I agree with his point, the only thing I would add to my post is you can get in trouble for giving doctors too much respect. While I also respect the job they do, and the work the put in to become doctors, they are also not perfect human beings. Soceity can can get into trouble not questioning doctors just because they are doctors, just like you can get into trouble not questioning elected officials. That is the real point I was trying to make. But you are right, I am in an argumentative mood today, I don't know why.
i understand that's the point you're trying to make...but when you've seen countless posts of people saying doctors are merely human and prone to mistake like the rest of us, that doesn't make a lot of sense in context. now i'm being argumentative.
MadMax, have you ever taken classes at one of the top medical schools in the country? My peers are premed and medical school students. They are kids that are simply hypercompetitive and want to have a good standard of living. There are certainly empathetic people in the lot... but I'll tell you how many of them are heroes when I get postcards from them when they join doctors w/o borders... etc. If you want your kids to emulate someone, tell them about Mother Teresa, or about firemen or policemen... not about a bunch of golf players that make hundreds of thousands of dollars. Give me a friggin' break. ps, the line about drug use is laughable. There are more stoned people in the building 150 meters below me (residents) than in the rest of the state of Utah...
BTW, I totally agree with Bigtexx's point that Doctor's aren't machines. I have heard people say that before, and I think that is just pure jealousy. These people not only have to memorize the entire body, they have to be chemist and mathematcians. They have to demonstrate an array of skills, not everyone on this earth can easily make a perfect incision through human skin, that is a true talent.
i've seen the work of good doctors, Achebe..I've seen it save the lives of family members...I don't give a damn how much money they make or if they play golf. I don't begrudge anyone seeking a good standard of living. you're calling them glorified mechanics...far less from heroes. my point is that they certainly deserve my acclaim for their work then you're willing to credit them with. i'm not willing to put in the years of school they were...i'm not willing to toil with life and death consequences for my screwups. so i'm not willing to criticize the profession and those who aspire to it.
Just, to lighten things up a little, I saw Malice Saturday again, now there's a movie that didn't put the medical proffession in such a great light. Good movie though, one of the best plot twists I have ever seen.
But Max, I might be willing to put in that time and effort. You want to guess why? Sure I care about people. You care about people too. I'd really like to think that I'll apply for medschool next fall because I am the most caring person on the planet. In all actuality, it's b/c of the AWD XC70. I don't begrudge people for keeping their families comfortable (of course). I adore the fact that there are people out there that are willing to suffer through hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans so that they can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year... and save lives in the meantime. I especially like the people that think about people before they think about their checks (one of my closest friends). But with the paycheck, rest assured, the veil of innocence is smudged a bit. If you're taking the check home, somebody should be auditing your hours... in any business. If you're making egregious mistakes, you should pay a cost.
ABSOLUTELY!! if you make mistakes, you should be held accountable. i'm not saying that doctors shouldn't be held accountable...i'm just not ready to villify an industry. my industry is much easier to villify in my opinion...and much more justification for doing so. i've helped people out...but i earn a healthy living, too. and i've certainly never saved a life in the process. so if you feel that way about doctors, i can't imagine how low you'd put me on the social structure.
ROTFLMAO Well I don't despise the medical industry, I just like to maliciously deconstruct those things that I'm interested in. That way I'm at least a devil's advocate in my own ear. Lately I've been telling myself that genetics is really boring... and that the medical industry is preparing to collapse... so I strongly lean towards chemical ecology. When I learn enough about chemical ecology (hopefully I can start working in a plant lab starting this summer), I'll try to break that field down too. That way when I helicopter-apply to a bazillion different types of departments next fall, I'll be a bit more informed about what I want to do this second time that I grow up (simply put, I don't want to have another one of these... "my career (presently software) is boring" reactions).
How's this for timely? http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030219/hl_nm/medical_residents_dc_1
The Committee on Interns and Residents, a union that represents 12,000 residents in the United States, said the move "is going in the right direction, but the weakness is enforceability," according to executive director Mark Levy. Another flaw are loopholes that allow residents to extend, for example, the 24-hour shift limit by six additional hours, Levy said. Exactly how will they enforce this?
My first thought is it will be enforced by fear of whistle-blowing. Losing your accredidation is not attractive.
*, If your school wants to be accredited, I guess the feeling is that they'll abide by the rules. I don't really see how any University would be able to do this without drastically increasing enrollment. Schools parasitize residents. They have to, to stay afloat.
btw, if this becomes a nationwide standard, I'm dropping out of all of my classes and studying for the MCAT 24/7.
