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NY Times: "A Doctor by Choice, a Businessman by Necessity"

In ways subtle and overt, medical professionals are encouraged act like businesses. And so they do, sometimes realizing too late the difficult bargain they've struck.

Writing in the NY Times, Dr. Sandeep Jauhar expresses the dilemma:
"...the consequences of this commercial consciousness are troubling. Among my colleagues I sense an emotional emptiness created by the relentless consideration of money. Most doctors went into medicine for intellectual stimulation or the desire to develop relationships with patients, not to maximize income. There is a palpable sense of grieving. We strove for so long, made so many sacrifices, and for what? In the end, for many, the job has become only that — a job."
Most problematic, I believe, is the fact that a sense of "commercial consciousness" is no longer optional if obligations like student loans and payrolls are to be met. It's now the price of admission, a necessary requisite for professional and financial survival. And I think we're all a little worse off.


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