $300,000 made me wonder...where is it all going....any thoughts?

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[TPROrgoTutor]

Highly trained professors, quality clinical facilities, cadavers, etc...

 

[DrBowtie]

They have lots of overhead.

 

[MossPoh]

Money has a strange way of dwindling away very quickly when all sorts of costs we have no idea about kick in. You have all the standard facilities, profs, staff, etc...but you have stupid things that add up.........One of the things you learn about when you do project management stuff (sorry to bring this up again for anyone that actually reads my posts..but I am bombarded with it right now) is how people don't factor in lots of "small costs" that build up..aka flights to locales, food for clients, etc. It is the same with medical schools. They have all sorts of costs that pop up everywhere. I am sure they make a profit, how large I have no clue, but I have the feeling a lot of it is reinvested back into the school. Medical schools are still a business, the only difference is that you are the customer, as well as the product.

 

[ebaydan777]

i like how u put that last sentence MossPoh...haha

 

[somemaybedoc]

They have lots of overhead.

And having the staff turn tricks to pay for your education just doesn't seem fair and is probably bad for the schools prestige.

 

[kingtz]

Medical schools are still a business, the only difference is that you are the customer, as well as the product.

Very interesting perspective! I hadn't really seen it that way before...

 

[BeatrixKiddo]

i like how u put that last sentence MossPoh...haha

Me too... it's so mind tickling... Customer.. and the Product!. Very chic.

I think it is expensive because they don't want poor/stupid people to be doctors. There's very good reasons behind both of these. brb

 

[jackieMD2007]

And having the staff turn tricks to pay for your education just doesn't seem fair and is probably bad for the schools prestige.

Haha. Yeah. Probably not the way Harvard wants to do their fundraisers. Brings a whole new meaning to "Do you have anyone in your family on the staff at XX medical school?"

 

[somemaybedoc]

Medical schools are still a business, the only difference is that you are the customer, as well as the product.

Well, the customer is you, who pays for the service they provide, a service that gives you the training and opportunity to obtain a diploma, which you use to become a doctor. So technically you aren't the product, but rather the education and privledge to be licensed to practice medicine are.

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

reading the thread about kids in debt $300,000 made me wonder...where is it all going....any thoughts?

It mostly goes to small things like air conditioning, hair conditioning, and various other forms of conditioning (i.e. Pavlovian).

 

[modelslashactor]

The scariest part is that your tuition only covers like 2/3 of your education. American medical schools have economies that rival many small countries.