Reply #7: Many are, some are not, and a somewhat biased answered ...

[slipslidingaway]

as my daughter is in her first year of residency, so I'm somewhat familiar with the debt incurred and hours it takes ... not to mention what my husband and I provide in money and time when we can.

They usually rotate between a few different hospitals during school and residency, by far the most favored by her is the VA hospital when they are "allowed" to spend what time they need with the patients. In a for profit system they are rushed along and possibly perform "unneeded tests" for fear the facility could be sued for millions if there was a small chance the test could have picked up something that could have prevented an unfortunate outcome. They learn this in their first year of med school, for example 9 out 10 people on a team agree the test is not needed, but it is performed 'just in case.'

The system is a problem which is just perpetuated from early training, and the pharma companies are right there from the very beginning with talks and small gifts, a cute lunch box and water bottle etc.

So which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Or are some habits a product of our for profit HC system.

My husband's bone marrow transplant doc is worth every penny she is paid and much more.

I've had some docs where I felt they just rush from room to room, but possibly many of them are a product of our For Profit system and the debts they owe plus insurance and overhead. Most of them did not start out with the goal of "making money" if that was the ultimate the goal they probably would have picked a career on Wall Street.

And that brings up another area for discussion. Why are docs the subject of so much scorn, when the people who make million dollar bonuses rarely the subject of "are they worth the money they make."