Re: Would you do it again-long reply to Alexandra.
From: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)
Sun Aug 27 13:58:22 2000
thus proving once again that organized medicine is an oxymoron.
art
At Sun, 27 Aug 2000, Anna Meenan, MD wrote:
>
>At Sat, 26 Aug 2000, Caitlin Cusack wrote:
>
>Caitlin, I know exactly how you feel. I got one of those "stacks of
>papers" earlier this month and I wanted to throw up when I read it,
>because over and over on every 7th page (they're suing seven of us) it
>kept saying in black and white that I DIDN'T do exactly the things that
>I DID do, and any moron with a fifth-grade education who spent ten
>minutes looking at the chart could have seen that. It's a major kick in
>the gut. I'm angry that lawyers are allowed to just include anyone and
>everyone with a deep pocket (or a deep pocket employer) in a lawsuit
>without at least taking a common-sense look at the chart before they
>start blanketing the county with paperwork. Pure unadulterated greed is
>all it is.
>
>And yes, we do make a decent income for what we do, but have you ever
>stopped to think that, on a per hour basis, many of us do not make much
>more than your average plumber or electrician? Just a thought. I like
>what I do, but I like it less than I used to, and I can't truly say that
>I love it anymore. I did once, but the attitude of patients and the
>hassles from insurance companies have killed that. I too am finding
>that fewer and fewer patients outwardly express gratitude for a job well
>done, and the ones that do hang all over you and tell you what a great
>doctor you are will be the first ones to kick you in the butt when
>things don't go their way. I am currently socking away every spare dime
>and intend to retire the instant I turn 55.
>
>--
> Anna Meenan, MD, FAAFP
>
>>Would I do it again? Absolutely, emphatically I would not.
>>
>>But...there is no question that we are in the best field out there, and
>>I love the WHAT of what we do. We get to do a bit of everything-primary
>>care, surgery, obstetrics-we get to take care of our patients through
>>every stage of their lives. Operating is just plain fun, each and every
>>time I deliver a baby I am struck by the shear miracle of that event and
>>a bit overwhelmed by the privilege of participating in an event so
>>wonderful. For the most part we care for healthy patients and thus
>>little of what we do it sad.
>>
>>Having said that, there is a huge price to pay for being in the best
>>medical field. The malpractice situation is unbelievable. I don't
>>believe the average American understands what is happening here. My
>>most recent lawsuit was from a patient who had a L/S injury-she had
>>signed 3 different consent forms stating she understood that this injury
>>was possible. Consent forms don't protect us though-and make me wonder
>>why we even bother. The amazing thing was that I WASN'T the surgeon-I
>>wasn't even around when the injury occured. I happened to be the one on
>>call when she was taken back to the OR-so I assisted the primary
>>surgeon. The insurance company would call me saying they wanted to
>>settle-and over and over I had to keep saying ‘but I wasn't even in the
>>hospital when the injury occurred!'. Although the case was eventually
>>settled without me the whole ordeal was difficult and painful. My
>>initial notification was a stack of papers each page detailing why I was
>>a bad, incompetent, rotten physician. I have made the decision that if
>>I'm sued again-I won't read that initial document. Even though you
>>understand the game the lawyers are playing it is very difficult to not
>>take the whole thing personally. Even more frustrating this case will
>>never be over for me. Each and every time I apply for hospital
>>privileges or a license I'll have to report this case. In applying for
>>my Mass. license the board kept requiring more and more documentation
>>regarding the case. When they made a forth request I found myself
>>nearly yelling with frustration ‘do you understand, I was NOT present
>>when this injury occurred!".
>>
>>I also find it a bit tough to watch my colleagues in other fields. They
>>do not work nearly the hours we do and many fields pay much better than
>>ours. I recently went to visit a radiologist friend to see her new
>>house-frustrating to realize I will never be able to afford such a
>>house. She has twice the vacation time many in our field have, and call
>>mostly consists of turning on a computer to read films from home.
>>
>>More than anything I had no idea how tired this field would make me
>>feel. Demands on our time are overwhelming. It takes one single
>>patient to keep us up all night long on call. The beeper starts going
>>off at 5pm when the office closes and doesn't seem to stop. It is not
>>uncommon to be woken up throughout the night with phone calls from
>>patients on non-emergent issues (For example: my friend has breast
>>cancer, how is that treated? I've had a discharge for the last
>>week.-what can I do for it? 8 hours ago I got a sharp pain in my
>>abdomen-what do you think it was?-this after 3 am). When I chose this
>>field I didn't understand just how painful it is to be up for 24-36
>>hours at a time. Your body aches, you feel nauseaus, headachey, just
>>plain lousy. I'm finding it's taking longer and longer to recover from
>>a night of call the older I get-seems like I'm just begining to feel
>>normal again and I have to do it all over again. I am chronically sleep
>>deprived. I always joke about how I constantly fantasize about SLEEP.
>>My sister-in-law says it was years before she ever saw me awake-I have a
>>tendency to fall asleep at family events. I feel like I spend half of
>>my vacations just trying to catch up. Our hours tend to be very
>>unpredictable. You might have a day where patients don't have a lot of
>>issues and you get out at a reasonable hour. Or you have those days in
>>which each patient seems to take forever as you try and solve their
>>problems-many of which are social and have nothing to do with
>>gynecology. At least once a week I'm late to something I'm supposed to
>>be doing after work. I hate the fact that others can not count on me
>>being where I have promised I'd be. I do not have children-and can not
>>figure out how the women in this field with children manage it-I can't
>>find any spare time as it is. I have yet to meet a mom in this field
>>who isn't struggling with trying to figure out how to make it all work.
>>
>>So-if I were to do it again I would sacrifice the rewards of this field,
>>and choose a field with far less time demands.
>>
>>--
>>Caitlin M. Cusack MD
>>
--
art fougner, md
A series of 1000 cases begins with but a single anecdote.
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