Posts by placidmason12

Once we actually start valuing hard work in this country, everything else will just fall into place.

Don't get all offended with me now—but paying doctors $7.00 by the hour is literally just proof of how much we care about them—or rather, how much the government cares. Seriously, in New York City, getting a basic checkup feels like $13 nothing more than a quick haircut. It takes three years of med school for that! That’s exactly why people resort to under-the-table payments. These folks aren't idiots, and they aren't morons who are going to sacrifice their entire lives for you—they have lives too. They aren't Gods or walking encyclopedias; they're just people, and honestly, pretty overworked ones at that. We actually have a great healthcare system because of how much we invest in people and what we pay for it. In the US, the average doctor count is 220 in Washington, D.C., compared to maybe 150 per 100,000 in the Midwest. Just look at the stats from other countries. If an American pays $600 for healthcare, they aren't going to get the same service as someone in Switzerland paying $3,000 or more. Not to mention, we’re short on doctors. According to the data, we need to hire about 50% more nurses to hit United Nations standards. In Germany, the norm for general practice is 700 people, but our family doctor is stuck with 2,800 patients—it’s a miracle they can do anything right. Mistakes happen in a system like this, and hey, they happen in America too.
Stop being so ungrateful; that's just how the system works. Blame the politicians who couldn't care less about doctors... Honestly, once we fully integrate, you'll be waiting at least 30% longer for an appointment because everyone's going to head abroad. These professionals aren't stupid, and I truly believe they're better people than most of us. But that typical American jealousy and envy? You just can't shake it—instead of being proud, people just bitter. Look at how others handle it.

It’s always "me, me, me"... only my problems matter, only I am important... as long as I'm healthy while everyone else can go to hell...
That doctor isn't just thinking about you—he probably has 30 people like you stuck in his head, but you think you're better than everyone else... just me... me, me, and me... who cares about the doctor...
as long as I'm okay... he's paid for it... let him do his job... the government sucks... doctors don't know anything... just me and my problems...
It honestly makes me sick... but that's just the USA for you.

Until we start respecting doctors, nothing is going to change—and I don't just mean doctors, but everyone!

A buddy of mine is a doctor—man, the grind is brutal, 6 years of school plus a year of residency. Right now he’s deep in his specialty training and pulling $3.50 in salary.
His base pay is $6,800, but he makes most of it working overtime shifts. He’s clocking something like 400 hours a month. On his official paycheck, though, it says he only worked 184 hours—which is what goes toward his Social Security. Between that massive salary and the insane taxes, he barely sees any of it. When he finally gets home, there's no rest, just more studying. He’s getting maybe 6 hours of sleep a day. Family life? Forget about it—he says he just doesn't have the time.

He tells me his quota in the clinic is supposed to be 35 patients, but he ends up seeing 120. They only pay him for those 35, yet he still signs off on all the others and takes full responsibility for them. Nobody ever asks him about following the legal quotas when things are running smoothly, but if he makes one mistake, suddenly everyone’s asking why he was working so hard in the first place.
People complain about the wait times, but I can't do anything to help them. I'm terrified of making a mistake, and then I have to listen to everyone whining about how the healthcare system is totally trashed. And I'm hearing this after working 20 hours straight without even grabbing a sip of water. It sucks that they have to wait, but honestly, I haven't even had time to eat or use the bathroom.
He says his engineer buddies are making like $100k a year while working standard business hours and not having to study half as much. He asked me, "Do you know what it feels like when someone dies right in front of you?" There aren't enough doctors, and there'll be even fewer because the news media loves to crucify them for things out of their control. During his shifts, he barely sleeps, and his schedule is $7.00 hours long. Being an on-call surgeon is $43, and often for that money, he's operating on a dying patient for five hours straight—and he says it's not just about the surgery; you have to look after them afterward, too.

He says people always complain, even though he saves lives every single day...

I believe him—I know him too well!