I used to think that the medical profession, particularly doctors, is fairly insulated from economic fluctuations and business cycle's volatility... Doctors wouldn't have to worry about extended bouts of unemployment, they're always needed/appreciated for their skills, etc. But I suppose the picture that Bob Doherty is painting here is that physicians are in fact exposed to the same downturns that the rest of the general population faces.
The system needs to keep providing sufficient incentives for doctors to keep working as doctors and for students to want to aspire to become doctors (and other various roles in health care). Otherwise, physician shortage (especially primary care) will continue to be an unresolved issue...
Physicians don't have it worse than the rest of the country, that faces issues of high unemployment and an unpromising job market, but I believe that the past few years have been pretty hard for individuals within this profession. Unemployment hasn't really affected physicians, but it takes much discipline, hardwork and determination in order to achive a degree that provides a secure job. I believe that many physicians, going into the the career, didn't think that they would have to deal with the endless amounts of paperwork and the high rates of malpractice insurance. They also are constantly worried that they may be sued if they may mistakenly do something wrong. Increase of information has caused patients to question a physicians diagnosis. Education is extremeley expensive and they have the burden of paying back their loans. External influences affect how they practice medicine, losing their autonomy. Not to mention, they are in the middle of the debate of health care reform, which may affect how much they will be compensated for services. I believe that the high unemployment has caused less demand for services and therefore, as people go uninsured and can't afford health care, physicians are affected because they have less people to serve. Therefore, I believe that in terms of unemployment, physicians may be better off, but their profession is quickly changing and this is a time where it can be exceptionally hard to be in the field of medicine.
The question “Are doctors treated worse than everyone else?” is a bit ridiculous. The challenges faced by American physicians are real and are likely to continue increasing in the bad economy but, there is no reason to believe that they are worse off than the majority of the population. Many of the challenges faced by physicians are truly an outgrowth of Americans’ shrinking wallets, growing medical costs, HITEC legislation, dominance of MCOs, as well as the rapidly growing Medicare population. The future physicians who are feeling abused is likely to include a lot more abuse with the trends previously mentioned. The pains that physicians are experiencing are truly unavoidable and as challenges go, as the author mentioned – at least the physicians are gainfully employed. I am curious if there is a way to keep health care costs under control without governmental intervention an additional checks and balances at this point. As it stands the US health care system is in such a deep abyss of confusion that government legislation is needed to help keep costs manageable particularly with the state of Medicare. The struggles faced by professions are usually relative to their situation and I think this is the case with physicians. As difficult as things get for physicians, I am certain that despite all the challenges they face, they would not trade places with an unemployed American with no prospects and mounting health care bills. I agree with Michael that there need to be incentives to keep the interest in becoming a physician alive, perhaps legislation to help curtail malpractice costs and exaggerated lawsuits. I wonder what my physician classmates think about this article?
I always remind myself that life could always be worse. I completely respect all that Physicians do, but must admit that complaints like this cause me to lose some of that repsect. Where is the humility?
I couldn't have said this better: "Physicians have a lot to be unhappy about, but they almost never have to worry about being laid off from work, they are still relatively well-compensated, and they are trusted and respected by the public."
Teachers, on the other hand, are treated worse than everyone else. Teachers groom our little ones so that our future remains bright. We must not forget that teachers create Physicians. Until teachers are better compensated, this argument should be laid to rest.
I didn't even begin to talk about the unemployed and the destitute--whom don't have the means to even fend for themselves! Again I ask, where is the humility?
I appreciated how Doherty included arguments for both sides in his post. Given our recent readings about health care in the United States and around the world, it makes sense that not only the consumers, but the providers, are unhappy as well. However, following Doherty’s discussion, which had many seemingly valid points about physician job satisfaction, I think that his question is kind of unfair in the grand scheme of things. Also, it might be worthwhile to consider whether provider job satisfaction was specific to a professional category or whether it was similar across different professions within the same setting (such as doctors, nurses, and other providers with the same practice or the same kind of practice), and I imagine that you would find similar levels of job satisfaction among these providers. Not only is it interesting to consider the potential variations in practice and satisfaction, but I think it could also be important to consider what factors would influence someone’s answer to Doherty’s question; in addition to considering patient impressions of physician practices, it may be helpful to reflect on different cultural views of health care as well as media portrayal.
The fact of the matter is that everyone's got it bad these days. We're all in some fashion losing what little control we have over how we're paid, what hours we work, the ways in which we think our jobs should be done. Those of us who still have jobs are now under more pressure to be accountable for our work and to justify our positions in the workplace, wherever that may be.
So, of course it is ridiculous to say that doctors are more put-upon than anyone else.
But doesn't mean that the issues raised by Doherty shouldn't be addressed. There are larger implications of physicians' unhappiness -- like access to care -- that need to be considered.
Take the Medicare SGR mess -- it's not only inconvenient for doctors, it puts access to care for seniors in jeopardy as doctors decide to stop taking Medicare patients the way they have with Medicaid patients.
Appropriate and sufficient payment for services is also important, particularly with respect to primary care. Again, that becomes an issue of access when there are not enough people going into primary care because it's not financially worthwhile.
But to address these points simply because doctors want the grass to be greener on their side of the fence is short-sighted and small-minded. These issues are symptoms of larger problems with our health care system.
As one of the physicians in the class, I feel somewhat challenged to rise to the occasion and respond to the above query in an erudite manner. However, I will simply reply with another question; how is the QUALITY of patient care effected by the overwhelming dissatisfaction, increasing administration, and the frustrating fact that we are fighting against diminished time for our patients? If we compare physicians to other employed individuals in other fields, I believe we are comparing apples to oranges. A project manager may feel obligated to her team members and want to help them become better software engineers, but may not necessarily feel the same onus as a physician about their quality of work.
As for unemployment, I have witnessed the hardship of raising a family without an income; however, having a medical degree does not reduce that fear of unemployment. Perhaps if Douglas had presented exact unemployment rates based on profession, our opinions would be swayed in a different direction. I agree with above bloggers, unemployment and recession are terrible things for everyone, but most detrimental to the individuals who struggle to get food on the table and clothes to wear. Physicians with a job may not have that problem, but a physician without a job is in the same boat as any other unemployed person.
The answer to the question "are doctors treated worse than everyone else?" is NO! The truth of the matter is that life is difficult for everyone, especially in these economic times.
I agree that we do not know the employment rate of physicians as stated previously, but finding a job as a physician is not that difficult. The truth of the matter is that I could quit my job and find per diem work within the week. So as far as employment is concerned, at least I feel some job security (earned over 11 years of undergraduate and postgraduate education!).
On the other hand, it is true that physicians in the United States are feeling over-regulated (less autonomous), overworked (that electronic medical record adds 2 hours per day of charting), and face uncertainty about future reimbursement. The latter issue causes an ethical dilemma between wanting to care for people but facing the possibility that it will cost the practice money to do so (e.g. taking care of Medicare and Medicaid patients). Our University practice takes care of mostly Medicaid patients and runs deep in the red every year. In fact, other departments in the hospital keep us afloat.
The end result, unfortunately, is that many physicians experience burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reported low quality of life). Not surprisingly, educational debt is a huge contributing factor to burnout. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21900135.
In previous studies, it has been shown that loss of autonomy is another large contributing factor to burnout.
In conclusion it is fair to say that most people have it tough today. While I expect that physicians have better job security, this has come at the expense of years of education and oftentimes educational debt. It is also true that physicians face high levels of stress in their jobs in part due to loss of autonomy, high workload, and economic uncertainty due to government cost cutting measures.
I used to think that the medical profession, particularly doctors, is fairly insulated from economic fluctuations and business cycle's volatility... Doctors wouldn't have to worry about extended bouts of unemployment, they're always needed/appreciated for their skills, etc. But I suppose the picture that Bob Doherty is painting here is that physicians are in fact exposed to the same downturns that the rest of the general population faces.
ReplyDeleteThe system needs to keep providing sufficient incentives for doctors to keep working as doctors and for students to want to aspire to become doctors (and other various roles in health care). Otherwise, physician shortage (especially primary care) will continue to be an unresolved issue...
Physicians don't have it worse than the rest of the country, that faces issues of high unemployment and an unpromising job market, but I believe that the past few years have been pretty hard for individuals within this profession. Unemployment hasn't really affected physicians, but it takes much discipline, hardwork and determination in order to achive a degree that provides a secure job. I believe that many physicians, going into the the career, didn't think that they would have to deal with the endless amounts of paperwork and the high rates of malpractice insurance. They also are constantly worried that they may be sued if they may mistakenly do something wrong. Increase of information has caused patients to question a physicians diagnosis. Education is extremeley expensive and they have the burden of paying back their loans. External influences affect how they practice medicine, losing their autonomy. Not to mention, they are in the middle of the debate of health care reform, which may affect how much they will be compensated for services. I believe that the high unemployment has caused less demand for services and therefore, as people go uninsured and can't afford health care, physicians are affected because they have less people to serve. Therefore, I believe that in terms of unemployment, physicians may be better off, but their profession is quickly changing and this is a time where it can be exceptionally hard to be in the field of medicine.
ReplyDeleteThe question “Are doctors treated worse than everyone else?” is a bit ridiculous. The challenges faced by American physicians are real and are likely to continue increasing in the bad economy but, there is no reason to believe that they are worse off than the majority of the population.
ReplyDeleteMany of the challenges faced by physicians are truly an outgrowth of Americans’ shrinking wallets, growing medical costs, HITEC legislation, dominance of MCOs, as well as the rapidly growing Medicare population. The future physicians who are feeling abused is likely to include a lot more abuse with the trends previously mentioned.
The pains that physicians are experiencing are truly unavoidable and as challenges go, as the author mentioned – at least the physicians are gainfully employed.
I am curious if there is a way to keep health care costs under control without governmental intervention an additional checks and balances at this point. As it stands the US health care system is in such a deep abyss of confusion that government legislation is needed to help keep costs manageable particularly with the state of Medicare.
The struggles faced by professions are usually relative to their situation and I think this is the case with physicians. As difficult as things get for physicians, I am certain that despite all the challenges they face, they would not trade places with an unemployed American with no prospects and mounting health care bills.
I agree with Michael that there need to be incentives to keep the interest in becoming a physician alive, perhaps legislation to help curtail malpractice costs and exaggerated lawsuits.
I wonder what my physician classmates think about this article?
Absolutely NOT!
ReplyDeleteI always remind myself that life could always be worse. I completely respect all that Physicians do, but must admit that complaints like this cause me to lose some of that repsect. Where is the humility?
I couldn't have said this better: "Physicians have a lot to be unhappy about, but they almost never have to worry about being laid off from work, they are still relatively well-compensated, and they are trusted and respected by the public."
Teachers, on the other hand, are treated worse than everyone else. Teachers groom our little ones so that our future remains bright. We must not forget that teachers create Physicians. Until teachers are better compensated, this argument should be laid to rest.
I didn't even begin to talk about the unemployed and the destitute--whom don't have the means to even fend for themselves! Again I ask, where is the humility?
I appreciated how Doherty included arguments for both sides in his post. Given our recent readings about health care in the United States and around the world, it makes sense that not only the consumers, but the providers, are unhappy as well. However, following Doherty’s discussion, which had many seemingly valid points about physician job satisfaction, I think that his question is kind of unfair in the grand scheme of things. Also, it might be worthwhile to consider whether provider job satisfaction was specific to a professional category or whether it was similar across different professions within the same setting (such as doctors, nurses, and other providers with the same practice or the same kind of practice), and I imagine that you would find similar levels of job satisfaction among these providers.
ReplyDeleteNot only is it interesting to consider the potential variations in practice and satisfaction, but I think it could also be important to consider what factors would influence someone’s answer to Doherty’s question; in addition to considering patient impressions of physician practices, it may be helpful to reflect on different cultural views of health care as well as media portrayal.
The fact of the matter is that everyone's got it bad these days. We're all in some fashion losing what little control we have over how we're paid, what hours we work, the ways in which we think our jobs should be done. Those of us who still have jobs are now under more pressure to be accountable for our work and to justify our positions in the workplace, wherever that may be.
ReplyDeleteSo, of course it is ridiculous to say that doctors are more put-upon than anyone else.
But doesn't mean that the issues raised by Doherty shouldn't be addressed. There are larger implications of physicians' unhappiness -- like access to care -- that need to be considered.
Take the Medicare SGR mess -- it's not only inconvenient for doctors, it puts access to care for seniors in jeopardy as doctors decide to stop taking Medicare patients the way they have with Medicaid patients.
Appropriate and sufficient payment for services is also important, particularly with respect to primary care. Again, that becomes an issue of access when there are not enough people going into primary care because it's not financially worthwhile.
But to address these points simply because doctors want the grass to be greener on their side of the fence is short-sighted and small-minded. These issues are symptoms of larger problems with our health care system.
As one of the physicians in the class, I feel somewhat challenged to rise to the occasion and respond to the above query in an erudite manner. However, I will simply reply with another question; how is the QUALITY of patient care effected by the overwhelming dissatisfaction, increasing administration, and the frustrating fact that we are fighting against diminished time for our patients? If we compare physicians to other employed individuals in other fields, I believe we are comparing apples to oranges. A project manager may feel obligated to her team members and want to help them become better software engineers, but may not necessarily feel the same onus as a physician about their quality of work.
ReplyDeleteAs for unemployment, I have witnessed the hardship of raising a family without an income; however, having a medical degree does not reduce that fear of unemployment. Perhaps if Douglas had presented exact unemployment rates based on profession, our opinions would be swayed in a different direction. I agree with above bloggers, unemployment and recession are terrible things for everyone, but most detrimental to the individuals who struggle to get food on the table and clothes to wear. Physicians with a job may not have that problem, but a physician without a job is in the same boat as any other unemployed person.
The answer to the question "are doctors treated worse than everyone else?" is NO! The truth of the matter is that life is difficult for everyone, especially in these economic times.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we do not know the employment rate of physicians as stated previously, but finding a job as a physician is not that difficult. The truth of the matter is that I could quit my job and find per diem work within the week. So as far as employment is concerned, at least I feel some job security (earned over 11 years of undergraduate and postgraduate education!).
On the other hand, it is true that physicians in the United States are feeling over-regulated (less autonomous), overworked (that electronic medical record adds 2 hours per day of charting), and face uncertainty about future reimbursement. The latter issue causes an ethical dilemma between wanting to care for people but facing the possibility that it will cost the practice money to do so (e.g. taking care of Medicare and Medicaid patients). Our University practice takes care of mostly Medicaid patients and runs deep in the red every year. In fact, other departments in the hospital keep us afloat.
The end result, unfortunately, is that many physicians experience burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reported low quality of life). Not surprisingly, educational debt is a huge contributing factor to burnout. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21900135.
In previous studies, it has been shown that loss of autonomy is another large contributing factor to burnout.
In conclusion it is fair to say that most people have it tough today. While I expect that physicians have better job security, this has come at the expense of years of education and oftentimes educational debt. It is also true that physicians face high levels of stress in their jobs in part due to loss of autonomy, high workload, and economic uncertainty due to government cost cutting measures.