Week 10-1 Discussion Post 17 Document

Firstandforemost,wemadeittotheend!Congratulationstoallofyouformakingitthisfarand

thebestoflucktoeveryoneintheiracademic,professional,andpersonallifeandendeavors.

Movingontothetopicathand,mypersonalopinionisthat,onthewhole,physicians

earnthepaycheckstheyreceive.Tobecomeaphysician,therearelengthyandrigorous

educationrequirements,timeandmoneyspenttoobtaintheeducation,and,aswehavelearned

throughoutthisterm,wehaveagrowingneedforprovidersintheUnitedStates.Idonot

personallyseearelationshipbetweenthetenetof“firstdonoharm,”theCodeofEthicsstating

tohelpothers,andthepaycheckthataphysicianreceivesforperformingtheworktheyare

licensedandtrainedtodo.

TobecomeaphysicianintheUnitedStates,thetypicaleducationconsistsofafour-year

undergraduatedegree,fouryearsofmedicalschool,andatleastthreeyearsofresidency

training,dependingonthespecialty(Kowarski&Smith-Barrow,2019).Simplyapplyingtomed

schoolisnotaguarantee,asaround41%ofapplicantstomedschoolforthe2018-2019school

yearwereadmitted(Kowarski&Smith-Barrow,2019).Additionally,manygraduatesofmedical

schoolleavewithmorethan$200,000instudentloandebtdirectlyrelatedtomedicalschool

expenses(Kowarski&Smith-Barrow,2019).Aswearealllikelywellawareof,thefurtherone

goesintheireducationaljourney,themorerigorousandstringentthegraderequirements

become.Somemaysay“C’sgetdegrees,”butamedschoolprospectivewouldlikelyfindit

incrediblydifficulttoreceiveaseatinmedschoolwithaless-than-stellarGPA.

Evenmoreimportantly,aphysician’ssalaryhasnothingtodowiththeircompassionfor

theirpatientsortheirdesiretohelpothers.Muchlikeaveterinarian,whoisalsohighlyeducated

andtrained,theseservicescostmoney.Moneyisrequiredtostayinbusiness.Veterinarianstend

toloveanimalsandwanttheverybestthatcanbeprovidedtothembutrunningabusinesswith

yourheartisasurefirewaytoensurethatyourbusinesswillgounderwithoutaninfluxofcash

fromsomewhere.Apetparent’sinabilitytopayandthesubsequentialdenialofservices

renderedshouldnotfallonthevet’sshoulders.Likewise,adoctormakinganicesalarydoesnot

meantheyarestealingfromtheirpatients,“doingharm,”orviolatingtheCodeofEthicsbynot

helpingothers.

Lookingatthebiggerpicture,salaryandwageissuesarerampantacrosstheUnited

States.Theminimumwagehasnotincreasedinover12years,seeingitslastincreasein2009

(Cooper,2019).Insteadofbeingupsetwithprovidersoverhowthesalarytheyearnorthelackof

universalhealthcoverageintheUnitedStates,attentionshouldbeturnedtohowlittle

employersarepayingtheirhumancapital.Ifirmlybelievethatanemployerpayingtheir

employeestheminimumwage,whichiscurrently$7.25perhour,wouldpaytheiremployeesless

iftheycould,despitetheminimumwagenotbeingenoughofanincometoliveoffof(Cooper,

2019).Highereducationisnotalwaysaguaranteeofanincreasedsalary,butbecominga

physicianisnotoriouslyoneofthemostreliablecareersintermsofstabilityofpayreceived

(PricewaterhouseCoopers,2007).

References

Cooper,D.(2019,February5).Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would lift pay

for nearly 40 million workers. EconomicPolicy

Institute.https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-by-

2024-would-lift-pay-for-nearly-40-million-workers/

Kowarski,I.,&Smith-Barrow,D.(2019,July23).Should you go to med school and become a

doctor? U.S.News.https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-

medical-schools/slideshows/5-questions-to-ask-if-you-want-to-be-a-doctor

PricewaterhouseCoopers.(2007).What works: Healing the healthcare staffing

shortage. Colorado.gov.https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/

Carparelli.pdf



Students also viewed