News: Most Miserable Job: Doctor

TikiMiss

Quote:

How Being a Doctor Became the Most Miserable Profession
Nine of 10 doctors discourage others from joining the profession, and 300 physicians commit suicide every year. When did it get this bad?

By the end of this year, it’s estimated that 300 physicians will commit suicide. While depression amongst physicians is not new—a few years back, it was named the second-most suicidal occupation—the level of sheer unhappiness amongst physicians is on the rise.

Simply put, being a doctor has become a miserable and humiliating undertaking. Indeed, many doctors feel that America has declared war on physicians—and both physicians and patients are the losers.

Not surprisingly, many doctors want out. Medical students opt for high-paying specialties so they can retire as quickly as possible. Physician MBA programs—that promise doctors a way into management—are flourishing. The website known as the Drop-Out-Club—which hooks doctors up with jobs at hedge funds and venture capital firms—has a solid following. In fact, physicians are so bummed out that 9 out of 10 doctors would discourage anyone from entering the profession.
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Unfortunately, things are only getting worse for most doctors, especially those who still accept health insurance. Just processing the insurance forms costs $58 for every patient encounter, according to Dr. Stephen Schimpff, an internist and former CEO of University of Maryland Medical Center who is writing a book about the crisis in primary care. To make ends meet, physicians have had to increase the number of patients they see. The end result is that the average face-to-face clinic visit lasts about 12 minutes.

Neither patients nor doctors are happy about that. What worries many doctors, however, is that the Affordable Care Act has codified this broken system into law. While forcing everyone to buy health insurance, ACA might have mandated a uniform or streamlined claims procedure that would have gone a long way to improving access to care. As Malcolm Gladwell noted, “You don’t train someone for all of those years in [medicine]… and then have them run a claims processing operation for insurance companies.”

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Source: The Daily Beast

Might be useful for people considering what they want to do when they grow up

DayFusion

TayLord

but we need doctors

James Maslow

Thank god I jumped that train 2 years ago.

LoveInStereo

Both of my parents are doctors and always begged me not to do it. My mom's a psychiatrist and almost a dozen students in her small graduating class have killed themselves. It's an emotionally draining career path.

BubbleBath

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Originally posted by TayLord

but we need doctors

There's an app for that.

Just kidding, but we do.

TikiMiss

Quote:

Originally posted by TayLord

but we need doctors

and nurses

but it's an unrewarding job. years and years of grueling schoolwork, only to spend almost 50% of the time on paperwork, and too much salary on malpractice insurance, etc etc

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Originally posted by LoveInStereo

Both of my parents are doctors and always begged me not to do it. My mom's a psychiatrist and almost a dozen students in her small graduating class have killed themselves. It's an emotionally draining career path.

Yeah, I hear that from people all the time

It's sad.

But at the same time, I feel a lot of the most miserable people are also those people who only pursued the job because they saw riches and honor

McFosterXX

Now I'm not sure if I would pursue this..

Ferst

I just applied to Medicine School.

Along with 10 other classmates from my group.

LoKoPaNdA

I actually like the idea of being a doctor. You help people, get paid big money, and have a good reputation. My passion rests in the humanities and I do not enjoy science so....

LoKoPaNdA

Quote:

Originally posted by Ferst

I just applied to Medicine School.

Along with 10 other classmates from my group.

Good luck!

It'll be totally worth it when you spend those vacations in an expensive Caribbean resort

BobBertran1992

OMG if doctors from the US are complaining, the ones here in Spain should drop their job already

With all the reductions and the conditions our administration is applying over public health service, there's no way health workers can have a proper and decent job

Mariah4life

this is so sad. we need to change it

Eeveelution

My dad wants me to be a doctor, but I could never deal with people dying all the time. I can see why people get depressed.

BudBud

well at least they are not dentists - dentists have the highest suicide rates in any profession

Maleficent

Not surprising.

AshleeSimpsonFan

As a medical student I can tell that this is kind of true, sometimes you feel miserable with this profession... For example when you have guards at the hospital and you need to be awake for 36 hours (or more) and yet you have to put up with bad treatment of some people who do not value your effort. You need patience.
But it's also a very rewarding profession and I don't regret anything

MLover

Doctors? Naah my mom gets payed like over 50k she's happy

Mariah4life

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Originally posted by BudBud

well at least they are not dentists - dentists have the highest suicide rates in any profession

Do you know why???

highwayuni

This doesn't surprise me at all tbh. A lot of people who go into medicine choose it for the money, stability, respect and to please their parents (I've heard quite a few doctors saying it was their parents who pushed them into it). They just so happened to be good at biology and chemistry so they ended up pursuing medicine.