Roseanne Barr rips Oprah one regarding Barack Obama

[Bellatheball]

^^ Either that or you could come to work with me for a week and see how the rest of the medical world lives.

[Tati]

So much time is spent at conferences trying to learn better ways to educate and motivate people but, again, with drug companies shoving ads down everyone's throats, it's hard.

And, you know, I don't remember every drug ad that aired when I was younger saying, "ask your doctor or pharmacist if DrugX is right for you!". Actually, I don't remember drug ads from when I was younger at all, but that could be incidental. Drug company advertising definitely encourages patients to seek out pills as a first, rather than last resort. And I think it's a little twisted that the industry is putting patients in the position of saying, "ooh, I'd like to try that one" when it comes to pills.

I also found when I was working as a pharmacy technician, that if the pharmacist was a little more reserved on that front and suggested a more basic approach (diet and exercise for weight loss, for example), she tended to be laughed at and dismissed as being "old-fashioned" or "not up on the latest advancements".

Pharmacists are actually in a great position to counsel patients on care choices, because they tend not to be quite so pressed for time as doctors and they know the patient's drug history, but since they can't prescribe drugs patients often think they're just offering them second-rate advice, and all they can end up saying is, "you'll have to ask the doctor about that". So the patient does, which takes up more of the doctor's time, and since the patient is often seeking pills anyway, the doctor may just go ahead and prescribe them since it saves them a lot of time as well. It's quite a vicious, expensive cycle.

[cynic]

Originally Posted by Bellatheball

^^ Either that or you could come to work with me for a week and see how the rest of the medical world lives.

Deal, but only if you come to work with me and find out how much work non-medical folks do to earn a buck......nurses and staff get overtime if they do more than 40 hours or holidays or weekends, is that right?.....no travel, no overnight stays, no outdoor work, no heavy equipment, no dangerous conditions?......

My doctor's hands look like he gets them manicured.....tough job....

Sorry, Miss B, looks like we should just walk away from this one....agreeing to disagree......

[Bellatheball]

Cynic, I can handle a difference of opinion as so long as the other person's opinions isn't littered with subtle and not so subtle jabs which are personal.

To answer your question about salary, no. Most physicians don't get paid overtime or for weekend work. It comes with the job. The average physician I work with works well over 60 hours per week. When on call for the week, it's much longer. Residents get paid close to nothing and work like dogs. In fact, there are now laws in place that state they cannot work over 80 hours/week. In the end, they wind up making a couple of bucks/hour. Sure, there are some who moonlight and get paid like that. Most do not. Nurses do get paid overtime, sure. Why shouldn't they?

As for no travel, overnights, no heavy work or dangerous conditions? That's laughable and shows you have no experience in medicine. First off, all of us need to have continuing education hours to maintain our licensure. That means most of us travel for conferences. In my department, almost all of us travel to give lectures.

No overnight stays? Sure. Forget about taking call and being in the OR or ET all night.

No heavy work? Try transfering a 400 lb 5 ft tall woman from an OR table to a gurney. Or try getting the same patient up to go to the bathroom. What about the elderly who need help standing, sitting, walking? We're there for them. What about young kids with huge casts? Yep, we lift them too.

No dangerous conditions? Let's see. Last week I had to see a patient who was HIV+ and had HEP C who also happens to have personality disorder and anger management issues. I had to tell him I wasn't giving him more narcotics. I do believe he threatened me. Good times.

I don't say this often Cynic but you are so grossly misinformed that your comments are insulting. You've managed to belittle an entire group of people who, in general, chose this profession so that they can help people. Even people like you who tend to think we're all quacks or in it for a quick buck. Nice work.

[cynic]

.....me, subtle?.....

I base what I said on my personal opinions. They reflect my experience. Obviously you feel differently, or you would not continue in your work.