boldsailor52 said:You’re claiming a transit driver earns more than a specialist. Exactly how much are we talking about here? I'm not suggesting they should be paid identically—of course not—but let's avoid sweeping generalizations. A specialist handling the occasional on-call shift can live quite comfortably enough.
I am not making sweeping statements... I have spent my entire life watching someone pull on-call shifts every other day, trying to figure out what "living comfortably" actually looks like for them. This isn't even about the paycheck—it's about the lifestyle. In my town—a small community, really—they are on call almost constantly. And as I said, it's not about the salary; it's about the toll this takes on people. No one truly knows what they go through. No, you don't know—regardless of how much people complain about a misdiagnosis or whatever else gets written in a chart. These professionals sacrifice their families just to be present at work; their kids grow up seeing them more often than not. I know this from personal experience—my mother was at the hospital for 24 hours straight during the war, and she still is today. She has worked twice as hard as any "normal" person her whole life, so please, don't lecture me on whether they can afford a decent life.
At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I am speaking from experience, and I find myself disagreeing with most of what you've written. But as I mentioned before, there are certainly fools among us, much like the types you are describing.
Studying medicine—it becomes a routine, you see it with your own eyes, especially in major hubs like New York or Chicago... places where the patient volume is relentless. It’s actually happening right now with my generation of students; so many of them are admitting that this isn't for them, that they don't want to spend their entire lives doing this.
* It’s all well and good to understand what it's like working with people, but honestly, after everything you have to endure just to earn the title of doctor, only to have people treat you poorly? It’s hardly surprising when some of them start acting like they're playing God. I'd venture to say those are the doctors who didn't actually choose this path—it was forced upon them. It’s tragic how many people enroll in medical school for the wrong reasons, and frankly, they turn into exactly the kind of physicians you're all complaining about.
Here is an example of people who just love to cause trouble.
Back when I was at the ER in New York, waiting to get a cast put on... there’s this guy, totally wound up, starts yelling, "What is this? What kind of system is this? I've been waiting here for eight hours!" blah blah blah... He starts shouting at the nurse. Look, I get it—it’s tough, and I had been waiting five hours myself—but it isn't their fault that the healthcare system is a total mess. They shouldn't be allowed to vent their frustrations on the staff, just as much as the staff shouldn't take it out on them.
I don't know what else to say; everything being said in this thread is true. But at the end of the day, nobody can actually do anything to fix the systemic issues within the healthcare system—and if they could, the doctors themselves would likely be better people too.
I completely agree with everything you said. They always find something to complain about—the patients themselves included. Like I mentioned before, there’s absolutely no excuse for acting like a jerk. It feels like in the beginning, everything is roses, but eventually, it all just settles into a mindless routine. That’s probably why there are so few truly good doctors left—the sincere ones who actually go out of their way to help. At the end of the day, you have to listen to all these problems, then head home, and still worry about your own family. I get what you're getting at; there really are people out there who deserve to have their medical licenses revoked. Definitely. But patients also need to realize they aren't the only ones dealing with issues—the person treating them has their own struggles, too. Obviously, that shouldn't affect the quality of care, but we're human—damn it—and it's just human nature that when you're stressed, sick, or dealing with whatever else, you don't exactly have much left to give to others (which is usually how it goes). I'm reminded of a quote from an editor at a prominent medical journal: "I'm healthier now than I ever was before," right before he retired.
Oh, right... my mistake... they're basically infallible, aren't they? Completely immune to everything—absolute superheroes!
Look, I'm not just throwing words around for the hell of it. I read a lot, I see plenty, and I hear enough to know what's going on. Like I said before, the statistical likelihood of a doctor losing their life is significantly higher than that of some "average Joe."
From what I’ve seen, they all seem wonderful and full of life at the start... but eventually, even they hit a wall. You guys are saying it yourselves—one of the biggest issues is actually the people. Nowadays, there’s this lack of respect for doctors; everyone just sits around waiting for them to slip up so they can sue them or make their lives miserable.
It isn’t easy for them. Everyone expects them to be superhuman, to have a cure for everything—but that's just not how reality works. And then you hear the inevitable follow-up: "Well, if you don't know everything, why did you even go to medical school?" Not many people truly grasp what they're signing up for when they enroll in university. They don't consider that this will be their entire life, and they'll be expected to perform at their absolute peak every single day. Unfortunately, we lack any real way to filter who should or shouldn't pursue this path. The admissions process is a joke. I know plenty of people who ranked in the top 16 during entrance exams but can barely manage to pass a single year of classes.
Sometimes, walking into a hospital and seeing how staff behave honestly turns my stomach. It makes me wonder—once I finish my degree, am I going to end up being that kind of person?
When it comes to this friction between patients and doctors, there are so many systemic failures at play, starting with the state of the healthcare system itself. Doctors are undeniably underpaid. Let’s be real—nobody wants to work for nothing. In some places, a city bus driver makes more than a specialist. So, when you see burned-out professionals, that's why. Now, before anyone says they have an excuse to treat patients like garbage because of the pay—they don't. There is absolutely no justification for that behavior.
But you also tend to forget that they are just human beings. They deal with their own struggles, too. Almost every physician has something they vent about—which is why so many fall into the traps of alcoholism or substance abuse. I’m asking you to please try to understand that being in a doctor's shoes is far from easy.