Hitler on Match Day
Every year on Match Day during the month of March, thousands of medical students find out where they are going to be enslaved performing their residencies in US hospitals. In this clip, I present to you Hitler finding out his match results. (I made this video with the help of Windows Live Move Maker using a scene from the movie, Downfall).
Doctor Nurse (NOCTOR) Shopping at Costco
"Oh no she didn't!"
Just when you think you have seen it all folks. Mad props to “DREDAY” over on the SDN forums for capturing this pic at a recent trip to the local Costco (who verified that this was indeed a doctor nurse from the labeling on the white coat). They say a picture says a thousand words. I think it says a million. Still wondering why I finally had enough? The bastardization of American healthcare marches on.
Goodbye Medicine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YInN9mc9vXA
One for the Emergency Medicine Docs
Nothing like a good Xtranormal video to portray a day in the life of an ER doc. So funny because it is so damn true! The original version that garnered over 1 million views was pulled down but here is an equally entertaining remix. Enjoy!
Scariest Graph Ever
“Until recently, I thought that there would never again be an opportunity to be involved with an industry as socially destructive and morally bankrupt as the subprime mortgage industry. I was wrong. The for-profit education industry has proven equal to the task.” -Steve Eisman (renowned hedge fund manager who called the housing market collapse)
I have been preaching for almost two years now how the student loan crisis is shaping up to be one of the most catastrophic financial disasters to lay assault on this country. And it is. Education in America has been hijacked by a cartel of banking thugs and administrative wolves cloaked in sheepskin all in cahoots with the US govt. Though the media has SLOWLY been picking up on this issue, our govt continues to sleep behind the wheel (surprising?). I have done quite a bit of research on this very topic and have quite frankly been blown away by all the disgusting corruption and greed that goes on behind the curtain. Everything from former for profit college lobbyists now working at the Dept of Education to recruiters drumming up warm bodies at homeless shelters to the University of Phoenix’s impressive 4% graduation rate for online students is enough to make my head spin in utter disbelief.
Today in France the youth are protesting in droves after the govt proposed raising the retirement age from 60 to 62. I can only imagine how they would react to our student loan situation! We should be in the streets going ApeSh!t over this. Check out the graph above and see for yourself how this bubble is inflating beyond belief. It makes the recent housing bubble seem like a mere blip! Scary graph indeed!!!
YAY! 4 Year Family Medicine Residency
Gunner Jumps for Joy at Thought of 4 Year Family Practice Residency
I thought this was a joke but then I realized that April Fool’s Day was over 2 months ago!
Wanting Out
I was honored to have been invited to write a guest post over on EarlyRetirementExtreme where I talked more about my desires of “Wanting Out” of Medicine. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you check out Jacob’s blog and read more about his story of how he was able to retire at the age of 30. It is also a great place to read comments from others who share a similar philosophy on living. For my regular viewers here, I will repost my piece below:
“When I was first asked by Jacob to write a guest post, I was excited yet also a bit overwhelmed as to how to approach the task. After some thought, I’ve decided to focus more on what led me to where I am now rather than vent on and on about what is wrong with our broken American health care system. Anyhow, one blog entry would simply not be enough to do that topic any justice. I figured if anyone was interested in hearing about the crap I put up with on a daily basis they could always read more over on my blog, medicinesux.
With that said, to deny that any of these outside forces did not play a role in my growing disenchantment would be naive. Yet at the same time, a growing realization that built up from within me collided head on with what was happening to me on the outside. It is these internal feelings and how I came to learn of them that I would like to write more about here.
It is hard to say whether I would’ve found out about the concept of voluntary simplicity if it weren’t for the fact that my career in medicine came to tax my soul to no end. I’ve always compared my journey in medicine up until now to that of a marriage gone terribly wrong. So bad in fact, that I am about to file for a divorce. I thought I had found a diamond, but instead I picked up a rock. I had the best of intentions going in and in the beginning everything was going quite well, but with the passage of time things started to slowly come apart. For as long as I can remember, I always vowed to myself that I would choose a career where I could help people and make a difference in the lives of others. I also had a knack for science and did all the prerequisite health care volunteer work from working in a nursing home to joining the university EMS squad. So, I was quite excited to apply to med school. The first two years of med school where one learns the meat and potatoes of medicine in the classroom were interesting (the honeymoon phase). I always loved learning new things especially when it involved the human body. However, upon entering the clinical rotations in third year, I began to get a taste of the ugly side of medicine. And in residency I was getting fed it with a shovel. And as an attending, it is the same BS but now you bear all the responsibility when the shit hits the fan. (Here is where I would start going on an explosive tirade but I will refrain.) I began to realize that 30 more years in medicine was simply not going to happen. I needed an out, but how to go about it???
For starters, I started my blog about halfway through my residency. It was a way for me to get out my frustrations and stay sane. After working 12 or gasp…24-30 hr shifts at the hospital, I would also come home and spend my evenings online diligently seeking out more information to plan my escape from medicine. It is around this time that I learned the concept of “Early retirement” for the first time. It was like a lightening bolt went off in my head. I remember thinking to myself that this was it! This was my answer to finding my freedom. Hearing of stories of how others were able to do this on early retirement forums and blogs such as Jacob’s opened my eyes like never before. Only if I had known about this pathway a decade earlier, I could’ve spared myself so much grief! Yet I don’t think I would’ve ever found it if it wasn’t for the fork that I took in the woods when I decided to go to med school.
I had always been a frugal person but like everyone else I had my splurges. I knew in order to make this early retirement thing work out, I had to put the plan in ultra drive. I immediately called up the building management the following week to tell them that I would not be renewing my lease which was soon to be up. Two months later, I moved two blocks over to a tiny walk up studio which effectively cut my rent in half for the remaining two years of my residency. I hired some guy with a van on craigslist to move my belongings for 150 bucks. Well worth it since I had no car living in the city (I walked to the hospital) and didn’t have much time either since I was a busy resident. After moving in, I felt so much “lighter” living in a smaller place which completely fit my needs. After seeing how quickly I could save money, even given my meager resident salary, I became hooked. Every dollar saved meant I was that much closer to getting out for good. I went as far as sitting in my underwear when it was 90F degrees out so I didn’t have to turn on the A/C! Yes, I wanted out that bad. LOL
So here I am, about nine months out from finishing residency. The days are as painful as ever and I am exceedingly close to pulling the plug for good. The fancy car, McMansion, and latest toys and gadgets no longer mean anything to me like they once did. Money is like a drug. If you let it consume you, it can really take over your life. Sacrificing my time and freedom to become enslaved to a career that has sucked me dry is simply not worth it. I have found an inner peace that I would never have achieved if I were somehow able to remain in medicine. I believe that knowing when you have enough and appreciating what you have without killing yourself for it is the key to finding this serenity.
Some people outside of medicine may think I am insane for walking away at this point. My response is F them. Until one walks a day in my shoes they cannot really judge. Interestingly, many fellow physicians would leave in a heartbeat but have bogged themselves down with mortgages and other debts and are trapped. The golden handcuffs of being a doctor can be a terrible thing. I’d rather have my hand amputated than have those things put on me. I wish I had the tolerance to stay longer but I simply don’t have it in me much longer. I am long past my expiration date as it is. During this whole process, I learned that I need to live for myself first. I really don’t give a damn anymore what society esteems, from how much money we make to what jobs we hold. I just want to be free.”
A Nurse May Soon Be Your Doctor
“28 states are considering expanding the authority of nurse practitioners”
“And if they hold a doctorate, they want to be called “Doctor.”
“Medicare, which sets the pace for payments by private insurance, pays nurse practitioners 85 percent of what it pays doctors”
“The health care overhaul law gave nurse midwives, a type of advanced practice nurse, a Medicare raise to 100 percent of what obstetrician-gynecologists make — and that may be just the beginning.”
“The American Nurses Association hopes the 100 percent Medicare parity for nurse midwives will be extended to other nurses with advanced degrees.”
“I don’t think patients are ever confused. People are not stupid,” said Linda Roemer, a nurse practitioner in Sedona, Ariz., who uses “Dr. Roemer” as part of her e-mail address. ”
And my response to all this: “Why even bother going to medical school anymore?”
60 HR Work Weeks Coming?
As if working 80 hrs a week was even remotely sane to begin with. If this ever comes to fruition, it will be way beyond overdue.
Read the comments section from the Washington Post article below for some interesting perspectives. Who would’ve thought that the lay public would rather not be treated by a resident who has been up all night? Check out the good clashing going on between the old timer physicians and the younger crop of docs who are viewed as “lacking commitment”. One of these geezers even threatened to recommend his hospital stop taking residents if this were to go through
One of the major complaints being voiced is that the hours of clinical training will no longer be sufficient. Though I believe this has some merit, I also see sour grapes from those who want to continue the hazing process and also from admin who will be losing their cheap slave labor. Too bad. I’ve worked numerous 30 hr shifts myself as a resident and I’d rather not see anyone else coming up behind me forced to endure the same just because I suffered. This wildly abusive system needs to be taken out of service once and for all. So what to do to make up for these lost hours? I would chop off the fourth year of med school (which would also save a whole year of egregious tuition costs on a fairly useless year) and transform it into a mandated internship for EVERYONE no matter what specialty they eventually pursue. This infusion of 20K extra bodies would also help cover the increased hours that would need to be covered. This internship would be done at the hospitals your med school is affiliated with so there would be no applying. During this internship you would than apply to your respective residencies. Of course, med schools and hospitals would pitch a fit over this proposal since they would be out our student loan money.
Introducing the “MOPING” Specialties
Many of us have heard of the acronym, ROAD. The saying goes that anyone fortunate enough to have landed a residency in one of these specialties is well on their way to the “road” to happiness. Though each of these fields have their own particular issues, they are known for affording better lifestyles with lower hours and better pay. For those of you not in the know, ROAD stands for:
R- Radiology
O- Opthalmology
A- Anesthesiology
D- Dermatology
May I now introduce to you, MOPING. Those who choose one of these specialties risk finding themselves indeed “moping” in the future. Don’t say now that you haven’t been warned!
M- Medicine (Family) (need to know a lot about everything and get paid crap; “noctors” intruding on the field)
O- Ob/Gyn (wildly erratic hours, malpractice rates that would leave you breathless)
P- Pediatrics (lowest paid specialty; crazy parents)
I- Internal Medicine (sucks so bad no explanation needed, only hope out is doing a second residency….I mean fellowship)
N- Neurosurgery (brutal 7 year residency with brutal hours; essentially sacrificing your life for a higher calling)
G- General Surgery (demanding 5 year long residency, some very malignant personalities to deal with, your mechanic gets paid more to fix your car than the surgeon who removes your appendix)
Medicinesux 