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The problem is deeper. The entire structure of the industry makes no sense. Doctors need 12 years of training after high school (the first 4 years of which is

The problem is deeper. The entire structure of the industry makes no sense. Doctors need 12 years of training after high school (the first 4 years of which is useless). Then they end up doing a job where 95% of the work is trivial and could be done by almost anyone with a bit of training. I know a guy training to do lasik surgery. Turns out it's easy. You could easily train a lasik tech to do it, but that's not allowed. We require it to be done by a doctor making $500k a year who has 12 years of higher education, only 1 year of which is focused on lasik surgery. But we insist on continuing this overly broad training when most modern doctors only practice in a single specialized area. It's like if we required the guy at the oil change place to have a PhD in mechanical engineering. Of course it's going to cost a fortune.

theluketaylor 2y ago
95% can absolutely be done by someone with far less training than a medical doctor, but the real job of being a doctor is having the expertise and experience to spot the other 5% and sometimes to respond quickly enough with extreme skill to prevent medical catastrophe. I want to see far more involvement in direct patient interaction happen with nurse practitioners and physician assistants, with doctors supervising cases to ensure no one falls through the cracks. I'd love to see more specialization of NPs and PAs to handle cases that are complex but routine within a speciality. The problem is a lack of respect for NPs and PAs, with many patients only wanting to see a doctor. We need to promote these occupations as the highly trained and licensed professionals that they are and make sure they get the respect they deserve.