Doctor Desperation = Doctors are disappearing – Part 2

I know I hold healthcare professionals to a high standard. But I also have tremendous respect and compassion for them. They have a difficult job and sometimes we make it worse for them.

I was in Las Vegas last week lecturing and there was a commercial on television. It showed two doctors caring for a patient in the hospital. The voiceover reminded the audience that if we don’t support education, then in the future there may not be enough doctors to care for and support us. And as this was said, the two doctors disappeared from the hospital room. It was a rather dramatic visual moment. What if people stop wanting to become doctors? What if it becomes so burdensome to become a doctor that the best and brightest students started going into other professions? What if it becomes so difficult to practice medicine that the doctors we already have begin to leave?

This is already happening. Doctors are leaving the practice of medicine.  How many months would you work if you weren’t getting paid?  Would you work for 1 month for free?  No, but the doctors are.  They keep working even though they can’t afford to stay in practice as the insurance companies pay less and less. The increasing use of electronic medical records is making it difficult for the older doctors who don’t type well to keep practicing. Malpractice insurance costs keep skyrocketing. And most importantly, the respect and appreciation they used to receive from patients and families is disappearing. No money, no significance, not worth it.

Medicine has always been a profound profession. Doctors knew they were making a difference and that it was worth all the years of training and the long daily hours. But now, they aren’t as sure. Just after I wrote this doctor piece, I went to give a lecture. I asked the first doctor to arrive, “What type of medicine do you practice?” He said, “I retired early. The healthcare system broke me. It became too difficult to practice anymore so I gave up.” He wasn’t an old man. He was broken man. Did he still love medicine? Of course. He was still attending a continuing medical education class. But medicine had become too difficult.

We better be careful. Our doctors are leaving us. I doubt medicine will ever pay well again, but maybe as patients, we can still let them know that our doctors are making a difference. Tell them that we appreciate and respect all of the sacrifices they make for us. Tell them that they matter.

Have a kind and respectful day.