Thursday, September 04, 2008

Medicine and Divorce



I have a young son. I probably won't strongly encourage him to think about medicine as a career for the many reasons that are boldly discussed here every day. One issue not addressed on M.D.O.D. recently is the divorce rate among physicians. There is actually quite a bit of debate about whether the rate of divorce is any higher among physicians than the general population. Studies have shown that psychiatrists and surgeons have the highest divorce rates among physicians. A 2003 study showed that woman physicians are more likely than the general population to successfully commit suicide and to divorce. A 2002 study showed that physician-physician marriages have a very low divorce rate at 11%. There may be something to understanding the demands of being a successful physician. Let's hope I don't have to send out this wedding invite any time soon.

“Ah, yes, divorce ... from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet.” Robin Williams

"The difference between divorce and legal separation is that a legal separation gives a husband time to hide his money." Johnny Carson

"Being divorced is like being hit by a Mack truck. If you live through it, you start looking very carefully to the right and to the left." Jean Kerr

"How do most men define marriage? A very expensive way to get your laundry done for free." Anonymous

"The difference between a girlfriend and a wife is about 100 pounds." Anonymous

26 comments:

  1. "My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met."

    - Rodney Dangerfield.

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  2. I went to this wedding in June! A cheap blonde with bolted on boobs marrying a horny recent med school grad. His parents were about to boil over the entire day. I bet you can see the white knuckles on the mother-of-the-groom in the vastly overpriced wedding photos.

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  3. And here I thought my parents' divorce was because my dad kept cheating on her with various nurses.

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  4. Let's not forget Boys, some of the ladies have some dough floating around.

    As the prez of a company, I already have a pre-nup draft drawn up just in case someone crazy enough comes along to marry this nut. I would much rather be single than risk my hard earned dollar.

    Oh, and there will me no alimony for any potential Mr.

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  5. Yes, let's blame divorce on the fact the someone who is not a doctor couldn't possibly understand what they are going through. Let's not even discuss the fact that it takes two people to make a marriage work, and let's also not talk about how a marriage won't work if only one person is willing to try.

    My husband is not a doctor, but he's in the military, and he's away a lot more than a doctor. Yet I have no desire to divorce him because of that. If he started sleeping around on me, or became a massive asshole, then yes, I would probably leave. Just like if a doctor started sleeping around with a nurse, or became a huge asshole, I'd do the same thing.

    It probably helps to have a spouse in the same career, but it shouldn't be the only factor in a physician's marriage being successful.

    Oh, and I like the fact that you put quotes on your blog that are insulting to women. Men never get fat, and men are never money hungry. It's only women who act like that.

    Thanks for the enlightenment.

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  6. Hey! I only gained 5 pounds (or so i thought...)

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  7. Are you married or happy?

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  8. The reason for the low divorce rate in physician-physician marriages is probably that they never see each other, and so a divorce wouldn't make much difference to the relationship...

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  9. Congratulations Lofty, you are the new target for angry anons!
    There have been two recent physician divorces in my locality. Neither was a Dr. Dr. marriage. All parties involved seem to be much happier although one recent divorce'(Dr.)is being sucked in by his phony gold digging PA. Hope he sees it coming cause we all do.

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  10. sensitive anons: ITSAFUCKINGJOKE!!! Lighten up, Francis.

    Note that female physicians have a higher rate of SUCCESSFUL suicide attempts. That's cuz they are smart enough to jump off something high or shoot themselves in the head, not take 8 Tylenols and a sip of wine cooler to "overdose".

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  11. etotheipi,

    don't be a douche.

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  12. etotheipi,

    Thank you for the laughs, anon stop reading material you are not mature enough to handle.

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  13. Why is divorce so expensive?


    Because it's worth it.

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  14. I accept your nomination to be the blogger on M.D.O.D. who pisses off the anonymous, narcissistic, soft-shouldered lefties.

    Your Humble Servant,

    Lofty Zahari

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  15. etotheipi wrote: "sensitive anons: ITSAFUCKINGJOKE!!! Lighten up, Francis."

    I'm not sure what makes you think this web site is an appropriate forum for "jokes." I think I speak for a lot of folks when I say I visit for hard-hitting news, weather updates, & homemaking tips. Your perfect blueberry pie recipe was a smash hit with even the pickiest eaters in my house!

    But while we're on the subject, what kinds of guys should female docs seek out / avoid? I'd love to hear Lofty Z's (or any of the M.D.O.D. docs') take on that one.

    Always a pleasure, guys (& gal)!

    P.S. The word verification for this comment is "hywmn." That's obviously an amalgamation of both "hymen" & "woman," which fits nicely with my request for your thoughts on who docs with hymens should date/marry.

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  16. I think if your going to insult a blogger you could at least have enough courage to use a name. Anon, I'm pretty sure he was blaming divorce on Doctors marrying women while thinking with the other head.

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  17. wow,
    i go away for a few days and the fur flies. i haven't even had time to read all the commments. strange that anonymous posters in their craven way are tossing out the shit. really strange.

    medicine is extremely hard on marriages. it used to be that the worries of the office or the hospital were worries that physicians could at least influence. it is no longer that way. now it's rare to find a physician or surgeon who comes home from work in any kind of attitude to be a good husband/wife or parent.

    the only thing i have seen that, to me, was harder on marriages was the military. as a flight surgeon in the service it was quite common in a singel squadron that on a single deployment 30% of the officers would be served with divorce papers upon their return.

    this was particularly true in the post tailhook clinton presidency when the draw downs necessitated deployments, not of six months, as was the rule, but of nine or twelve months.

    my hat is off to our warriors.

    on my recent trip i learned a lot about the current state of medicine in general from the business side. bad news, the hoplessness and anger of emasculated physicians is not limited to those of us who practice in the ER.

    to wit, the american academy of urology decided 15 years ago to cut their residencly allotment. job protection and whatnot. this has resulted, just by itself, in a country wide shortage of urologists AND, where they do practice, they are so inundated that it's hard for them to ever leave the hospital. more to come soon. love you guys.

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  18. I'm not sure what's funnier, the blogs, the bloggers, or the bloggees. Sheesh, everyone should take a pill. Maybe contact holiday doc. You're all too funny and too intense. Try to remember that nobody gets out of here alive.

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  19. Hope you have an asbestos jock-strap. :)

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  20. The New Conservative said...

    I think if your going to insult a blogger you could at least have enough courage to use a name.


    Oh, the irony. :D

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  21. I just started med school, if only I could marry a chick then divorce her so she could take half of my $250k loans.

    Man I hope supply and demand kicks in soon with this Dr shortage. Or that Jesus likes other healers.

    To all the bloggers at MDOD, I love your writing, if only I was smart enough to listen to your advice.

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  22. By the way I know it's not, but I just have to ask. Did someone send an invitation like that out.

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  23. Marcia,
    yeah I saw that coming as I was writing it. I guess my point was if you have something to say to me you could click on my name and go to my website to say it. However there is no way to respond to Anon. I find that annoying.

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  24. As an MD happily married to a non-medical person, i would have to say that things are difficult. We don't get to see each other often. What helps is that he is from a medical family. He doesn't complain when I can't give him an exact time that I'll be home.

    But I will say that I was told by more than one person that I was insane for actually getting married before I graduated because - what happens if we get divorced.

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  25. We commit suicide successfully? Now there is something to aspire to... (not).

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