Physician satisfaction: Seeing both sides of the debate

Students of the obvious might consider the topic of physician satisfaction one of mere folly. The “rich doctor” label is an easy one, and the recent Medicare data dump, which revealed hordes of physicians who were doing quite well, thank you, only strengthened it. Yet, when one moves past intuition, into analytical thinking, the contentment of doctors gains importance. Rare is the person who goes from being perfectly healthy to peacefully dead in seconds. Rather, almost all of us will meet and depend on caregivers along the way. The mindset of doctors, therefore, is indeed far from folly. That’s why I’d point you to an interesting online conversation that played out last week. Internist and writer Daniela Drake sparked the debate with this provocative essay on the Daily Beast: Why your doctor hates her job. Drake can write, and she clearly explains why many doctors are miserable. She features the very real issues of excessive paperwork, farcical regulations, eroding public confidence and the recent piling on of the American Board of Internal Medicine. As good writers do, she leads with the most compelling complication of loss of control—the rise in physician suicide. The essay went viral and in so doing brought out two major physician voices. Indiana University pediatrician and health policy researcher Dr. Aaron Carroll took issue with the idea that being a doctor was miserable. Carroll argues that being a doctor is still a good gig. He’s an evidence guy and so he...
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs