Physician pay. I hope there are no doctors in hiding within this class
because this a pretty touchy subject. It is also a subject I am a bit
torn on if we are being 100% truthful. First, I am not sure I can
support a large connection between the "first do no harm" and a
paycheck. At the end of the day, it costs a lot of money to become a
doctor and at the same time, it costs a lot to stay a doctor from
insurance costs alone. Thats only one reason why I do not think this
conversation is so easy to discuss. Education costs for medical school
easily exceed $100,000 and in many cases, $150,000-$220,000. It is
not just the physical education. Its the fact that a student routinely
has to take out enough money in loans to cover living expenses,
food, and other basic living function bills and expenses. At the end of
the day, why would anyone pay that much money to become
something if it doesn't yield financial benefit? We often hear about
the student debt crisis ongoing in the country and graduates
complaining about "not being to dig themselves out." In that respect,
we already have a physician shortage and I am sure factors like this
would only worsen it.
Now I would like to address the education and talent that many
doctors bring to their patients. With literally years of training and in
some cases, a decade until completion, the same rules apply. Where
is the return? What makes this all worth it? What does earning a
doctorate bring? Whats the difference between a physician earning
$200,000 and a billionaire like Jeff Bezos earning his billions? While I
don't think physicians need a raise, I believe that they have justified
earnings. In addition, physician salaries aren't the only thing
impacting the consumer. Because hospitals can charge pretty much
whatever they want, they use this to pay their CEOs, executive
boards, and physicians these higher salaries. Its a double edge sword.
To play big you have to pay big!
References:
Admin. “Physician Salary .” Kaplan Test Prep,
Admin Http://Wpapp.kaptest.com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2020/09/k
aplan_logo_purple_726-4.Png
, 3 Jan.
2022, https://www.kaptest.com/study/mcat/doctor-salaries-by-
specialty/
.
Tricia Christensen Last Modified Date: February 16, et al. “Why Do
Doctors Make so Much Money?” Practical Adult Insights, 16 Feb.
