Posted by alohashirt on September 9, 2005, at 22:42:05
In reply to Re: Who thinks pdocs are a waste of space??, posted by rvanson on September 9, 2005, at 16:37:18
My best friend is a pdoc. It's a hard, stressful job and they have to endure the other 90% of physicians thinking that they are not "real doctors." He works twice as hard as me for about the same compensation, maybe less. In the US the health insurance companies intrude on treatment decisions and malpractice insurance makes it financially a very risky career. In the UK the NHS is a frustrating experience and not everyone gets great quality of care.
Its really only a good career choice for someone who genuinely wants to help people. I've overheard my pdoc advocating one behalf of ADHD children to ensure that they are not excluded from school. Most kids with ADHD get significant symptom improvement from medication. I know that he is changing lives for the better, in some cases helping C students beome A students and helping potential dropouts stay in school. My parents left school at 14. I know this is a huge deal. Sure he is impatient, clinical, officious, skeptical of alternative remedies and can appear smug.
I think it is very human to begin by lovingv our pdocs, move quickly to hating them, and if we hang around for long enough see them clearly in th end.
poster:alohashirt
thread:551385
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050909/msgs/553010.html