Is medicine still a good choice?

of the shitty state of medicine in the USA and the likelyhood of it worsening. No one in their right mind would elect to become a physician these days. Crushing debt, endentured servitude, patient abuse, employer abuse, boring and repetative work (in many specialties), punative state medical boards, the trauma of the inevitable malpractce suit, worsening social status, high suicide risk......



//////////////////////////I cringe every time someone on SERMO talkstalks about their child going to medical school.




///////////////////////////////My boss said all the same things when I joined him in 1978.

If we don't support the next gen docs, who the hell is going to take care of us in the coming decades?

///////////////////////////////////We already outsource a very large amount of medical education to other countries. And there are plenty of FMG's who want to escape their shithole countries which are far worse than anything in the USA. So I say shut down all the US schools and just import all the physicians needed.

////////////////////////////////I really do think that the only specialties that will remain the realm of physicians are surgical specialties. Everything else is gone. I don’t care if it’s allergy, dermatology, cardiology, intensivist – they have all been taken by the NP‘s.

///////////////////////////////////////Don't be such a drama queen. Of course today's medicine seems bad to old doctors. It's all different; a whole new game nowadays. But today's kids won't know the difference. They will always use an EMR; paper charts are not a thing for them. They will always have dealt with quality metrics; button clicking is an expected part of charting. They will always deal with noctors, nurse managers, and business people running things.

They will learn the game just as you did 30+ years ago. And in another 30 years, they will be complaining about how bad medicine is because back in their day......

'''''''''''////////////////////////////////But today's kids won't know the difference"

That's why we need to warn them. They are clueless as to the realities of our world -they think it is like what they see on TV - Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy and the like. Not the hamster wheel of a typical clinic with ungrateful and unhelpful patients, abusive bosses and so on.

///////////////////////////////Fortunately, not all of us deal with abusive bosses or ungrateful patients. But again, you telling them about how bad it is will be received just like the old guy warning everyone that an automobile is much worse than a wagon. You're just some old doctor ranting on and on about the good old days. That means nothing to them. You just come off as a cranky 

geezer.

//////////////////////////////////I am happy. I make less than I deserve, but more than I need.

////////////////////////////////It's not bitching and moaning. It's occupational science. Can -anyone- imagine these kind of numbers from architects? This is the only information that I want to get out to College students considering medicine. That "Seven out of 10 physicians are unwilling to recommend their chosen profession to their children or other family members," and that's actually an improvement over the 9/10 a decade ago. Thousands and thousands of actively practicing physicians. It's indesputable. Blaming the doctors is like blaming the victims of any system that devalues and disempowers the cogs it chews up and spits out. Suicide rates. People leaving the profession. IT AIN'T US!!!

///////////////////////////////////I love my job as a pediatric hospitalist, I feel like I don't even work and I enjoy it. I do complain about the money, but then again, I don't actually work because I love what I do.

I chose medicine because I love it, yes, there are some things that suck, but it is still an amazing career in so many ways. Great job security, good pay compared to the average person, respect, prestige, ability to transition to other things. There are many cons, but there are many pros.

Overall, if I had to do it all over again, I would still choose pediatrics, but I may have chosen med/peds or something with the ability to make more money per diem to satisfy that issue.

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