Over the past few years that I was in clinical practice I saw the decline of respect for our profession coming at me in the distance like a thunderstorm moving to shore from across the sea. We went from a (relatively) highly revered position with a few perks (doctor’s lounge, physician parking, once a year doctor appreciation dinners) to being treated like a glorified clerk seated behind a computer screen documenting necessary bullet points for reimbursement and doing anything necessary to improve our Press Ganey scores. Some of us happily “jumped through the hoops” and “took one for the team” to keep the status quo and keep conflict at a minimum.. A few (including myself) finally jumped ship and moved on to less fulfilling roles outside of the traditional clinical practice that we loved.
If you are not acutely aware, physicians, in general, are pleasers. We want to help. We want to cure. We did not go to medical school for financial reasons.
However, in this pursuit of honorable virtue we have given up the very tools we need to successfully complete our jobs. We did not stand up to administrators who forced us to see more patients in less time. We did not stand up to ridiculous metrics that treated us as producers and the patient as “clients”. We allowed non-clinical individuals to step in and remove the attributes that make us special- the compassion, the personal interaction, the LOGICAL INDEPENDENT thought process.
We allowed them to change us from being physicians to being PROVIDERS.
Thanks to a tiny bit of spiky, enveloped RNA, our profession has been called to task. As our country and possibly our world face economic failure and terrifying disease, the same people who have disrespected and mistreated us are demanding that we take center stage and again do what is right. They want us to solve the problem. They want us to save their grandparents. They want us to make this go away so they can be normal again. They ask us to use our skills and our gifts to keep alive the very hospitals that discarded us just months ago. And will we do it?
Hell, yes, we will, because we are built to do it. It is who we are.
Yesterday’s $2TRILLION of assistance does not offer ANY aid to the ONLY PEOPLE in the world who can actually help the problem.
Your investment bankers, lawyers, and hospital administrators are not on the front lines and they certainly are not doing ANYTHING for free. As much as it pains us to not help, I encourage you to be as vocal as possible and stand your ground. Putting your health at risk is not worth it. Demand proper PPE. Demand an increase in pay. Most of all, demand the respect that you are LONG OVERDUE!
HAPPY NATIONAL PHYSICIANS WEEK!
Stay Safe,
Samantha Brown Parks, MD, MPH
Atlanta, GA
I think maybe RN’s have more in common with MDs than you think. I agree-sure now? Doctors and Nurses are ‘heroes,’ but when this is over? The SAME unappreciative noncompensatory attitude will prevail. Do you think any google techies? Or Apple-are not set up with amazing or at least ‘satisfactory’ equipment? Do you believe ANY executive askerd to do ANYTHING??? Does not expect reasonable compensation for risks taken or time spent? At LEAST, Doctors have a ‘certain’ respect-Nurs4es? Do not even get that-And that means You-I once got my best advice from the janitor-who made me aware of drugs found in the trash explaining -the situation- I had at hand-I am smart-which means I want all eyes and ears available to be to make assessments-Your last article about NP’s encroaching now makes sense. I think that at this moment? Maybe Doctors and Nurses could Try and look out for each other and be a REAL team that supports each other’s contributions. To support each other in proper compensation. Everyone doing work now for ‘free’ is making the situation worse for those of us that will need to return to it-I want some autonomy-however without autonomy? I would like consideration.the laws and BS limiting well educated and prepared healthcare professionals hurt us ALL and MD’s controlling and HOLDING onto control EVEN when it is Not about care-when it’s about power-money-excluding the Team that makes it possible? Well, while the virus may be a ‘crisis’, my dad always said a crisis is. ALSO, an opportunity-Lets make it one-And Make ourselves REAL Teammates who wanty the best not only for ourselves but for our Team as well.