I haven't been on DailyKos in a few months, maybe made a stray comment or two since the last time that I regularly visted the site. It's not so much that I've become apathetic; things have been really busy lately with so many things to take care of that I just didn't have the time. But something happened today that bugged me and I felt the urge to write a diary about it.
Just as an aside, I'm a third-year medical student right now. As such we begin our clinical clerkships this year after spending the last couple of years learning the basic medical science. If you work in the hospital and see a bumbling, young spaz with a wide-eyed look and oft ill-fitting scrubs, yep that's me.
Anyway, today I was coming home from a long call, having spent 30 straight hours in the hospital in different parts of the hospital. Yesterday morning I was at the OR, afternoon in the clinic, the entire night in the wards. I was walking to my car -- tired, very hungry, and just wanting to go home to chill a little bit.
I reached my car, placed my backpack in the trunk, and was just getting ready to go to the driver's side when a guy in a white coat approaches me. The color on his ID bar gave away his status -- he was a resident. From what department, I didn't know. He, in turn, must have seen my ID that says I am a medical student.
"Hi there pensivepenguin," he began. I gave a courtesy "hello doctor" and smiled. He then continued, "You excited about being in the hospital? Are you learning a lot?" I give the usual "yes" and "very much", more intent in just heading home than making small chat with some stranger, even if he was a superior.
"Have you thought about what specialty you're looking into?"
Now honestly, I have a couple of ideas that I want to do. I'm interested in General Practice -- I love its scope, its patient population. I love the idea of being the gateway physician and the fact that I will have to keep up and learn as much as I can for the rest of my life. I love building and fostering a relationship with my patients.
But who knows, I might change my mind. I would also like Pediatrics; I love kids.
So I replied: "Yes, right now I'm thinking of doing family medicine."
He nodded his head, smiled. He paused for a little bit, and said (I'm paraphrasing here): "Well, that's good. But be careful. There might not be a future in that as others will do that. Just ask your guy."
He pointed to my Obama-Biden bumper sticker as he walked away and added, "Have a nice day!"
The incident bothered me just enough to have yours truly -- red-eyed and exhausted -- dust the cobwebs from her DailyKos account and write a diary about it.
I've seen this before though -- in a busy med student messageboard that I visit. There is this fear, bordering on anger, that people have over there on Obama and this health care reform bill.
Just the other day, Obama's appearance with Rebecca Wiseman (Nurses for Health Reform) was interpreted by a number of people on the said messageboard that Obama thinks nurses are better than doctors. That Obama would prefer to have his family be treated by nurses. That Obama's reform bill will equate nursing practitioners to medical doctors (that is an especially touchy issue). That Obama thinks all doctors regardless of specialty should make the same amount of money and no more than $80K.
When one person brought up the fact that Obama's comments were being misinterpreted and that the main point of the speech was the need for health coverage for the 50 million people uninsured, that person was ignored. One person mentioned having voted for Obama and now regretting it; another person said he/she misses Bush.
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By the time I am finished with school I will be over $200K in debt. I have come to terms long ago that I will spend the rest of my life trying to pay for that. I have come to believe that life is spent in cycles of making and paying for debts -- financially or otherwise. So if it means putting away "X" amount of dollars from my salary every month until I retire, I've accepted that so long as I'm doing something that I love. I don't think I'll ever starve. Maybe when I'm in their shoes I will change my mind, God knows, though I doubt it.
Sigh, I guess the point of this diary is that yeah, there are people out there who are against the President and this health reform bill for other reasons that aren't quite as obvious unless you are in the field. I'm sad (quite frankly surprised) to say that I know them. The DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) is a particularly sour issue, as is their fear of nurse practitioners supplanting primary care doctors. The president's quip in the Wiseman speech on how nurses "prop up some young resident" wasn't taken in kindly (although that is pretty true).
I'll probably never see the parking lot guy in a white coat since my rotation in this hospital ends in a week. But I have this feeling that in my next hospital there'll be another one like him.
In the meanwhile, I desperately need sleep. Good night all (or good afternoon)!
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PS #1: I admit that I haven't been keeping up with news about health care reform, having just started my clerkships, moved to another city, living without a roommate for the first time, etc., all within the last couple of months. My knowledge of it was vague and when I initially saw the posts on said messageboard (having not read or heard anything else at the time), I will admit that they got to me for a minute. Then I read up on it.
PS #2: I'm currently living in a state that voted 20+% for Obama, in the bluest part of the state.