<p>SPeaking of health insurance, we all know the legislation will benefit patients
As a "soon to be" premed student, I think the medical field enviroment will not be they way it's always been.
Ironically enough, i see no real solution that can change flaws in this system driven by malpractice premiums. aren't we forced to do more bean counting?
why do you guys think?
However, I'll still shoot for premed</p>
<p>Not sure how familiar you are with the healthcare bill so to summarize the implications upfront: if you’re doing med for the money, it’s going to be less and less advantageous. if you’re doing it for a genuine interest…then do it.</p>
<p>^Elaborate on the “less and less advantageous” please. Lots of us choose med because of financial stability. Will that be affected?</p>
<p>Well if by “financial stability” you mean earning 300k and driving nice cars, your dreams may be in jeopardy. As it stands now, there is no cap on the salaries for doctors, but in many single payer systems (Europe, Canada) there is. If the U.S continues towards government-run healthcare, there will be a cap and being a doctor will not be the money-maker that it is today.</p>
<p>If you choose medicine because you love it, then you’ll be fine. If you’re choosing it simply because of the salary, it might not work out in the longterm.</p>
<p>I think it’s kind of scary to witness the number of students that only choose med. for financial “stability” (which normally means wealthy/affluent). A lot falling into this category also try to claim that they “want to help people”, as if being a doctor is the only financially stable way to help people.</p>
<p>^Financial stability as in not getting fired easily and easy to find jobs, as well as not being affected by recession too much. Also not worrying about your money when you wake up every morning.</p>
<p>^Agreed. Not 300K a year (rich), but around 100K a year (stable). But generally, doctors in every culture and country has been/are respected and usually hold relatively stable jobs, since there will always be a need for doctors to treat the sick and dying. Even in countries that have government run healthcare, doctors (on average) earn the most. Please correct me if I’m wrong, since I don’t have a source supporting this statement.</p>
<p>Some interesting reads:</p>
<p>[How</a> Much Do Doctors in Other Countries Make? - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/how-much-do-doctors-in-other-countries-make/]How”>How Much Do Doctors in Other Countries Make? - The New York Times)
[German</a> Brain Drain: Sick of Bad Pay, Doctors Flee Germany - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International](<a href=“http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,399537,00.html]German”>German Brain Drain: Sick of Bad Pay, Doctors Flee Germany - DER SPIEGEL)
[sBMJ</a> | Viewpoint: Deterred by the doctor’s salary?](<a href=“BMJ Student | The BMJ”>BMJ Student | The BMJ)
[Reasons</a> Not To Become A Doctor - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/05/physicians-training-prospects-lead-careers-cx_tw_0505doctors.html]Reasons”>Reasons Not To Become A Doctor)</p>
<p>You’re completely correct in stating that there will always be a need for doctors. Doctors in western society do hold a very stable job. However, the costs of training, combined with a low (relatively speaking) salary (whether designated by a cap or by the economy) may render the job less lucrative than it has been previously for doctors in the US.</p>
<p>Again, if your primary motive is to help people, you will never be disappointed.</p>
<p>The cost of medical school also has to be taken into account. If your not doing medicine becuase its something you love, your going to be spending lots of time repaying loans for schooling that you did not enjoy, for a job you do not enjoy. Even doctors today, who do make a lot of money, spend a good amount of time repaying those loans.</p>
<p>its like a filter to attract people who really want to do it for passion</p>
<p>Yeah, in China when my parents became doctors, they had only 5 years of schooling to go through (1 year of general education, then 4 years of med school). Of course, doctors in China don’t earn very much, so they did it because they liked it. Here though… it’s going to be a different story. I wonder if the government will take the cost of medical school into consideration… probably not. :P</p>
<p>let’s start saving for private clinics u guys! 8)</p>
<p>Since less people are going to go into medicine because it pays less… And Since so many people go to emory for premed. Will emorys student quality and in turn prestige start to decrease?</p>
<p>If that were true, then so would the quality and prestige of Hopkins, WashU, and lots of non-Ivy top schools.</p>
<p>THIS health bill isn’t going to affect salaries by capping them, although that may happen. This bill will lower physician salaries because most physicians are paid on a fee for service basis and medical services aren’t going to be reimbursed as much…obviously. How do you think insurance premiums are supposed to magically go from “out of control” to being totally reasonable without changing the actual cost of care? Someone has to take a loss and it’s gonna be a combination of insurance companies and doctors.</p>