coolweather

Only lawyers and doctors can solve the problem for themselves. Lawyers need to stop filing lawsuits against doctors. Doctors need to stop working for health insurance companies. Doing this will make Americans healthier too.

soccer_guy472

I still wanna be a doctor...ummm...anyone else?

rocketman08

I think one of the biggest issues that has been hurting the medical profession is the fact that its really lost its status within society. Over the last few decades (with all the problems that have developed in the US healthcare system) the profession has gone from a (as viewed by the public) glamorous and highly respected profession to, what is now essentially, a service industry. People no longer view a physician as someone they look up to for advice and guidance in their life and with their health issues, but as a contractor that is providing a service. The profession has largely lost the trust and respect of its customers (patients). This isn't all the fault of physicians (as much of the fault lies with the HMOs and Insurance Companies they're chained to) but they don't get totally off the hook either.

As someone previously pointed out, one dosen't have to practice medcine after doing an MD but it would generally be a huge waste of money. Yes, those with advanced degrees often do things wholly unrealated to those advanced degrees although you generally see this happening with PhDs and not MDs so much. Remember that a PhD is very much an entrepreneurial degree (you get the degree on the basis of original ideas and research) whereas an MD is essentially a fancy trade school (you get the degree on the basis of learning a pre-determined set of skills). Also, many PhDs come with full funding whereas that rarely occurs with an MD program.

LACalum

"Lawyers need to stop filing lawsuits against doctors."

I think this is probably a pretty popular view, but as someone who may need healthcare at some point, I really don't understand it.
You realize that, when a doctor gets sued, it is because a patient they treated is going to suffer physically, financially, and emotionally for the rest of their lives? Those people sue because a mistake has severely damaged their way of life, and in many cases, their reward is merely a way for them to pay the additional medical bills they will face without filing bankruptcy? You also realize that the doctor isn't the one paying up right? That's why they have insurance.

Medicine is a very complicated field. Doctors make mistakes, and that's to be expected. I think most people who sue them understand the doctor was doing their best. They simply want to have compensation for the loss they have suffered due to a mistake. I think that's reasonable. It does not come out of the doctor's pocket. If I get in a car wreck and fracture my spine, and a doctor doesn't recognize it and order an operation, and I end up becoming paralyzed due to the lack of treatment, then I'd like to think there is a way for me to pay for the immense medical bills and lifestyle challenges I'm going to face. Do I want the doctor to lose her job? Not really, and in most cases she won't.

So frankly, I certainly hope that lawyers continue to sue doctors. And I hope doctors continue to provide an important service and continue to be insured so that, when costly mistakes happen, they don't have to suffer more than necessary for it.

Roger_Dooley

Declining interest in law school may be a logical reaction to the challenges that face grads with less than top shelf credentials. Certainly, the top tier law schools will have a surplus of applicants indefinitely. But a law degree, in and of itself, is no longer a guarantee of lucrative employment or even financial security. An undistinguished grad of an unheralded law program may indeed have difficulty finding a reasonable position as an attorney.

Doctors have it better from a guaranteed income standpoint - just about every new doc coming out of a U.S. med school can find gainful employment. Docs, however, have a much more arduous and time consuming educational path and in many cases less financial upside potential than attorneys. Neither compare well with investment bankers.

Those comments don't include any of the rest of the issues - how appealing the work itself is, what kind of hours will be worked, etc.

The best and brightest students will often pursue those careers that society places the highest value on - generic legal and medical careers no longer fall into the most elite category. Society doesn't always make great choices - look at the teaching profession today, for example.

Shrinkrap

"You realize that, when a doctor gets sued, it is because a patient they treated is going to suffer physically, financially, and emotionally for the rest of their lives? Those people sue because a mistake has severely damaged their way of life, "

I don't suppose this is the point of this thread, but I have to disagree with the above. Of course My personal opinion is biased, since I am physician, but I have also attended many risk management seminars and do not believe the statement above is true in MANY cases. Maybe a SUCCESSFUL suit is because of suffering and "mistakes", but many suits are initiated because of anger and a poor relationship with the doctor. Sometimes that's because the Physicians "customer" is the insurance company and not the patient. Sometimes it's because the patient trusts a commercial move then their doctor. It is frustrating to feel like I'm selling burgers. "I have ADHD: (or Bipolar Disorder, or whatever);" I took a test on the internet" (or someone diagnosed me in a chat room). I'll have some "Abilify" please ...and no weight gain with that...I think this is again the result of the patient feeling the physician works "for" the insurance company.What is defined as a "mistake" seems up to each sides "expert opinion".

Also I am of the OPINION that "med mal" doesn't always cover all damages and Physicians can often be at financial risk in spite of having coverage.

toledo

Interesting thread! My son has been volunteering at a hospital and many physicians have tried to talk him out of pursuing a career in medicine. One asked him what his father does for a living, and when he answered "business", the doctor told him he should follow his dad's footsteps because he'll make a lot more money. Another convinced him to become a physician assistant so that's the direction he'll be heading in the fall.

dtex50

"You also realize that the doctor isn't the one paying up right? That's why they have insurance."

I suppose that is true, unless you consider the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in med liability insurance premiums that physicians must pay. I have been told by some attorneys that it is frequently more cost-effective and time-efficient to sue all doctors associated with a client's care and then later drop from the suit those with no apparent liability. Even if the physician is dropped, his med mal premiums will increase.

Shrinkrap

"I suppose that is true, unless you consider the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in med liability insurance premiums that physicians must pay."

One of many the expenses that is part of the escalating price of everyones health care.

bsb2007

After watching Grey's Anatomy for 4 seasons, it makes me want to be a doctor.....in another life. lol. we need more doctors who want to be doctors because they are passionate about it, not because they want to make big bucks and have the title of "Doc."

NewEngSocSciMan

I still want to get a law degree, medical degree, and (in addition to one of those, a PhD)...the article made me sick when I read it. It's nice, though, to see that people are still interested in the "helping" and "learning" professions, though, and that not everyone wants to be an I-banker or hedge fund manager.

UCLAri

How will this happen? How will patients pay for healthcare otherwise?

cj_svu6

I'm planning on going to law school. Don't forget- not all lawyers are malpractice lawyers, or worse than that, "ambulance chasers". Some of us want to be advocacy lawyers, trial lawyers, international lawyers, government lawyers, corporate lawyers, etc. Sure there are some lawyers who take advantage of a situation, but I think you can find that in any profession. The profession has a bad repution, but a lot of lawyers do a lot of good, and in some cases, a real service for the community.

Opie ofMaybery2

I think it is simply a case of the grass is always greener. All occupations evolve and change. Come spend a day in my office, and both law and medicine will be attractive again.

My S in his first year at med school. Couldn't be happier for him. I would never want either child to follow my footsteps into insurance and investment.

While investment banking is todays big deal, because it sounds like free money.... things have a way of straightening out. Look for the feds to jump inthere before too much longer.

coolweather

Response to post #27:

I can pay directly to the doctor or the hospital for service they provide me. Just simple like that. Of course, this requires some change in healthcare policy by Congress. Although I had money, I could not buy health insurance for my little kid and myself sometimes ago because of the pre-existing condition labeled by the insurance companies. Insurance companies almost killed my kids too (twice) when they were born. You won't feel the pain caused by the insurance companies until someone you love is denied for service by them.