Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

To put patients’ interests first, we have to put our own aside

Allan Joseph
Policy
November 23, 2013
Share
Tweet
Share

I first read Dr. Matthew Moeller’s piece from this past March for the first time this week after a classmate of mine passed it on to me. I’m a first-year medical student — bright-eyed but sleep-deprived, trailing the smell of the cadaver lab everywhere. I entered medicine fully aware of the long, arduous road ahead, almost exactly as Dr. Moeller described it; with many of my classmates in my undergraduate economics major entering lucrative jobs in finance, investment banking, and consulting, I knew I’d spend years falling behind them financially. I’m inspired by his continued commitment to treating patients, as that’s why I decided to go on this path too — and I’m glad to see that the rough times ahead of me don’t stamp out that desire.

But I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the piece after reading it, especially considering how much attention it continues to receive. Don’t get me wrong, I think we absolutely need to do something about the way we finance medical education in this country — it gives physicians and hospitals a set of incentives that run counter to the things we want.

But to say that physicians aren’t rich is misleading. Yes, we have debt in bunches. We also have an unemployment rate under 1%. Take Dr. Moeller for example, who’s now a practicing gastroenterologist. According to data provided to medical students by the Association of American Medical Colleges, gastroenterologists in the beginning of their career make an average of $390,000. The average gastroenterologist regardless of experience makes over $520,000 a year. That puts the average physician in your specialty in the top 1% of earners. By any reasonable definition, that makes the average gastroenterologist rich. Quite rich, in fact.

I’m not saying this to deny Dr. Moeller’s story, or to say there aren’t real problems to address. My point is that, in the end, we’ll do just fine. The beginning of our career is incredibly difficult, yes. But it pans out — which it often doesn’t do for some of our poorest, sickest patients. I appreciate that as a profession, we want to ensure lawmakers know what it’s like to become a doctor. But we don’t have problems recruiting people to apply to medical school; in fact, more people want to be physicians than ever before.

If we’re a profession that really, truly, wants to put patients first — and let’s be clear, that involves placing our own interests second — then we’ll spend more time telling lawmakers about the patients bankrupted by hospital costs, the patients on food stamps so stingy they only buy horribly unhealthy food, or the poor elderly suffering from dementia but with no place to turn.

If we’re to care for these people — by providing insurance, or better access to nutrition, or universal long-term care — then we’ll need money. If we want to make it more attractive for physicians to enter primary care, we’ll have to pay them more. The money has to come from somewhere. Some of it will come from specialists, and wealthy physicians. Make no mistake. Specialists are by and large rich, and they’ve become so on the backs of a system designed to make them so.

If we’re in this for the best of intentions, to sacrifice our own good for the good of our patients, then we need to put them first. And that includes in how we talk about our jobs, our pay, and our priorities — especially when we talk to lawmakers.

Thank you to Dr. Moeller and so many other doctors for setting a wonderful example of patient-centered healthcare. Years from now, I hope I’ll be able to say that I, too, put patients first for 24 hours a day. Let’s hope all of our colleagues do so too.

Allan Joseph is a medical student who blogs at Project Millennial can be followed on Twitter @allanmjoseph.

Prev

3 tips to keep our patients happy

November 23, 2013 Kevin 2
…
Next

Bringing low income patients into the health care conversation

November 23, 2013 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Medical school, Primary Care, Specialist

Post navigation

< Previous Post
3 tips to keep our patients happy
Next Post >
Bringing low income patients into the health care conversation

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Allan Joseph

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    It’s never too early to talk about cost-conscious care

    Allan Joseph

More in Policy

  • How locum tenens work helps physicians and APPs reclaim control

    Brian Sutter
  • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

    Ilan Shapiro, MD
  • Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws

    BJ Ferguson
  • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

    Carlin Lockwood
  • What Adam Smith would say about America’s for-profit health care

    M. Bennet Broner, PhD
  • The lab behind the lens: Equity begins with diagnosis

    Michael Misialek, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • Why being a physician mom is harder than anyone admits

      Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

      Steven Lane, MD | Tech
    • Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The man in seat 11A survived, but why don’t our patients?

      Dr. Vivek Podder | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 23 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • Why being a physician mom is harder than anyone admits

      Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why coaching is not a substitute for psychotherapy

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Why doctors stay silent about preventable harm

      Jenny Shields, PhD | Conditions
    • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

      Steven Lane, MD | Tech
    • Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The man in seat 11A survived, but why don’t our patients?

      Dr. Vivek Podder | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

To put patients’ interests first, we have to put our own aside
23 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...