Hey ACEP. I'm done. No more dues for you. When you open your convention with a Media personality who cites the Veteran's Administration Health System as a glittering jewel of what can be achieved if we would only get ourselves on board with socialized medicine, when you create rules that take 5 minutes out of every lecture so the speaker can disclose any financial relationships they might have with 'evil' drug companies, and when my dues go to support such nonsense rather than advancing and protecting the agenda of the majority of the physicians in the college, well, you guys really are just a bunch of pointy-headed academics operating in your own vacuum. See you later. Much later. Scratch that. Never.
You can't even get some refreshments to us between lectures, but here you make an exception and let the evil drug companies and medical device companies and Team Health (that evil monster and perennial whipping boy for disgruntled ED docs) do it for you. You are part of the problem. You are patronizing and paternalistic in the extreme. You believe that only your small set of 'smart doctors' are able to fix the problems of the obviously mentally inferior unwashed masses of patients and that the best way to fix the problems is to form the 800th committee of the college to form resolutions to make resolutions in the future to address the problems. No responsibility for the patients, no, they can't handle it. We should do it all because, gee, we are all so smart. ACEP, you guys suck.
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I can't afford the $1000 right now anyway. Thanks for helping me with my budget!
ReplyDeleteETOTHEIPI
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you are saying. Your subtle verbage makes it difficult for a simpleton like me to understand your point.
Anyho, ACEP sucks.
CAT
"You think the dental lobby is pushing for socialized dentistry?"
ReplyDeleteLOL. Dentistry is the best kept secret there is in careers. Forget medicine, dental school is easier to get into and offers more immediate rewards, both financially and in lifestyle. And yet, everyone wants to be a doctor...
I wish doctors were viewed more like dentists, that is, as professionals who offer a service for a fee, rather than as martyrs and saints.
I guess that's why I'm applying to pathology.
Yea..and now ACEP will abolish the whole thing about needing ER residency and let any yoyo become boarded in EM. I am not referring to legacy docs who have been doing this for years, I am talking about loosers who couldn't get an em residency. Thats what you get form the ACEP and all its' nonesnse committees. Join AAEM at least they respect the pit doc.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the reaction when said media personality cheered for socialized medicine on behalf of ER physicians?
ReplyDeletestanding ovation fromt the faculties of all programs in attendance. if i had a bunch of indentured servants working their asses off for me for $8 an hour (meds students, interns, and residents) at a hospital with even more indentured servants i too might come to believe that "everyone should do it like we do it at the university", i get all my care at the VA and once i get in it's just fine, but i am in my third month of waiting for an MRI now. good thing it's not life threatening. been calling mhy personal doc at the VA for a few weeks now. have not been able to get him even on his 'private line' and have not ever succeeded in getting anything other than an answering machine. SUPER!
ReplyDeletethe V.A. medical system is severely overstressed and could hardly be seen as an example as success in socialized medicine. This is truly sad.
ReplyDelete"I am talking about loosers who couldn't get an em residency.'
ReplyDeleteThis may come as a shock to you but a lot of us "loser" docs have no interest in ever becoming ER docs. No f/u, no respect from some specialists (ie. the opinion that you are nothing more than a traffic cop), problem patients, no understanding of what happens ouside the ER, etc, etc. You can keep it. I hope you practice medicine better than you can spell (ie "loser" not "looser").
I'm going to play "devil's advocate" here. Do not mistake this as being for socialized medicine, VA or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI was in practice at the VERY end of the good old days and remember everyone thinking they were supposed to pay for my services, but our govt has effectively done away with that quaint concept. So we are left with $12 for a Medicaid baby visit for a snotty nose or however much they don't pay us to see that kid at 3AM.
The other 2/3's of "our pts" don't pay ANYTHING. They just walk away and don't even think about the bill they get(if they even gave a real address!)
So would you rather get $12 for that emergent "toothache" or nothing?
I'm just being realistic. We've picked a specialty(EM)in which we HAVE to see the pts(at least the true ones)or they may die as in DRT! I can't ethically ask to see an insurance card when you are having a acute STEMI right in front of me. The others have been legislated by EMTALA into the "right" of medical care just as they keep on smoking, drinking, driving without seat belts, etc and taking no personal responsibility for their health..
I do not know what the right answer is, I'm just saying that these are the facts of our profession at this time and I doubt that it is going to change. Maybe it would be better to get that $12/pt???
I guess I'd like to be radiologist and go home very night or an Ophtho guy and get a gazzilion$/day for dialing in computer settings, but I just couldn't put up with that boring of a job..
PS I'm going into my bomb shelter now.... :-)
i agree that we might initially make more but i don't care so much about that. i just think putting a big govt. style program in place will hurt everything and make what we have now look wonderful ten years down the road. any solution other than a government one.
ReplyDeleteTeam Health is in the expansion mode so they can show high enough earnings to go public. They are in need of more serfs to work their mulitple new acquisitions included those in Houston in ACEP's backyard. ACEP is aiding and abetting their efforts by allowing them free access to the younger EM docs who have no idea what corporate EM is about. The lavish Team Health reception and their hand in hand relationship with EMRA is sad to see.
ReplyDeleteI agree ACEP is waaaay too close in bed with the CMG's. I am a member of AAEM, but ACEP still has many more members. I think AAEM's approach to things is to strident and off-putting for many(talk about the High and Mighty Academics)
ReplyDeleteI am sorry EMRA has become so close to the CMG's also. One of my ex-residents was elected President of EMRA years ago and he introduced and got passed the resolution that finally closed ACEP to non-boarded EM docs. Now I see there is a ground swell to re-open that membership track..And I'm not sure it's a total mistake..Re-thinking my opinion on this.
My residents will be taught about the CMG's and their pluses and minuses and then they can decide for themselves..
i actually was being sarcastic about team health. i personally have no problem with them though many of my colleagues have for them a deep-seated loathing that they can only sometimes explain and only rarely in terms that ammount to more than 'they make money on our backs'. well, yeah, that's their point. i know some of their higher ups and like them so whatever.
ReplyDeleteall this being said i am a anti-establishment kinda guy and any kind of large organization is suspect to me. i'd rather be proud of my organization and be happy to give it money though. right now the only organization that fits that bill for me is my medical school alma mater.
I quit my ACEP membership years ago over their liberal bias and outrageous dues. I also dropped AMA dues about 15 years ago for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI tried being a member of AAEM, and though I think their voice more closely represents mine....I'm not sure who's listening.
The "tragedy" to me is that people use the AMA or ACEP's position on an issue and it automatically gives them some kind of legitimacy.
As for Oldfart.....I can only hope that there's some ammonia caps in the bomb shelter! I'll chalk his previous post up to a port wine binge.
I think that I want etotheipi to represent my view to Congress. His post makes the most f*@king sense.
85, I would love ascribe my comments to a Port wine binge..I love Ports!
ReplyDeleteI, too, would like E to bang on some doors in Washington, but I've "been there, done that"
It doesn't work..I was meerly stating the obvious. You don't really think gvt is going to get out of our way do you? They are in our "bidness" to stay..
I was just stating an alternative point of view, that may or may not have some viability for those of us who have no choice in whom we treat as do our friends in Plastics, Ophto, etc..
Better to get something instead of nothing..
Just tossing it out there for comment..
Going to find some Port right now...
I was just kidding....knowing your penchant for the port!
ReplyDeleteI know what you're saying, but if the gov't gets more involved, you and I both know how they work.
First, they'll pay for visits. Then they'll start to cut payments for anything they're spending money on.
It won't be long before they won't pay for any "non-emergency" condition...but the PCP's won't see the patients because they can make more money by seeing patients with "real" insurance.
The gov't track record with Medicare & Medicaid is a good example.
It all makes sense when you realize that they're trying to find ways NOT to pay you...I was once told by a wise older mentor.
They'd have to raise taxes just to pay me $12 for every friggin' toothache I see!
You may be right...it may be inevitable. But I'll resist it until it's forced down my throat.
Enjoy the port!