I had shared this with some closer friends here in a group PM but felt it was important enough to post here in public for all... If you use the numbers and properly add them up then you will find that 1/3 of all PCP state that if they had a "do-over" they would go into another higher paid, more well respected specialty and because of those two main reasons, and that another 1/3 would not go into medicine at all if granted the same do-over. So:
Clearly 2/3's of all PCP's across the three main specialties would if given Monday Morning Quarter Back free choice would never have been and presently regret going into primary care because of all the hastle combined with the long hours and low pay and low professional respect and satisfaction. That is just so sad that these SOB's have been allowed to drain the life blood and good out of such a wonderful, needed and noble profession.
http://www.merritthawkins.com/pdf/MHA2006SurveyofPrimaryCarePhysicians.pdfWe were also talking about how many of us are now talking our own intelligent kids out of careers in medicine. It used to be just the opposite, parent doctor helped child become doctor and with it I would bet some serious generational knowledge got passed along, ala old medicine man or long term apprenticeship type situation... I mean just imagine my daughter hanging out at the office and even playing assistant on minor procedures, reading charts and discussing them with her mom, the amount of early learning that ya just can't get in a quick four year stint at med school. And now it is all going to be missing, all that generation to generation passed on knowledge because none of us feel confident in there being any meaningful reforms that actually are good for the average hard working PCP. What a shame and a loss for our entire nation. It is something that would take decades to recover from... really. What a pity.
So download the PDF, copy it, attach it and share it with every media outlet, newspaper, TV or radio station you can. This is a crime and the criminals need to be held accountable. Read 'em a weep folks, read 'em and weep...
Paul
