I Hate Doctors

Unfortunately it’s hard to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes until we walk in them too.

6 Reasons Why Hatred Of Doctors Is Real (And Why It Shouldn’t Be)

Planning to soon become part of the medical profession myself I’m curious to find out why.

The main reasons for the hate seem to be one (or a combination of) the following:

• The internet convincing people they don’t need doctors
• The stigma associated with big pharma
• Fake news and misrepresentations of doctors in the media
• The complexity of solving health issues (can’t guarantee 100% cures)
• Doctors being the people we see when we’re sick and vulnerable

Like any good med student should, let’s explore each of these reasons.

Is this hatred of doctors justified?

Reasons To Hate Doctors

1. The Internet

The rise of the internet and the tons of websites talking about all things health could have a lot to do with many people’s hatred of doctors.

Now people can go online, read up about their ailments and self-diagnose themselves on the spot. All without leaving the echo chambers that help confirm what they secretly hoped to be true in the first place.

Thanks to the web, people no longer feel they need doctors now the information is all out there.

When a hundred websites tell you their opinion is just as qualified, all without billing you (like a clinic would), it’s not hard to see why.

A Med Students Response: until people learn to critique what they read, look for evidential backing and question their sources the same way they would doctors, this is a problem that’s not going away anytime soon. Although there’s been some pushback (read about Google’s medic update), there’s still plenty of hokey sites out there doling out bogus health advice and widening the public’s distrust of traditional healthcare.

The internet helps people hate doctors.

2. Big Pharma and Corporate Healthcare

Some of the hate that gets thrown at doctors comes as a result of association rather than direct cause. Working as a bridge between big pharma and the public, there’s accusations of doctors being shills trying to make quick money at the expense of unwitting patients.

Many people hate doctors because of the prices they charge. They argue that they’re cogs in the wheel of a machine driven by greed and exploitation.

A Med Students Response: to hold doctor’s responsible for the industries that run parallel to their role as primary caregivers seems a little unfair. Although we can’t be sure if unethical practices are commonplace in big pharma and privatised health (Ben Goldacre’s book Bad Pharma is a recommended read here), to see doctor’s at the center of these problems is an oversimplification of complex problems.

3. Fake News and Distorted Media Representations

From anti-vaxxers to 5G conspiracy theorists, fake news has a lot to answer for in terms of twisting the public’s perception of doctors.

Done with the sole intention to gain attention (and thus money), it’s a diversion tactic that works. People love anything sensational that can help confirm their bias.

The same can be said for anything in the media that shows doctors as real people. Why the outrage when people see doctors driving around, enjoying their free time, being with their families etc? Is it because it breaks the narrative that the life of a doctor is one of sacrifice and selflessness?

A Med Students Response: TV dramas, the media and the news may all have a big part to play in the idea that doctors see themselves as superior. The truth is that they’re people like everyone else. With diverse personalities.

4. Health is Hard

Fixing things as complicated as your health often involves big changes – lifestyle ones over a magic pill.

A lot of the time people don’t want to hear that.

Another reason for this hatred could be that doctors stand as reminders of that. Their role is to be brutally honest with you in a way not many other people might.

Maybe this is the reason that people like to insult doctors; as a type of revenge for forcing them to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves.

A Med Students Response: it’s not nice to be told you need to lose weight or give up smoking or whatever other action that could be a part of you. But, most of the time, a doctor is doing this for your own betterment. Don’t hate them for doing their job.

5. Outcomes are Uncertain

Sometimes people are just angry because they can’t get clear indications they’re going to be fine.

Doctors, unlike salesmen trying to get you to buy a product, can’t promise you a 100% positive outcome. That’s just not how medicine works.

In a world where many false commercial promises are made, it’s easy to fault a doctor for not playing along. When you spend a lot of money on expensive operations and procedures, you expect tangible results.

A Med Students Response: you can’t compare healthcare to a commercial enterprise (although sometimes they look similar). Doctors have to operate by a moral code that many others don’t. Do they really deserve to be hated for that?

6. Vulnerability

Perhaps the biggest reason doctors are hated is because we see them in times of vulnerability.

Knowing we can’t fix ourselves, we become dependent upon them. Then we ultimately begin to resent the power they have over us.

This could also be why some people accuse capable doctors of being incompetent. In reality the level of paperwork, administration and bureaucracy etc, just makes it difficult for them to actually do their jobs to a satisfactory standard.

A Med Students Response: we don’t necessarily hate doctors but rather the reason they exist. We don’t want to get sick. Nor do we want to be reminded of it. But patients must also understand that few diseases present to us exactly as we learn or see them in textbooks. Sometimes those extra tests we call for could just help save your life.

I Hate My Doctor: What Should I Do?

Besides asking for a new one (which you’re well within your rights to do so), there’s also the option of talking to your doctor to express your feelings and opinions.

Some of the hate you might be experiencing could be mistaken assumption. Clearing the air could help you both develop a better relationship.

I Don’t Trust Doctors Anymore, What Do I Do Next?

There could be lots of reasons why you don’t trust doctors anymore and every one of them could be valid. Maybe a doctor was rude to you or a family member. Or maybe they were negligent, made an error and caused you a lot of pain.

As someone standing on the other side of the fence though, I’d like you to know that doctors are a very diverse group of people – and not one of us is the same.

Just because you don’t feel you can trust a doctor you’ve had in the past, shouldn’t mean you can’t trust the thousands out there who do care and will do their best to help you.

Final Thoughts: Is Hatred Of Doctors Real?

It’s a waste of time to hate. You may feel negative about doctors but nothing is to be gained from hanging on to ill feeling.

Hopefully this article has helped show the other side of the debate and can maybe open your mind a little more.

I Can’t Do It Anymore: 3 Reasons Doctors Hate Their Job

Unfortunately it’s hard to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes until we walk in them too.

I searched the web to find out what other doctors thought about their career path choice.

Here’s what one doctor had to say on Sermo, the online community of more than 270,000 physicians:

“I wouldn’t do clinical medicine again, and it has nothing to do with the money. I get too little respect from patients, physician colleagues, and administrators, despite good clinical judgment, hard work, and compassion for my patients. Working up patients in the ER these days involves shotgunning multiple unnecessary tests (everybody gets a CT!) despite the fact that we know they don’t need them, and being aware of the wastefulness of it all really sucks the love out of what you do. I feel like a pawn in a moneymaking game for hospital administrators. There are so many other ways I could have made my living and been more fulfilled. The sad part is we chose the medical profession because we thought it was worthwhile and noble, but from what I have seen in my short career, it is a charade.”

Here’s another from Reddit:

I have been practicing actively for 10 years. I hate this job and the whole medical field. I never felt as though I belonged. Most of the “successful” doctors in the community are arrogant BS artists who viciously attack other doctors to make themselves look better to administrators.

To be considered good at your job in the health care world, you have to work 80 hours a week, take care of inpatients, outpatients, be on call, put up with phone calls and visits to your home. I am done. I have had it up to here, and I am done.

• I don’t have any clue what to do after this.
• I have no training for anything else.
• I’m not qualified to be anything else.

I have been criticized (unfairly) so heavily by other doctors in the community that I know I mentally and physically cannot do this job. I am good at certain aspects of my job, and I enjoy procedures (working with my hands, minor office surgery, etc). I hate people. They all LOVE me because I can listen (basically I have nothing to say to them, and have very little skill at manipulating a social interaction – which is required in my profession).

I am expected to spend the time listening, then relive it all when documenting the visit. My documentation takes twice as long as anyone else. I have anxiety about documenting every detail to prove that what I have done is appropriate.

I dread telling anyone, especially my fiancé and my family. They are constantly saying how they are proud of me for my accomplishments (for what that’s worth), and I dread losing value in their eyes. I have approached the subject of changing professions with friends and family, and I get encouragement (“you are just having a bad day”) and disappointed looks and statements. They say “we will love you no matter what you do, but you should be strong and keep on trying.”

I have no pride in myself other than their acceptance and pride in my career. If they knew the things I was thinking about doing, they would be shocked, disappointed, and disgusted.

I am clueless and stuck.

I hope and pray that someone, no matter their profession, seek help immediately if they’re having thoughts like this. There’s always a better place in life that you can go that’s a good fit but you have to find the people that can help get you there.

Now there were several posts that disliked being a doctor but others that loved it. With any job or career choice there’s going to be the good and the bad.

As a periodontist, I went through four years of undergrad, four years of dental school, one year of hospital training at the Biloxi, MS VA Hospital and 3 years of a surgical residency at LSU. Geaux Tigers!

I acquired close to $300K in student loans during the process. The problem we ran into was my job offer fell through only two weeks before I completed training and I had no clue how to start a practice (they forget to teach us that even thought it’s the MOST important).

For me personally, there was no way I could even consider to give up my career due to the MONEY owed.

I too was stuck….

Doctor Burnout Is On The Rise

Unfortunately, too many doctors are burning out early in their careers.

In a survey of 12,000 physicians, only 6% described their morale as positive.

A 2022 Physician Burnout and Depression Medscape Survey showed that 47% of physicians are burned out.

The following are the top three burnout rates in specialties:

• emergency medicine (60%)
• critical care (56%)
• Ob/Gyn (53%)

Their top 3 reasons were:

1. Too many “bureaucratic tasks” (records, charting, paperwork, etc.)
2. Lack of respect from administrators/employers, colleagues or staff
3. Too many hours at work

Many are citing that despite the thousands of work hours spent training, it’s the lack of autonomy that’s causing this undue stress.

Doctor Suicide Rate

What’s even worse is the increase in the amount of doctors taking their lives each year.

In the United States, it’s estimated that 300- 400 doctors commit suicide each year (I personally know two).

Those figures equate to a doctor per day – the highest suicide rate of any profession.

Newer research shows that the number of doctor suicides are 28 to 40 per 100,000 which is more than twice the number than the general population (12.3 per 100,000).

Many attribute this to their “greater knowledge of and easier access to lethal means”.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in the 24–34 age range (accidents are the first).

In a 2017 study published in Academic Medicine, suicide was the leading cause of death among male resident physicians and the second leading cause of death among all residents.

Look, I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer. I simply want to point out that:

• burnout is a REAL issue
• there are several reasons older and new doctors hate their careers
• you don’t have to continue saying “I hate being a doctor” to yourself (It’s a BIG world out there!)

Let’s get into the top reasons doctors wish they’d not gotten into medicine/dentistry.

Top 3 Reasons Doctors Hate Their Job

The top 3 reasons why doctors think, “I hate being a doctor” are:

#1. Debt

I completed training two months before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans (where we were living) in 2005. As previously stated, I had close to $300K in student loan debt. We also purchased a home (interest-only because we were broke) then I lost my job offer. Not fun.

I realize that med school tuition has been climbing each year with no end in sight.

It’s not uncommon to pay between $50,000 to $100,000+ a year.

If medical students decide during their third year they hate it, they’d already be more than $100,000 to $200,000+ in debt not even factoring in living costs and undergraduate student loan debt.

Now I understand that if this person completes training, then typically they can deal with their debt.

But the question remains: Who can leave medicine/dentistry?

Few of us are raised with a silver spoon in our mouths and our parents aren’t in the position to help us dig out of the debt hole.

If we decide to quit during our medical training and go into a different field, as a failed medical/dental student, we’d have a hard time making enough money to pay off the debt already acquired, right?

Leaving school early is a recipe for lifelong financial insecurity.

#2. Income

Unfortunately, doctor’s salaries haven’t kept pace with their expectations.

A family physician back in 1970 was making $185,000 a year (average inflation adjusted) vs making only $161,000 a year in 2015.

Don’t forget that a family doctor now has to see double the number of patients vs the 70’s.

We’re now starting to see an increase in the number of private practice docs moving to a “Concierge” model as most patients are paying more for their care but less of that money is going to the providers.

According to a 2002 article in the journal Academic Medicine, the return on educational investment for primary care physicians, adjusted for differences in number of hours worked, is just under $6 per hour, as compared with $11 for lawyers.

#3. Rise of Bureaucracy

I specifically remember my time spent as a VA hospital resident when changes were made to go from paper to electronic records.

For a semi-literate computer person, it didn’t affect me as much as it did those older docs that had been writing notes in charts for years.

This small change began the BIG wave of a lot of people calling it quits, not wanting to continue spending long hours of clinic time spent documenting care rather than providing patient care.

To them it wasn’t worth it. Could you blame them?

Studies estimate that doctors spend an hour on average each day, and $83,000 a year dealing with the paperwork for insurance companies.

Their office staff spend more than seven hours a day.

Is it any reason why so many physicians view themselves as pawns in a battle between insurers and the government?

The problem is the patients are the ones suffering as it’s the government or private insurance bureaucrats treating them without a medical license.

Instead of the doctor expressing their patient’s diagnosis with words such as heart failure or asthma, they must use a letter-number diagnosis found in the International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) code book if they want to get paid.

This book turns over 1,400 ailments into more than 68,000 codes. Reminds me a bit of our tax code!

So instead of a patient expecting their doctor to recommend the correct treatment, in reality, they’ll receive the recommendation that their insurance carrier allows.

It’s no wonder that job satisfaction in the healthcare system is declining! There are multiple other reasons why doctors sometimes think, “I hate being a doctor.”

But enough with the negativity. Let’s get into what we can do if we’ve ever had thoughts about disliking our career.

Financial Freedom for Doctors

When someone dislikes their career choice but feels stuck, then it’s a recipe for disaster.

If I can show only one doctor thinking, “I hate being a doctor” that there’s options, then I’d find success in helping just that one person.

One such option is financial independence.

If you’re interested in learning more about financial independence and what true wealth building can do for you, watch this video:

Financial independence (FI) provides freedom for doctors which is one of the best ways they can prevent the burnout syndrome.

Because if it gets to the point where you can’t take it anymore then you can simply walk away. (I wish I could have had this conversation with my childhood physician friend that took his life five years ago.)

The good thing is a financially free doctor has a choice.

• continue working full-time
• cut back to part-time work
• change careers
• fully retire

To me, that’s true autonomy.

Bottom Line

In life, we can find success if we learn where to find it.

If you’ve ever thought, “I hate being a doctor” then the time to start is NOW.

Your best course of action is towards financial independence which just might save you.

Even though you may lack autonomy at work it doesn’t mean you can’t find it with your personal finances.

Control what’s in your control.

Passive Investors Circle

It’s for this reason that I started the Passive Investors Circle.

This is where you have personal access to what I’m investing in to provide FI for our family.

You’ll also be able to connect directly with me should you have any questions about how we’re investing for our future.