birdog1960

some get into it for those reasons (except the flexible schedule which is a truly ridiculous thing to write) but they're likely the ones talking about leaving now. and when they do the calculus (and given their nature they will) they'll likely stay put. as far as this same group being less likely to choose medicine as a career, i stand by my earlier statement.

hell, i'd retire early too, if i felt i could maintain my current lifestyle. i can't and few docs in their 50's can. like most other people, the more you make, the more you spend. "Medical Economics" did a survey fairly recently on the percentage of docs who felt financially able to retire. it didn't support your thesis. i doubt the numbers have improved in the last couple years.

sorry, but if we lose applicants who are deciding between finance, law and medicine, which have very little in common except relatively high compensation, i see that as a win for patients. distilling the applicant pool down to those who really have a calling is a good thing.

you might wanna wait a few years before you use him as an example. seen several leave only to come back to the same job or something else in medicine. it's aharder to find greener grass than most think and few primary care docs have the resources at 53 to maintain the standard of living they're accustomed to. he may have used this as an excuse to find a new position. even if not, i'd be willing to bet he's an exception and there will continue to be plenty of well qualified applicants to med schools. afew might think twice about off shore expensive schools as a last resort but that would be a good thing.

one word for the article and especially this section: "bulls#$t". whoever wrote this never ran an office. one nurse for 2 docs seeing 5000+ pt per year is undoable. the nurse would need treatment for exhaustion after a week. doc's threaten quitting all the time. rarely do it and aren't likely to. there's no good alternative that pays as well. and despite romneys 15% investment returns i don't know any colleagues who've made any real ionvestment money in the last few years. now concierge practices are viable: rich folks paying big retainers for exclusive access. but that sliver of the population keeps getting smaller. it can support only so many docs.

unsurprisingly, i found the third episode to be very good. it pointed out the financial ties big media has to big money and that the news is a small part of revenue that can be sacrificed for the bigger fiscal picture. sounds about right to me. the media owner is portrayed as a liberal that nevertheless plays up to all political sides for the financial interst of her company. she's not willing to alienate the kochs even if it is only to point out that they largely fund the tea party's activities and candidates. and does anyone here dispute that? it's an important point that many of the "grass roots" tea partiers seem to ignore. i found it interesting to compare them to ginsberg and other far left activists and their total lack of acceptance by the dem establishment during their few minutes of fame.

may have seemed longer than it really was. i just remember being on crutches for a long time, in a hard brace even longer and not being able to walk normally for a long time. i think the recovery is slower the older you are as well. but i've never talked to anyone who thought it was easy. i have met many people who say it worked well for them so i may be the exception rather than the rule. if i were 30, it may have gone differently. you may want to talk to a pt that rehabs knees often and get some opinions. my impression from the ones i worked with was that my rehab was slower than average but not terribly so.

Had it seven years ago. i had a patellar tendon graft (i know the surgeon professionally and he's well thought of) it's because of the pain and the prolonged recovery. work on crutches for 2-3 months sucked. PT took lots of time and was fairly painful at times. the big thing is i'm not sure how much better of i'm with it than i would be without. i don't play contact sports anymore. an occasional backyard touch football game or softball game, occasional racquet sports, ballroom dancing (yes, it's a sport), golf and skiing. i think i could still do all of them without the repair but maybe more carefully and with a brace. i still can predict storms from my repaired knee and it still hurts if i push it hard. it never gives way though. finally, i have a torn mcl in my other knee (from skiing- i've mellowed out a bit since those two falls) that i wore an immobilizer on for a couple months. while it's not near as serious as an acl, it never gives me a problem in any activities.

i thought Daniels' character's soliloquy to begin the premier was awesome. But i lean left. that said, it's hard to deny the quality of the acting, writing and directing. what else is on tv right now that comes close? downton abbey, mad men and justified are the only that come to mind. interestingly, i started a thread on this in ppp and the political drama critics over there mustered a single reply...i guess it's not for everyone. but i'm eager for the next episode and the rest of the series. if you get a chance listen to Terry Gross' recent interview with Daniels on npr.

the aca passed with great difficulty. there's only one route to single payer and that's sloooow and stepwise. that's the reality for those who desire it. it miay well never happen but if it does it will be this way.

i do. as others have alluded to this is the first step towards single payer, and it's a big one. the ice is broken.

yep. this is precisely why so many haves are against it. the have nots will take some of their healthcare resources. but as the number of uninsured has grown so have the number that will benefit from the bill. i prefer to think that most humans aren't innately selfish but the evidence from opinions on this bill show otherwise.

drudge got it wrong, too. it's one thing to be biased and entirely another to get the facts wrong. he also had a link to a calculator for "what the aca means to you." i put my data in and got only good results and benefits with no negatives. he took that link down too. neither were available in "recent drudge headlines" on the site.

...prime debate material, not that a significant majority of the electorate will digest it... maybe if they have a group of invalids in a series of ads about it.

well, here's one acp member who will have less reservations paying his dues and renewing his membership when it comes due. maybe i'll have to reconsider rejoining ama too

ama represents a minority of physicians in the us. american college of physicians, americas second largest physician group supports today;s ruling. don't make the mistake of lumping us all together.

it started early with the scotus aca decision (funny how that acronym resurfaced suddenly). home, to the newshour with their familiar comprehensive, expert, even handed roundtable coverage and then my first viewing of "newsroom" on hbo. the soliloquy by jeff daniels' character should be required viewing for every thoughtful person. "we lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens, number of adults who believe angels are real and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies." "sure used to be (the greatest country). we stood up for what was right. we fought for moral reasons. we passed laws , we struck down laws for moral reasons. we fought wars on poverty, not on poor people...we cultivated the worlds greatest artists and the worlds greatest economy..." coincidence that this was first aired a few days before the ruling? don't know but pretty damn cool if your a progressive. so in the words of a much less articulate social commentator than adam sorkin, "what say you?".

looked for the first time at the poll numbers for this thread. this should be pinned directly to the thread about ideology of the board. over 70% predicted the individual mandate would bre shot down. i submit that a significant majority of this board is just plain wrong.

lets just agee it lacks class...an attribute most pols relinquish early in their careers.

i'll be there.

it's all politics. i'm just saying the current dems are more capable gamers than back then. we'll see....

gee, i'm shocked....probably devised by the same hacks who thought up swiftboating. but this time, i'm betting the other side is prepared.

i was thinking more like canonizing him. and please, all this repeal talk is bluster and election fodder. aint gonna happen without a workable alternative reform plan. we've seen for 50 years how eager repubs are to do that. i'd bet more on alterations to the current bill that are just as or more likely to please progressives than cons.

and you would be correct

and this case losing for obama would have been better for his reelection prospects? i think not. perhaps the point to be made about the political ramifications is that healthcare reform was a no win proposition politically from the start. that's why no one has got it done before and it was near impossible this time. maybe obama's priority is doing the right thing and not getting reelcted...but i'm betting he will anyway.