Alienated and Miserable

[lonelydoc]

I'm alienated and miserable as a doctor. Please no replies on how great I have it...I don't!

I'm around death and disease all of the time. And the patients who aren't dying nevertheless have endless complaints, and you have to do every test under the sun to make sure it's not serious.

Nobody is happy, despite everything I do. Everybody is fat, old, poor and depressed, and they all want to feel young and rich and beautiful. As if I can deliver that.

The healthcare system is breaking down, with increasing costs, and less and less income for everybody involved. Doctors treat each other like crap, and are superficially nice to patients, but in reality just do whatever it takes to get patients out of the clinic/hospital/ER wherever. Everybody else who works in healthcare...nurses, pharmacists, technicians, clerks, etc.? Miserable and underpaid. And boy, do they enjoy sticking it to us doctors!

Now, it's true I don't have to do manual labor, and I'm middle class comfortable. But my life is one hopeless day after another, with nothing to look forward to but the weekends and the paycheck.

Should I quit medicine or continue? What difference will it make, I'm scarred, a walking shell of a human being.

 

[sothatwasmylife]

Yep I've often thought it must be a really difficult profession...an endless parade of people in different forms of distress all intent on whining down your ear for the duration of their appointment...and I think I'm right in saying the highest suicide rates are amongst your own and similar professions...the means and the motive I guess...
With dwindling resources and increasing recognition of how utterly messed up we all are
it's unlikely things will improve for you.
Maybe if you were in a situation where your efforts were actually appreciated it may be different...but in the mainstream you will only be seen as incompetent as every other GP
You need to think about other directions that's for sure

 

[Tiina63]

Could you use your medical training in a different career, such as medical research where you don't have to deal with patients?

 

[SophiaGrace]

Could you use your medical training in a different career, such as medical research where you don't have to deal with patients?

I like this idea.

Or, you could go into pediatrics. Obstetrics may be good too because it deals with life, not sickness.

 

[Peaches]

Could you use your medical training in a different career, such as medical research where you don't have to deal with patients?

right, or maybe you can find (paid) work in some charity so that at least whatever you do you can see that you are really making a difference in people's lives?
In any case, it sounds like you need a holiday from the hard facts of life, that you have had enough of them lately

 

[SophiaGrace]

Could you use your medical training in a different career, such as medical research where you don't have to deal with patients?

right, or maybe you can find (paid) work in some charity so that at least whatever you do you can see that you are really making a difference in people's lives?
In any case, it sounds like you need a holiday from the hard facts of life, that you have had enough of them lately

Doctors Without Borders

 

[Nicolelt]

Could you teach medicine? If you are unhappy with your career making a change might be the best. I mean you spend most of your day at work.

I bet being a doctor is tough. Those people that are sick, depressed, and complaining could really created a toxic environment emotionally.

 

[SophiaGrace]

Could you teach medicine?

This is a great solution too.

 

[misterpete]

I'm alienated and miserable as a doctor. Please no replies on how great I have it...I don't!

I'm around death and disease all of the time. And the patients who aren't dying nevertheless have endless complaints, and you have to do every test under the sun to make sure it's not serious.

Nobody is happy, despite everything I do. Everybody is fat, old, poor and depressed, and they all want to feel young and rich and beautiful. As if I can deliver that.

The healthcare system is breaking down, with increasing costs, and less and less income for everybody involved. Doctors treat each other like crap, and are superficially nice to patients, but in reality just do whatever it takes to get patients out of the clinic/hospital/ER wherever. Everybody else who works in healthcare...nurses, pharmacists, technicians, clerks, etc.? Miserable and underpaid. And boy, do they enjoy sticking it to us doctors!

Now, it's true I don't have to do manual labor, and I'm middle class comfortable. But my life is one hopeless day after another, with nothing to look forward to but the weekends and the paycheck.

Should I quit medicine or continue? What difference will it make, I'm scarred, a walking shell of a human being.

What are your thoughts on Cannabis lonelydoc? It's becoming a booming industry out in places like Colorado, Oregon, Washington State... some places probably could use someone of your professional background, and I guarantee you'll encounter a lot less gloom and doom

 

[lonelydoc]

I'm touched by your kind words and suggestions everyone. You all have been nicer to me than anybody in the past 13 years of my life.

It's complicated but yes, there are different things I can do. All of them carry their own risk/reward.

By the way I certainly wish everybody here the best of luck of as you go through modern medicine. Hopefully you can land some caring, intelligent physicians who haven't been broken down.

 

[SofiasMami]

Could you use your medical training in a different career, such as medical research where you don't have to deal with patients?

My thoughts exactly. Many professionals, including doctors, have skill sets that can be transferred among different types of jobs within the same profession or slightly different professions.
If you weren't a doctor, what would you be? When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

-Teresa

 

[HappyYogi]

Lonely Doc what an honest post!

My father was a doctor way back when. I guess he was a doctor during the "Golden Years" of medicine.

I can understand your stress. And the thing is everyone is willing to dump on the guy who appears to be "at the top" not realizing how much stress and responsibility doctors have. They just assume you have the good life and thus they dump on you. I hear it on message boards discussing Obamacare...they are so ready to critique you guys.

The people complaining...a lot of it is their fault. It's about them not you. When I go to the doctor I rarely if ever complain. Why? Because I take responsibility for my health. So I go in and go out and that's that. So try to develop a protective professional shield from these people who refuse to help themselves feel better.

Hugs.

 

[stork_error]

Hopefully you can land some caring, intelligent physicians who haven't been broken down.

I blame the govt and healthcare systems, not the dr's. The best Dr I ever had was destroyed by the govt and died in jail. The second best finally gave up his licence after being harassed by the govt in court most of his career. Don't try to think outside the box or use your own logic and common sense or they will nail you to a wall it seems. Anyway, although my Dr now doesn't practise any kind of alternative medicine, he does let me be my own Dr, and I greatly appreciate him for that. He trusts what I tell him because he knows I always have the research to back it up.

The suggestions you got were really great, I really hope you can find something that brings you joy in the future.

Good luck.

 

[lifestream]

Why did you become a doctor, lonelydoc?

 

[LonelySutton]

Should I quit medicine or continue? What difference will it make, I'm scarred, a walking shell of a human being.

I can relate to you. I am a lawyer and the same thing is happening with my profession. Law used to be a noble profession and lawyers would watch out for each other. They put the profession first and trained younger lawyers and did what was necessary to keep the profession elite and profitable. Years of (I believe baby boomer) selfishness have broken the profession. There are no jobs. There are only large firms that are just crass rich people's clubs. If you are rich you get a law degree and appear to be working -- but your not. Rich CEOs pay you for your favor (dad might invest with them) and you appear to be working. But it has nothing to do with Merit or the law.

For those who are actually practicing law the costs of insurance and investigating cases are prohibitive. No one can make any money because people will not pay (they just don't have the money). People can get a lot of this off the internet and often do just as good a job.

Court's don't help. Instead of helping maintain the profession they make insane demands of lawyers -- produce a brief on this -- produce a brief on that -- that your client won't pay for... so you work all the time and get no money. Since the elite lawyers don't actually lawyer or know what they are doing, there is no one to teach lawyers what to do... law professors are just rich kids or liberal elite that couldn't lawyer their way out of a paperbag but they get paid 200K per year to opine on whatever they feel like talking about. If you are an elite lawyer and you mess up everyone will protect you but if you aren't and you start taking away from the "chosen's" bottom line, they will destroy you.

Personally I don't know what to do about it. I can't quit the profession... no one will hire me. Hypothetically the skills are transferable but too often NO one wants an argumentative and smart person working for them. They don't want to argue with you all the time or worry you will sue them because -- you can without paying a lawyer.

People lately would prefer to just hire stupid people because they will do what they want.

But I agree the medical profession is broken because I hate it. I just wish the doctors would get out of my way. My doctor will never order a test and if she does she orders the minimum. What is wrong with me wanting tests every year to make SURE I am ok? (blood tests or other things that won't hurt me) What is wrong with me using the internet to be more aware of my health and then asking for things based on the mostly good information on there. Nope my doctor seems to think I should just never show up unless I have a symptom and just wait until things are bad and she will "bail me out" -- if she fails and I die... oh well.

But my doctor does have certain pet tests that are irrelevant and she pushes at every appointment. "Doc I have been stabbed." Oh dear maybe that was caused by Sleep Apena.. I will order a test. "Doc, I have cancer." Oh maybe that was caused by Sleep Apena... I will order a sleep study. "Doc, I don't have sleep apena." Doc --- well, it still could be sleep apena... why don't we have a second test just to make sure.

I found a few companies that will do blood tests for me without a doctor and I found out that my state prohibits people who live here from getting the tests EVEN IF I WANT TO PAY FOR THEM. Insanity. I am considering lying about my address.

Here is my suggestion... I recently found some amazingly great real estate in North Carolina. Take you savings... invest it in something that produces a small income per month and move there and just do what you want.

 

[lonelydoc]

There's no way a doctor can get into cannabis. You'll lose your license. Having said that, my thoughts on that are neither here nor there. I have much more powerful stuff in my arsenal.

I became a doctor because, well, that was the way you grow up, that was something my peer group did. When I was growing up, there were 4 professions for the middle class strivers: medicine, law, engineering, and business. That's it. Sounds pathetic but it is what it is.

You see, it's not that medical science doesn't interest me. It's that there are limits to it, like anything else. I'm just freaking tired. Not tired like somebody laying bricks for 30 years, but you get the point.

In a different life I can imagine myself being, say, an architect, a petroleum engineer, a zoologist. Something interesting but you don't have to deal with, well, people and their BS.

 

[SophiaGrace]

Zoologist sounds interesting. Promise me if you get into it that you'll tell us all about the different animals that fascinate you.

 

[sothatwasmylife]

Your not a Dr it is so completely obvious...why you feel the need to create the pretense, only you know....but some may give your 'words of wisdom' credibility and that worries me.
So either represent yourself honestly or fresia off.

 

[lonelydoc]

sothatwasmylife:
What do you know about anything. I've got nothing to prove to you.

But it's understandable why you lash out. I've shattered the illusion. Because all doctors are noble, caring, superhumans are going to keep everybody alive forever, right?

Wrong. We're overworked, fallible, greedy human beings in a collapsing system, and the mortality rate for everybody is 100%.

Like I said, if you find a good doctor, good for you. But I'm telling everybody here...no doctor is going to cure you of your problems.

Yeah, I mean, if you want to remain a child forever, sure, believe in Santa Claus, in "miracles", in the goodness and perfectability of the human race.

 

[Sci-Fi]

Your not a Dr it is so completely obvious...why you feel the need to create the pretense, only you know....but some may give your 'words of wisdom' credibility and that worries me.
So either represent yourself honestly or fresia off.

sothatwasmylife:
Go to hell. I've got nothing to prove to you.

You are obviously a miserable person who drives everyone in your life away. Do everybody a favor, kill yourself, and be done with it.

Unacceptable, we do not tolerate this type of behavior towards members here. Knock it off.