why medicine IS worth it

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Vaseline

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i am so sick of being inundated with articles about unhappy physicians, physician burnout, the downfall of medicine, doom and gloom, dark clouds on the horizon etc etc

so, i am asking for those who are in medicine - medical students, residents, and beyond - to share some of their reasons for why medicine IS still worth it.

please, share.
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You get a nearly unparalleled opportunity to significantly impact an individual's life during times in which they're extremely vulnerable. You get to interact with intelligent colleagues on the regular. You get to interact with people from all walks of life. You get to form meaningful relationships with those people over the course of their lives. You get to learn and apply fascinating science that's rapidly evolving (and potentially contribute to expanding that scientific knowledge yourself). You get to serve as a mentor and train people who are lower on the training path in medicine. You are, at worst, decently rewarded financially for all of the above, and with wonderful job security to boot
 
i have my pragmatic reasons: the paycheck, job security. i won't lie, i think i will also enjoy the status of being a physician as well.

but, above all, it is the intellectual and emotional stimulation that does it for me/ that i look forward to (considering i'm only an M1). i can't think of many fields or other jobs that offer this aspect in their day-to-day work.
 
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Medicine is still very rewarding if we consider it as a science applied to helping people with health issues. Taking a history, doing a physical examination, workups, investigations, diagnostics, treatment, management, all the amazing technology involved, feeling like Sherlock Holmes, etc. You are literally helping people, saving lives, patients are often very appreciative, etc. All that is extremely cool and highly satisfying.

Most the problems with medicine as a field are about things like the frustrations of training a person to become a doctor (e.g. the rite of passage that is residency), the medico-legal risks involved in becoming a doctor taking care of people's very lives (which is understandable but some lawyers aren't called "ambulance chasers" for nothing), the fact that medicine is highly regulated by federal and state governments (e.g. CME, the hassles of maintaining your license), having to deal with getting insurance companies to reimburse you, the changing landscape of medical practice in the US (e.g. such as with the ACA or Obamacare), the commoditization of medicine (e.g. doctors increasingly becoming employees), the very uncertain future of medicine in the US, the fact that US healthcare (e.g. Medicare, Medicaid) is such a huge cost to the federal government and thus the federal government wants to decrease healthcare costs, etc.

In short, medicine itself is super cool, but the stuff around medicine is not.
 
Anicetus said:
If Bernie sanders wins, and we sway towards socialism, we really can't say the paycheck is a reason anymore.
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But let's be real. Doctors (especially specialists) will still be needed, so if they don't get paid enough they can refuse to work until they get proper compensation. It's not like a RN can do neurosurgery.
 
BadgerBadger said:
But let's be real. Doctors (especially specialists) will still be needed, so if they don't get paid enough they can refuse to work until they get proper compensation. It's not like a RN can do neurosurgery.
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Or we will we see the rise of cash only offices across the board
 
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I actually enjoy learning about how the body works, and the processes that occur both normally and pathologically. If the pace were slower or if people had more free time I think a lot more people would enjoy med school. With the volume of information out there that's just not realistic though, at least not in our education system. Combine the material with the fact that I'll actually get to apply something I like to an actual career with strong job security and it sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.
 
TBV said:
Wow that sucks! Well rise of cash only offices across the board... in other countries, as a gigantic brain drain hits the US
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It's about as difficult to go overseas as a US doc as is it so come to the US as a FMG. There's some exceptions, but not many, and all of them invariably offer less pay than the US.
 
3rd year medical student

I love 3rd year way more than first and second year. I am actually in the clinic/OR/ER and actively learning instead of force-feeding myself high-yield minutia for Step 1. While I may not know all the ins and outs of working up patients for differing pathologies, I enjoy learning by doing and by talking with patients.

I have found that patients will tell the medical student things they failed to mention to the nurse or another physician (either they forgot or withheld the info). When I tell the attending these things and it affects the patient's care, I feel like I actually make a difference in their life.
 
Anicetus said:
If Bernie sanders wins, and we sway towards socialism, we really can't say the paycheck is a reason anymore.
Click to expand...
tommy-lee-jones2.jpg
 
Respect, money, work that can be fun/interesting/rewarding at times.
 
Anicetus said:
If Bernie sanders wins, and we sway towards socialism, we really can't say the paycheck is a reason anymore.
Click to expand...

i don't think doctors will ever have to worry about their paycheck. i have a close friend who works for kaiser on the finance side of things, and he firmly believes physicians will always earn an impressive income.

i understand doc salaries are expected to drop, but i can't see the drop being too steep, especially in light of how the govt destroys us with their interest rates on student loans.

as long as doc salaries hover around 200K, i see no reason for us to complain.

as for the health care climate changing ( inc regulatory, inc govt, pain in the ass insurance companies), at least this will be the status quo for the new crop of physicians - the grass will have always been brown to us.
 
Not the money, not the prestige, not the power.
It is literally the satisfaction and how I do enjoy talking to patients. Patients are like a break of hospital hell and the chance to escape it. Yes, there are annoying ones (like the patient with testicular pain who yelled at me and demanded he speak to my boss because of my behavior) or dumb ones. Or ones you want to backhand (dad who brought a child because he had a glass shard but was angry that he had to be there and "waste his time").
But the other ones make it way better. The ones who have a sense of humor, the ones who keep me updated on what's happening outside because I have no clue.
I never thought that my being a doctor was as prestigious as other people think.

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If medical school tuition was lower I would be a lot happier, but I'm still overly excited to start. It's always been my dream and I honestly can't see myself doing anything else and being happy. I love science, people and being able to put my analytical skills to work. I feel like I am a perfect match to this field regardless of pay or hours.
 
Should physicians be against bernie sanders since he is going to take money away from us?
 
Merely said:
Should physicians be against bernie sanders since he is going to take money away from us?
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yes, physician salaries occupy such a minuscule amount of total health care costs. target should not be doctor salaries. need to target big pharma and insurance companies.
 
As a Med student I never have to think of pick up lines... med school has bestowed upon me the greatest pick up line known to men. "Hi, I'm taking medicine" 😍:highfive:
 
Vaseline said:
yes, physician salaries occupy such a minuscule amount of total health care costs. target should not be doctor salaries. need to target big pharma and insurance companies.
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No. Pharma is crippled now. They aren't making bank despite what you think or what the media says. They aren't in the position you think.
And to add to that, the money they make goes to the employees of that company. They do treat their employees well. Which makes it difficult why people hate them. They literally waste millions of dollars on failed drugs. If they don't have a drug to recoup their loss, we wouldn't have Pharma. Also, let's not forget that they also dump money into the graduate research people do.

/rant

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Vaseline said:
i don't think doctors will ever have to worry about their paycheck. i have a close friend who works for kaiser on the finance side of things, and he firmly believes physicians will always earn an impressive income.

i understand doc salaries are expected to drop, but i can't see the drop being too steep, especially in light of how the govt destroys us with their interest rates on student loans.

as long as doc salaries hover around 200K, i see no reason for us to complain.

as for the health care climate changing ( inc regulatory, inc govt, pain in the ass insurance companies), at least this will be the status quo for the new crop of physicians - the grass will have always been brown to us.
Click to expand...

inb4 understanding of inflation, cost of living, definition of the word arbitrary, or opportunity cost mean
 
PL198 said:
inb4 understanding of inflation, cost of living, definition of the word arbitrary, or opportunity cost mean
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inflation - OK, yes whatever inflation adjusted equivalent of around 200K is in the future

COL - COL? live frugally while you pay off your loans.

opportunity cost - what are your alternatives??

arbitrary - elaborate...
 
hmmm..

Guys in 20s would love medicine cause they can use it to pick up girls.

But why girls in 20s do medicine? Medicine would make them fat and ruin their personality to be bossy and mean.
If guys can make money to support himself they normally don't chase girls for intelligence and money. They would chase for looks and personality.
 
libraryismyhome said:
hmmm..

Guys in 20s would love medicine cause they can use it to pick up girls.

But why girls in 20s do medicine? Medicine would make them fat and ruin their personality to be bossy and mean.
If guys can make money to support himself they normally don't chase girls for intelligence and money. They would chase for looks and personality.
Click to expand...

I legitimately cannot tell which of you people are being serious and which are being cheeky
 
FocusedDoc said:
As a Med student I never have to think of pick up lines... med school has bestowed upon me the greatest pick up line known to men. "Hi, I'm taking medicine" 😍:highfive:
Click to expand...
If I hear someone is taking medicine, I assume they're on something, not that they're getting a degree in something.
 
Vaseline said:
i don't think doctors will ever have to worry about their paycheck. i have a close friend who works for kaiser on the finance side of things, and he firmly believes physicians will always earn an impressive income.

i understand doc salaries are expected to drop, but i can't see the drop being too steep, especially in light of how the govt destroys us with their interest rates on student loans.

as long as doc salaries hover around 200K, i see no reason for us to complain.

as for the health care climate changing ( inc regulatory, inc govt, pain in the ass insurance companies), at least this will be the status quo for the new crop of physicians - the grass will have always been brown to us.
Click to expand...
Not good enough! 400k+ or bust...
 
libraryismyhome said:
hmmm..

Guys in 20s would love medicine cause they can use it to pick up girls.

But why girls in 20s do medicine? Medicine would make them fat and ruin their personality to be bossy and mean.
If guys can make money to support himself they normally don't chase girls for intelligence and money. They would chase for looks and personality.
Click to expand...
Wtf...
 
FocusedDoc said:
As a Med student I never have to think of pick up lines... med school has bestowed upon me the greatest pick up line known to men. "Hi, I'm taking medicine" 😍:highfive:
Click to expand...

Asshats, this sounds like the phrasing that gets used in the UK. Could be wrong but giving benefit of doubt.

Vaseline said:
opportunity cost - what are your alternatives??
.
Click to expand...

Happiness, sleep, regular meals, regularly getting to urinate, not being a stranger to your own children, and not being a puppet of misery feeding human beings to a money grist mill, ie most other jobs

libraryismyhome said:
hmmm..

Guys in 20s would love medicine cause they can use it to pick up girls.

But why girls in 20s do medicine? Medicine would make them fat and ruin their personality to be bossy and mean.
If guys can make money to support himself they normally don't chase girls for intelligence and money. They would chase for looks and personality.
Click to expand...

I won't bother to find the studies that support that while yes, men place more importance on looks than women do, men rate intelligence in a mate as a highly as women do. Does that mean they want a woman smarter than them? Maybe the not so smart ones don't. Oo, sick burn.

As far as money, the issue as per usual relates to feelings of inadequacy that lesser men might have about money.

In fact, the whole post of yours smacks of it.

And as for being fat, I was a hot body before/during med school, and in the first month of residency lost like 20 lbs. My colleagues wondered if I had cancer, but no, now I just have the measurements to be an international runway model. However, while I'm too old for that, people do often say "you look too young to be a doctor," so there's that. That includes guys in their 20s at the bar.

But you're right, I am bossy and mean. What ruined your personality?
 
You guys are so fun.

Why medicine for reals?

Because you feel a spiritual connection to suffering, you connect to it. They call it "trauma bonding."

Addiction to excitement, tedium and drudgery, drama, stress, extremes, to feel sad, to feel a rush of accomplishment, pursuit of pleasurable stimulus in the face of increasing harms, mental stimulation, a sick need to abuse/be abused within peer group of colleagues, fascination with rites of ascension, the occult, the mysterious, morbid fascination, a draw to what is taboo, perfectionism, compulsion, calm in a crisis, a need for control, to fix the self and to fix others, an unconscious need to address the dysfunction of upbringing/society, justice, vengeance, appearances, need for structure, sense of personal insecurity/inadequacy, and as Dr. Cox might say, "because your Daddy was mean to you?", because your brain just won't shut up, prestige, idle curiosity

What a minute, you meant why it's WORTH all the why

Because you get to vicariously experience the very extremes of the human drama you extremist you
 
Mad Jack said:
It's about as difficult to go overseas as a US doc as is it so come to the US as a FMG. There's some exceptions, but not many, and all of them invariably offer less pay than the US.
Click to expand...
I pretty much agree with you here. I'm not sure if Australia is an exception though. It kind of is, it kind of isn't. It's probably hard to come across to Australia without Aussie permanent residency ("green card") or citizenship. But I do know of Americans (and many more Canadians and even more UK and Ireland) who have done it. Plus at least currently for most specialties US residency training is almost fully recognised by Australia so it's unlikely you would have to repeat residency. You might have to do a year of being observed to make sure your knowledge and training are equivalent. That year is similar to a very senior resident year, but with far better hours and pay (senior residents/registrars should make ~$150k/year as a base salary + overtime for over ~38 hrs/week + other benefits). As an attending/consultant, my understanding is the pay is probably a lot less than the US but it's still more than enough (e.g. Australian anesthesiologists aka anaesthetists working the equivalent of US academic jobs start at ~$350k/year + overtime + some excellent benefits and perks not usually found in the US, no CRNAs, etc. Private practice is of course much higher but I assume probably lower than the US). The major downside of Australia is the very expensive cost of living including taxes. Probably more like living in NYC or California as far as cost of living. But the people are laid back and cool, the beaches and more are beautiful and not as commercialised or as crowded like in SoCal, etc.
 
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