Certainly, this is not a formal survey, but those physicians that I have recently interacted with have been sadly and regrettably consistent. The new mantra seems; “I will put in the next four or five years and get out of the agony as soon as I can.” This defines a profession that has lost. Without the visibility or even the hope of any significant action steps, surrender becomes the final chapter. All of the professional organizations, the AMA and reinvented and reinvigorated state and local medical societies must acknowledge reality and get proverbially “their heads out of the sand.”
Medical students must be prepared for the realities of practicing medicine in an environment where their burnout is to be anticipated. Optimally, they would be equipped with the understanding and tools needed to rescue this great profession from the politicos, bureaucrats, insurance companies and myriad corporate entities that have attached themselves to the financial opportunity represented by this huge one fifth of GDP.
But medical educators are failing our future doctors. All of these including the inappropriate mandate of expensive useless technology poison the physician-to-patient relationship which is foundational to the enjoyment of practicing medicine and the survival of the profession. A model of subservience to the paymasters creates dependence, disappointment, dissatisfaction and disillusionment. Trying to tweak this destructive model is not possible. It is time to reinvent the independence needed for any profession to exist. If there is really the desire to serve the needs of all patients, these changes must be initiated.
Allan Dobzyniak, MD
Eastport, Michigan