I was at a drug company dinner earlier this week (yes, I whore around once every few months if a topic and restaurant strike me) and I ran into a cardiologist from an area practice. He complemented me on a recent local radio interview I had given about being a modern country doctor. In the piece I discussed about how the financial rewards of rural practice were definitely a disincentive, but the intangibles of serving the underserved and the continuity of care made it worth it yada, yada, yada.
In a very heart felt and sincere tone this cardiologist told me how proud he was to have colleagues like myself in our area and that I was a true credit to our profession. I thanked him profusely for such a comment and almost embarrasedly I tried to deflect attention away from myself, but toward the other family docs in the area.
Part of this comment left me scratching my head, however. Here's a man who makes probably about five times what I do. There's no reason why he can't make the same decision to pursue the intangibles of the medical vocation instead of the dollar. If he and his colleagues are so proud of what we do, where is their support when it comes time to discuss where our health care dollars should go. I don't believe I've ever heard a cardiologist, or any other partialist for that matter, say, "No, I'm taking enough of the health care pie. Why don't we give some more to the primary care folks, or why don't we just charge less so our patients don't have to file for bankrupcy after they get their cath?" For such a kind complement, his words just seemed a little empty.
The Country Doctor
In a very heart felt and sincere tone this cardiologist told me how proud he was to have colleagues like myself in our area and that I was a true credit to our profession. I thanked him profusely for such a comment and almost embarrasedly I tried to deflect attention away from myself, but toward the other family docs in the area.
Part of this comment left me scratching my head, however. Here's a man who makes probably about five times what I do. There's no reason why he can't make the same decision to pursue the intangibles of the medical vocation instead of the dollar. If he and his colleagues are so proud of what we do, where is their support when it comes time to discuss where our health care dollars should go. I don't believe I've ever heard a cardiologist, or any other partialist for that matter, say, "No, I'm taking enough of the health care pie. Why don't we give some more to the primary care folks, or why don't we just charge less so our patients don't have to file for bankrupcy after they get their cath?" For such a kind complement, his words just seemed a little empty.
The Country Doctor