Doctors ask: “Is this what I have to look forward to?” — VOICES for REASON

In response to a recent post called “Who cares about the doctors?” I received several thoughtful comments, including two that recounted poignant personal stories. As you read this first comment, ask yourself whether ObamaCare and the whole federal-state medical regulatory system treats physicians with the respect they deserve:

My wife did a mid-life career change from power systems engineer to doctor (ER). It was a family decision. We put our own savings and investments on the line to bet on her ability to take our family to the next level of success in America. We did this willingly, as free people intending to enjoy the fruits of our labors. When I look back at the amount of time, sacrifice and work it took from all of us, most of all my wife, to get to this point, the action of the Obama administration is breathtaking in its sense of entitlement to her labor and its arrogance in assuming that the doctors will go along.

Most doctors already willingly donate their time, money and labor to treat the poor. When it is no longer their decision where to apply their labor, then we have lost the country.

But of course, it’s not just the Obama administration that displays a “sense of entitlement to her labor.” For decades, both political parties have displayed “arrogance in assuming that the doctors will go along.” Now the question is: Will doctors keep “going along,” or will they start standing up for their rights? Listen to another physician expressing a sense of personal loss:

As I watched the news on Monday morning March 22nd that the House of Representatives had passed the Health Care bill, I found myself asking the question, “Do I want to practice medicine under these circumstances?” Similar to many of my colleagues I have spent over 20 years of my adult life training to become a physician. For me it has been a particularly long process as I chose to do a combined physician-scientist training program, which added an additional 5 years to my education. I am finally completing my fellowship training and I am in late 30s.

I always thought that after all this I would have many job opportunities open to me. However, I have been astounded by the tight job market and the difficulty I face in finding a suitable job. I hear similar stories from many of my colleagues in various medical subspecialties (hematology/oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology, anesthesia) in their job search.  Everyone is fearful of the uncertainty in medicine and employers are reluctant to commit. I am saddened by daily news around the country of failing private practices, physician layoffs/pay-cuts, hiring freezes in academic and private institutions, physicians not financially affording to retire, continued cutbacks in Medicare and other insurance reimbursements, patients delaying critical medical care such as getting chemotherapy, and fear of both physicians and patients of what is to come.

Along the many years of my training people told me to expect delayed gratification. Is this what they meant? Is this what I have to look forward to? Now I ask myself, should I continue with a career in medicine or should I be “wise” and consider an alternative career. As immigrants, my family and I fled our country and came to the United States nearly 30 years ago in the hopes of a better future. Both my sister and I put ourselves through Ivy League institutions with a great deal of hard work and personal sacrifice. So as I come to the end of the arduous journey of medical training, for me there is a personal sense of failure as I consider hanging-up my stethoscope once and for all.

Have you heard stories like these from Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, or any of the other cheerleaders for government-controlled medicine? Neither have I. Kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it, whether the true costs of new legislation are really being counted by our political leaders in Washington, D.C.

Image: WikiMedia Commons