Question #1
Mar. 2nd, 2011 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osodecanelaHow does the reality of being a doctor compare with your original vision of becoming a doctor?
I spend much more time doing paperwork than I had ever expected. Also I spend a tremendous amount of time justifying treatment regimens to insurance companies, when what I want for a patient varies from what a clerk has been told is approvable. That takes time away from providing care to other patients.
I have learned along the way though that paying very close attention to costs is crucial. So many of the people I see are insured one month and not the next. Will they be able to afford the therapy or intervention I recommended if their coverage evaporates? When is a generic alternative the right choice for an individual, when is it not & when is it better than nothing?
What had been driven home to me in spades is how much my role as a primary care provider is that of an educator. That was my bent when I entered med school (no surprise for a former teacher!). However, I had no clue how hard it would be to do, not because patients aren't hungering for it, but rather because finding the time to do it is so hard.
I spend much more time doing paperwork than I had ever expected. Also I spend a tremendous amount of time justifying treatment regimens to insurance companies, when what I want for a patient varies from what a clerk has been told is approvable. That takes time away from providing care to other patients.
I have learned along the way though that paying very close attention to costs is crucial. So many of the people I see are insured one month and not the next. Will they be able to afford the therapy or intervention I recommended if their coverage evaporates? When is a generic alternative the right choice for an individual, when is it not & when is it better than nothing?
What had been driven home to me in spades is how much my role as a primary care provider is that of an educator. That was my bent when I entered med school (no surprise for a former teacher!). However, I had no clue how hard it would be to do, not because patients aren't hungering for it, but rather because finding the time to do it is so hard.
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-03 05:15 pm (UTC)