我一开始不太习惯,总是忍不住要问一下其他的东西,然后汇报CASE的时候,带教医生就会微笑地看着我说,focus, focus,我不好意思地把病史一缩再缩,浓缩成几句话。当我最后能够把所有的病史变成一句长长的带着定语,状语,表语的陈述句,我的带教医生终于鼓掌说,that's what i need!
在急诊室虽然才上了一个星期的班,却看到了美国社会的另一面。如果不是做住院医生,也许生活圈子狭窄的我永远也看不到这些。眼睛被丈夫殴打致瞎的家庭妇女,吸毒后行暴的年轻人,被前男友入室强奸的女孩子。我学到很重要的一点,是不要judge,不要让自己的好恶是非影响到治疗。我的带教医生是一个五十多岁的伯伯,慈祥得很,今天一个监狱女犯来做妇科检查,我差点没熏过去,老伯伯却仔仔细细问她的病史,有没有过孩子,是否被暴力侵犯过之类的问题,那个女犯吵着要喝咖啡,吃饼干,老伯伯就去休息室里给她倒了咖啡,拿了饼干。然后继续检查。我们结束问诊以后,老伯伯握着女犯的手说,你去教堂吗?女犯说我很久没去了,因为我不敢去,怕上帝惩罚我。老伯伯拍拍她的肩膀和蔼地说,you know, church is for sinners, not for saints.
老伯伯拍拍她的肩膀和蔼地说,you know, church is for sinners, not for saints.
I d't know why your story make me tear every time.
I guess everyone is moved. or, it is me who is vulnerable at critical times. I am preparing for the usmle.
It is a luxury to read your blog. Though I felt guilty sometimes when I had binged on your stories for a long time, I know it is time spent wisely. It is kind of spiritual benefit.
Thank you.
May God bless you.
Luohua, It is unbelievable that ER physicians in your hospital haven't take vacation over yrs. Those are called workaholic. As a physician, you set up your schedules and decide how much you want to work. Despite of the headaches from managed care companies and pay cuts from medicare, physicians still have a plenty of autonomies. You decide if you want to work part-time or full time, regular hrs or after hrs, inpt or outpts, etc. You have absolute job securities, you get letters from recruiters daily with lucrative offers even if you are not looking for a job. etc. I don't agree that physicians will be comparable with policemen and teaches one day. Society can't afford to have poor doctors-from Mark Twin.
I think it is hopeful that you will be able to afford a luxury car for your beloved father as a gift in the near future if you moonlight a little bit when you get to 2nd yr.
Your assessments probably are right in regarding to most physicians’ meager incomes at current time. However, there are few things in your analysis I’d disagree with you respectfully so that I’d like to bring them to discuss.
First of all, what have made a physician income to stagnate for recent years ? I think, the major culprit is not MEDICARE system rather HMO. In prevailing arrangement HMOs are the middle men who constantly squeeze physicians for their own profits; they run system as business enterprises and seek profits at each and every available opportunity. Having said that I mean HMOs would take care of their stock’s PE ratio, gross margin, net profit margin, MPQ, TTM … the same way as GE or IBM does. In other words, HMOs beget every effort to make their stocks to be attractive to investors. It is HMOs’ CEO Job to ensure stock prices to be up and to convince financial analysts on the conference calls its Quarterly Earning will be on track. There is no free lunch for the growth. As the results physicians become the “expendable” item on the cost cutting list. So who are the winners ? corporate executives who have the stock options plus performance bonus which together could make the Queen of England to be jealous and Wall Street investment bankers are certainly on the short list.. Unfortunately, the losers are doctors and patients, in so many cases the doctors could not order the best treatments for their patients because they know they can not win the fights when coming to deal with HMOs. The fact is that HMOs always have the upper hands because for physician to survive and make a living they have to have patient source which are controlled by HMOs. For instance, the contracts doctors’ signed with HMOs expire every one or two years. In these contracts HMOs can put the restriction such as HMOs can de-list doctors from network as a HMO thinks to be necessary. For example, if a doctor treat at their patients “too expensively. Anther headache that physicians’ can not avoid is the ever-growing insurance premium. This is America, one can get rich by having litigation against someone, doctors can be the easy targets. By protect themselves doctors have to thin the wallet to buy those expensive insurance policies.
Second, it is my belief that physicians may not become the same level occupation as policeman or teacher. The reason is that physicians are professionals who are ready entrepreneurs working for themselves to the large extents. They may also have the option to establish a clinic with initial capital investment and hire other doctors and nurses to work for them. On the other hand It would be more difficulty for policemen or teachers to do same thing as Doctors do.
Third, nobility and prestige of being a physician are these soft, yet season-prove,values that rarely other professions may match, plus with some conditions being made doctors may not have to worry about the possible layoff most of American do. Therefore, I think Physicians would still hold the top notch spot on most admired careers for years to come.
In short, right now the journey, costs, and pay-off to become a doctor and stay here as one would not be for the faint hearts, that is for sure. But I think that the tide may turn other direction in near future as patients and doctors are being pushed too far in current situation.
I wrote my comments with limited time and information on the top of my head during the lunch. Certainly, I could be wrong for my points. In that case, thanks for your tolerance in advance.
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LHPL, I read your article for the first time yesterday. Today, I read about your holiday in Shanghai...really good stuff and bring back a lot of memories. I like the way you keep your writing low key and relaxed, and you maintain your innocence and conscience. I left a message on one of our old articles. Not that it's important but just wonder whether you read or are able to read the messages left on the old articles.
在美国社会里,医生是一个传统的好职业,社会地位又高,金钱收入也不错。这种名利双收的情形是由美国医生的职业特点所决定的。一方面医生作为DOCTOR,一种知识性职业性都很强的工作,自然受到病人的尊重。另一方面,传统上美国的医生其实都是小业主,这种SMALL BUSINESS OWNER的身份决定了医生的收入比较可观。
最近几年因为新技术的发展使得一些专科医生的收入得到不少提高,这就给人们留下了医生收入增加的假象。实际上专科医生是少数。占美国医生中大多数的PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN的收入几乎没有增加,甚至降低了。专科医生收入的增加可以说间接上是以PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS 收入相对降低而换取的。即使收入持平,随着医学的发展,医生同样的收入付出的单位劳动却要多很多。
I’d concur with you for your tendency of not rushing to the judgment for those less fortunate people in ER. You may have demonstrated a kind heart which not only give medical attentions but also seed the hope and care to these who need them most.