I stand my by contention that if doctors were paid less, the quality of medicine would decrease. Some people go into medicine purely to save the world because they are very other-centered, sensitive people. e.g., Doctors Without Borders, and doctors who would be doctors making a mere pittance.
But many - at least a substantial proportion, and in my intuition, most doctors go into medicine with helping people as only one reason. If medical salaries were lower, those same people would, at the margin, choose law, business, consulting, etc. To operationalize my argument, I am arguing as follows. The set of all current doctors is, say, N. A certain proportion of those - say X - are inelastic with respect to salary. If medical salaries were lower, they would still go into medicine. But the remainder (N-X) are elastic, to varying degrees. That N-X segment of the current medical population would not have gone into medicine if salaries were lower, relative to other professions for people who do very well in school, e.g., consulting, law... They would be replaced by people who have slightly worse options - i.e., people who did slightly worse in school, who - on average (so nobody take this the wrong way) are less intelligent and less capable of being doctors. Ergo, reduction in quality of medical profession. This is really how it works. People who like to help people get to choose from lots of ways of doing so. Many of the smartest of these choose medicine (as opposed to say, entering the priesthood) because the salary is better. Only people who really need a more hands-on feeling of helping people - more hands-on than working for a big hospital and feeling like a cog in the medical industry - will choose lower-salary options. All else equal, higher salaries are better. And many people find medicine as rewarding a career as public interest work. The smart ones of these - i.e., the ones who can get into medical school - will do so. On Apr 12, 12:33 am, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > "... On Apr 10, 1:46 pm, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> > wrote: ..." > > > "...If doctors were paid less, > > the quality of medicine would decrease. ..." - MB > > > Perhaps in a culture that deifies avarice...otherwise, this too is but > > an assumption. > > Not only is it an assumption, it is incorrect as well. As was pointed > out to me not too long ago in this very forum when I was deriding the > medical profession as one which does no pro bono work, there are quite > a few doctors working for a pittance to provide health care to the > indigent and others who may not have access to higher priced > medicine. Doctors Across Borders was just one of the organization of > doctors held up to me to show me the error of my words. > > On the other hand, I miss the physician of my youth who worked out of > his old brownstone home and would make house calls in the middle of > the night. His expertise and quality of care would certainly not hold > up in light of today's medicine but that personal touch was warm and > reassuring. Something completely lacking in today's practice. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
