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#1
03-22-2007, 11:57 AM
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Rant: Doctors don\'t change the world.
There's a myth in America; if you're a bright student, the best way to positively impact the world is by becoming a clinician. It was all around me in high school and I even see it at the major public university I go to. Students that are very bright and hard workers - at least when they don't have a particular field of interest - trend towards clinical medical practice. The patient-doctor interface is best maintained by people with excellent social skills, and impacts lives in a highly erratic and low scale sense. The number of people a clinician can effectively see is dropping, and still experts estimate that 20% of all patients are misdiagnosed at some point.
Children should be brought up with the beliefs that if they work hard and exhibit intelligence they should aspire to enter the fields of medical research, law, or engineering. These are all scalable as far as impacting lives. A med research breakthrough can cure millions of disease. The courts hold government in place. Engineering is the gateway to technology. All of these fields are impacted on a large scale when a genious enters the stage. Geniouses are just flat out wasted on the doctor-patient relationship. 
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#2
03-22-2007, 12:01 PM
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Re: Rant: Doctors don\'t change the world.
I agree 95%. But there are some smart doctors who do good work out there.
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#4
03-22-2007, 12:06 PM
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Re: Rant: Doctors don\'t change the world.
In general, medical pays quite a bit more than engineering. I'm sure that has a lot to do with some of the decisions. There are plenty of good doctors out there, but there are other ways to change the world.
Teaching?
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#6
03-22-2007, 12:08 PM
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Re: Rant: Doctors don\'t change the world.
I think this "myth" is propogated by intelligent doctors who are tired of all the morons who somehow get through college and med school based more on their financial status and the fact that colleges just push people through. It is not directed at ALL intelligent people (although some doctors would put it that way), just intelligent people who are interested in medical school. I'm sure a lot of these people go on to become medical researchers in any case. However, there are far too many idiot undergrads who I and others have met who want to go to medical school and somehow succeed in getting both through college and into med school, based more on hard work/financial status/dumb luck than intelligence. Many of these people just want to do it for the money or because their parents do it but they are not qualified. Good doctors may not change the world but they can change the lives of many people positively.
On the other hand, I disagree with your statement about pushing them into law. I feel like if you are intelligent and get into law, you will go for the position that pays the most, which are usually positions that do not help people in a "world changing" way. How many lawyers really are responsible for keeping the government in check? I'd venture to say a lot smaller percentage of lawyers than the percentage of doctors who make a noticeable impact on people's lives.
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#8
03-22-2007, 12:26 PM
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Re: Rant: Doctors don\'t change the world.
[ QUOTE ]
SOMEBODY DIDN'T GET INTO MED SCHOOL [/ QUOTE ] close, I'm in one of the other fields that I claim can change the world [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] [ QUOTE ] How many lawyers really are responsible for keeping the government in check? I'd venture to say a lot smaller percentage of lawyers than the percentage of doctors who make a noticeable impact on people's lives. [/ QUOTE ] If you do make an impact on the law community then you can become a prosecutor or a judge, which have a great impact on case law and the government. Again it's an issue of scalability. Case law affects millions of people, not hundreds.
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#10
03-22-2007, 12:45 PM
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Re: Rant: Doctors don\'t change the world.
My wife is a rheumatologist. I'll give an idea what her "life" is like.
Up at 5:30 and at the clinic by 7:00. Paperwork until first patient at 8:15. NONSTOP until noon when she gets to eat her lunch while doing paperwork until next patient at 1:00. NONSTOP until 5:00. (BTW, I need to clarify what NONSTOP means to you nonbelieves. A good day for her is when she finds the time to pee..... REALLY) Paperwork until 7:00. Home for dinner and two more hours of paperwork. There is no Wednesday golf or jetting off to Paris for the weekend. And my wife has it "easy". She's never on call. For the docs that are on a call schedule, God bless you. The pay is not NEARLY what ever one thinks it is.... and it's getting worse (US). Used to be doctors were top 5% in your community....not any more. There is a shortage of general practitioners in the US. And the trend is going in the wrong direction. My advice to anyone reading through this so far..... if you have an internist, do not piss him/her off. 85% of the physicians in our town have closed practices.... yer just SOL. The rewards: We were at a restaurant last weekend when an elderly couple came over to say hi to my wife. They both insisted on telling me that my wife gave them back their life after treating him for a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. Physicians DO make an impact OP.
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