Corpus Christi Caller-Times - My son will be a doctor, and a target

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Viewpoints from various contributors to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Updated when available.

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Thursday, April 4, 2002

My son will be a doctor, and a target

My son Brandon was accepted to medical school. At UTMB in Galveston, he will don the white coat. Over the next four years of study he will absorb the basic knowledge of medicine today.
   Three to five more years will be spent in residency practicing under supervision, gaining the skills and the confidence needed to begin his independent practice of medicine. He has already spent four years in Chicago, graduating from Loyola University. He is a well-educated man of integrity. He is a leader. The mantle of responsibility automatically falls onto his shoulders.
   When Brandon was 16 and his friends were trying to locate a four-wheel drive vehicle to take to South Padre for spring break, a mother of one of his friends called me and said, "We will let the kids take our truck but only if Brandon agrees to be the only driver."
   When I tell my friends that Brandon was accepted to medical school, they say, "Wow! That's wonderful!" But then my doctor friends pause and sigh and give me an anguished look.
   The pressure on physicians
   Things are shaky in medicine today. The pressure to be perfect, the pressure to conserve resources and to not order too many tests or drugs, the pressure to provide "customer service," the pressure to be fast, thorough, cheap and, above all, friendly - or, if you make a mistake, you might be sued.
   We in the profession are all looking for a way out - early retirement, moving to a different area of the country, going into administration, or just plain quitting and doing something less stressful.
   It is not worth it any more. This is not a joke. I worry about who my doctor will be when I am old. And then I look at my son. Anyone intelligent enough to go to medical school is intelligent enough to earn an upper-middle class living doing something less stressful.
   So what is the answer? Some of the pressure must be removed. There is an explosion coming. Intelligent people doing a stressful, essential job must be valued.
   Payments have dropped and dropped and dropped. We are expected to provide free care in the emergency department every day. A hungry person cannot go to the grocery store and get free bread; a homeless person cannot go to the Omni and ask for a room in which to sleep. For every $100 that we bill in the emergency department, we collect about $37. Then we have to pay for our office, our billing people and our malpractice insurance. The money left over pays the doctor.
   When malpractice insurance costs go up, it comes out of my pocket.
   Aren't you all sick of those sleazy TV ads? Just that alone is reason enough to support the physicians in their efforts to build awareness of the problem.
   The sign across the street from Driscoll Children's Hospital was the last straw for many of us.
   Do you know that I have patients come into my ER everyday who have seen their lawyers first? They have a minor automobile accident, never seek medical attention, go to their lawyer and get sent to the ER for evaluation. I see families of four or five at once, all complaining of various body aches, and smiling like they have won the lottery. Not one has even taken a Tylenol.
   This city is in trouble
   Corpus Christi is in trouble and we are letting it happen. Business will not come here. Doctors will not practice here. The courts and the juries must be responsible and put a little integrity and common sense back into the system. If not, you will be stuck here, old and sick, with mediocre doctors and a depleted economic base.
   I love being an emergency physician. I care for sick babies and sick grandmas from nursing homes. I care for people in pain with cancer, people with sprained ankles and strokes. I make decisions all day. It's stressful, but it's also extremely rewarding; it is my vocation.
   I am proud unto tears that my son has chosen this path, despite his knowledge of our current struggles and disappointments. He will make an awesome doctor.
   I will be working my shift in the ER on April 8 but my heart and spirit will be with my colleagues who, out of love for our profession and our city, have finally decided to stand up and speak out.
   Please hear them and understand.
   Dr. Suzanne Low is chief of staff-elect of Corpus Christi Medical Center.

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