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I agree with the bold. I do think that many medical colleges are aware of the statistics on women doctors and just Millenials and younger persons interested in medicine as a career. They are not as interested in being workhorses as older generations.
Some older people don't view this positively but I'm middle of the road (age 40) and I think that the bold above is realistic and is what medical colleges are trying to do today. Reality is that women do have children and a good mother actually does want to spend time with her children and care for them. They also want a career or they wouldn't have gone through the YEARS of education to become a physician.
It is better to train more people and provide a more flexible schedule to all physicians. This will benefit both men and women doctors in the future IMO.
I'll admit that at 40 my kids don't need me at home much today but I had kids in my 20s (one at almost 30). However, at this point in my life, I also don't want to work so hard. I feel myself getting burned out and I feel that I would rather spend most of my day enjoying myself versus working all day (I work about 40-55 hours a week usually, which is nothing compared to a lot of other people). My oldest will be going off to college next year and my youngest is entering the "tween" phase and as a mother I feel that tweens and teens need more of a parental presence than younger children do, so I'm making plans on decreasing the amount of time I'm at work as well, either going into virtual SCM or changing my career entirely and entering a new one specifically to be a PT worker. I also want to spend more time with my spouse and have us get to know each other better now that we are in the last haul with our kids. We are looking forward to traveling together and doing things in our 40s-50s together without the kids and want to have the freedom to be able to do that on our schedule and not bound by work hours.
Times are just changing and younger generations just don't want to work ourselves to death like older people liked to do. Life to many of us is not centered on money/materialism, it is still there but there is wiggle room.
I see the other side about working less and being with family more. But I think you only see half of my side. We take 6 weeks off. We used to take as much time as we wanted when we were getting paid by the case, but the mandatory minimum was 6 weeks. In other words, you were forced to take at least 6 weeks off, because it was felt at least that much was needed in this high stress, high work hour profession, in order to recharge. Now that we are on salary, the more vacation, the better, but the corporation we sold to, liked the 6 week number, so they kept us at that.
Now, I believe on spending a lot of money on experiences, rather that material goods. One day, those material goods may be gone, but memories last forever. Working as much as I do, allows me to take my family of 5, on some really memorable trips that someone who works less might not be able to afford. One day, when I am old, those memories will be priceless. And more importantly, they are memories that my kids will have forever. So sure, I may miss a parent teacher night here, or a soccer game there, but I will always have dinner with the family on the Eiffel Tower, Kite sailing lessons with the kids on St Bart’s, Annual ski trips in Aspen and Vail, as well as other local experiences like taking the kids backstage to meet their favorite musicians, sitting on the 50 years line at NFL games, etc, etc, etc.
And I’m not denigrating the memories derived from every day life. Those are great. I’m just saying that in the “memories department” I think I am making up for it. Plus, with the extra hours, the other parent doesn’t have to work, so at least you dont have to depend on daycare to raise your kids.
Last edited by AnesthesiaMD; 09-19-2019 at 08:47 AM..
You must be young. As you get older, you will be willing to take less money to have more time off.
Interestingly, my daughter told me that on her anesthesia rotation, many of the residents want to go into pain management, as they perceive that anesthesia will be taken over by CRNAs. They are nuts- there are way too many pain docs now and anesthesia would be a better life.
I just turned 50. Is that young?
When I was choosing a residency in the mid 1990s, they were saying that anesthesia will be taken over by CRNAs. There was a severe shortage of anesthesiologists at the time. There is a severe shortage of anesthesiologists now. In over 20 years, nothing has changed.
Look at the medical work force stats- its available online.
Women docs have an average career life 16 years shorter than male counterparts.
This is contributing to the physician shortage. Training more female docs (again-my daughter is in med school) will not help the problem.
I am not saying that women should be prevented from entering med school at all- that would be crazy. We simply have to train more docs to account for the statistical reality of women leaving the work force earlier. Women in med school, ironically, perform better on boards exams on the average and subsequently have lower malpractice suits than their male counterparts.
OK. The average male doctor (IME) doesn't retire at 56. In fact, the ones I know in their 50s are putting kids through college and have no thoughts of retiring. Then you have to work a few more years to build up your savings again (ask me about it). My husband's oncologist is probably close to 70. So I'm having a hard time thinking the average woman doctor leaves the profession at 40.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 09-19-2019 at 08:28 AM..
On the bold - you'd be shocked at how much all those "extras" they ask about on surveys cost. I did hospital/medical center supply chain management for a while and it was amazing how much they spent on coffee and breakfast/lunch buffets and entertainment, etc. for patients. Total waste of money that for some places total millions of dollars.
Overhead is baked into the cost of all businesses, including healthcare.
By law, Medicare reimburses hospitals at a weighted average of cost in the area, which includes overhead.
One is not likely to find comparable levels of "service" outside the US.
We pay through the nose for " complimentary" valet parking.
In very competitive US healthcare markets, the bells and whistles are used to differentiate one hospital from another.
As you know, hospitals ask patients to complete Patient Experience Surveys, post discharge. As I understand it, the surveys focus on things patients say are important to them. Food and smiles get a lot of attention.
I complete the Post Op surveys on my husband's behalf. It reads like a survey from a resort.
Local hospital wants to know if patient tried the local Dine Around option where patients order off the menu and the restaurant delivers.
Was the room clean and in working order?
Was WIFI available?
Did you use the Pay per View facility?
Was the availability of personal care ( hair care, massage) services communicated?
There are reasons why healthcare in the US costs more than most places.
Actually, cleanliness and having the equipment in working order is not "fluff". Some of this other stuff too is important to some patients.
My female OB/ Gyn ( late 50's) sold her massive sole practitioner practice to a group and is now one of many on staff. She previously spent her career on call 24/7 and also taught. She has never been happier and wishes she had joined a group practice, decades ago. The practice allows her to do what she loves and does best, high risk pregnancies/ deliveries and teaching.
After 30 years, she finally has a life and only works 50-60 hours a week.
When I was choosing a residency in the mid 1990s, they were saying that anesthesia will be taken over by CRNAs. There was a severe shortage of anesthesiologists at the time. There is a severe shortage of anesthesiologists now. In over 20 years, nothing has changed.
Younger than me.
You will start to prefer time off more than money. I have been blessed with a very high income medical job, thus I have enough saved I'm only working for the health insurance.
You are correct about trips vs toys. Although I must say I really, really like my farm and my woodie cars. A farm is a great diversion for me, as I love working on it. We hike in the national parks for entertainment- not into skiing.
We stopped going overseas several years ago, as there is so much to see in America. However, I am thinking about getting a chateau in France or Tuscany for the clan to go to for periodic vacations. They are really a lot more reasonable than you would think and you can stay for a few months at a time.
You will start to prefer time off more than money. I have been blessed with a very high income medical job, thus I have enough saved I'm only working for the health insurance.
You are correct about trips vs toys. Although I must say I really, really like my farm and my woodie cars. A farm is a great diversion for me, as I love working on it. We hike in the national parks for entertainment- not into skiing.
We stopped going overseas several years ago, as there is so much to see in America. However, I am thinking about getting a chateau in France or Tuscany for the clan to go to for periodic vacations. They are really a lot more reasonable than you would think and you can stay for a few months at a time.
I bought a lot of real estate, in the early years when I first started making money. We lived pretty lean at the time as a result, but it paid off. Plus the sale of the company added a nice chunk of change to the bank account. I could comfortably retire now if I needed to, but I don't see the point because I still like working, and a paycheck is nice, no matter how much you have saved.
Doctors should be working less than they do.
One of the biggest causes of medical malpractice is overworked and under-rested doctors.
Medical mistakes are also one of the leading causes of death in the United States today.
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