Category: Politics

Please, make it stop!

Once again, government has attacked doctors. This time, the federal government took a turn.

Finance Minister Morneau said doctors were using a “loophole” in the tax code, breaking the law against loopholes.

He suggested doctors were cheating and not paying their fair share.

He promised public consultation before addressing the overpaid doctors.

The provincial government gave doctors the ability to incorporate in lieu of fee increases, just over 10 years ago. Most other provinces have had the ability to incorporate for much longer.

Doctors could finally build a pension and create self-financed benefits just like other incorporated businesses and salaried workers.

But the federal government needs money. Continue reading “Overpaid and Under-Performing”

Can a broken relationship be mended? When one party has done something really wrong, and the other has lashed back, can they reconcile?

Doctors in Ontario have been heckled in the legislature, slandered in the media and ignored for multiple pieces of legislation. Unexpected rounds of unilateral cuts have caused festering wounds. It makes caring for sicker patients with longer wait times almost unbearable.

Some doctors are so sick of feeling abused, they only want to mock the other side. A few prefer mutually assured destruction.

But most doctors just want to care for patients. Doctors want to be left alone to care for patients without worrying about the next crisis.

Can doctors find a way to rebuild a new relationship with government? Continue reading “Can Doctors Rebuild a Working Relationship with Government?”

People love movies about underdogs. We like watching Harry Potter get picked on because we know that he fights back in the end.

Underdogs create great stories, but they do not stay under forever.

Medical schools look for students who seem able to care.

Do they have empathy? Are they lovers or fighters?

Journalism and law schools look for different things.

Med schools err on the side of sensitivity, even if it means that some gentle souls might burn out now and then. Better that than a class full of fighters and advocates.

It wasn’t always this way. In the olden days, good grades guaranteed a spot. Schools didn’t weed out the way they do now. Each class formed a cross-section of everyone who did well in school and wanted to become a doctor.

Medical school interviews changed all that. Doctors trained since 1990 have been selected for sensitivity. They have endured extensive psychosocial training. They have been selected and trained for professional deference. Continue reading “Patients Need Champions, Not Doormats”