Are Doctors Only In the Profession for Money These Days? What is a Volunteer?

Now there’s a frightening concept. In the U.S., this would apparently hold true, given their opposition to health care reform in the  U.S. for the most part. Perhaps, not so much in many European countries where they’re paid considerably less than their Canadian counterparts; all European nations seem to pay their doctors less than Americans.

If one dared to read his miserable blog or equally dismal columns in the National Posties, we would certainly believe that of the rancid Dr Roy Eappen.

It is definitely evident with the last presidents (including the current one, Dr. Anne Doig) of the Canadian Medical Association, given their pro-American health care system in Canada (they can say they travelled to Europe and look into other health care systems: don’t be fooled, it is the American health care system they want, as it is the only one Canada could ever have should St-Stevie gain his totalitarian regime precious majority).

I was hoping, however, that they would be of a minority. After all, I would rather be cared for by a Doctor who genuinely wants to use his gift to help others; to heal them; not for the zeros at the end of their bottom lines.

I heard a frightening story on CJAD today. It seems that Quebec orthopedic surgeons, who earn an average of 4000$ / wk. Those who are ‘volunteering’   in Haiti helping the earthquake victims, are expecting the Quebec Government to continue paying their full 4000$ /wk. Haitians, who had been living in the 7th circle of hell with practically nothing to begin with before the earthquake, have lost everything, but these doctors who are supposed to use their gift to help others are insisting on their usual weekly pay checque.  The nerve of them.

Accoring to Yves Bolduc, Quebec’s health minister, these doctors went on their own volition, as did many others.  He says that he is looking into the orthopedic surgeon’s requests, but is concerned that if he grants their request of their usual 800$/day salaries, the other doctors of different specialties (there are general surgeons and anesthesiologists ‘volunteering’  in Haiti) as well as other people of different professions would also all demand full payment.

According to Gregory Vandendaelen from Doctors without Borders,  his organization’s doctors only get a stipend of 1500$/month:

“It’s of course, as you can imagine, way less what a doctor can earn here in Canada.”

While any volunteer abroad would be provided housing, food and perhaps a monthly stipend, in order to sustain life for themselves, they’re certainly not doing it for the money, or even recognition. They’re doing it because they truly want to help those less fortunate than others. They want to use whatever talents they may have to make a difference. That is how volunteer service should be.

What if the Quebec Government caved in and paid these doctors their full salary? That means they’re not really volunteering. They’re only doing it to say, “hey, I was there. And I saw this, that  and the other thing.”   All about bragging rights to a captive audience who love shiny things. They have that in common with St-Stevie.  How scary! Well, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised; after all,  they weren’t in Haiti (most of them anyway) before the earthquake,  they are not known to go to other poverty stricken countries neither.

Certainly, Quebec doctors in Haiti can’t be unique in demanding full salary from their government. Surely, their counterparts from other provinces and the U.S. must be demanding the same of their governments. Oops! Forgot, American Doctors probably needed permission and promise of payment from the insurance companies and HMOs they work for or they wouldn’t have gone.

What does the so-called volunteer doctors in Haiti demanding their full salaries have to do with pushing for private for profit here in Canada?   It is about that growing culture of arrogance, greed and self-entitlement.  One has to wonder why talented med students want to be doctors: do they genuinely get into it to heal the sick? Or is it just for the money? If the latter, I would say they’re in the wrong profession; they should become investment bankers instead.

I know I would never want to be treated by the likes of Dr Roy, who seems to spend more time whining about how we should have private for profit health care in Canada and less time actually providing a full service to his patients. Nor would I want to be treated by Dr Jacques Chaoulli, himself, who snowed the Supreme Court of Canada when he won his right to back out of the medicare system.  When he  did set up his private clinic in St-Leonard, a district on the north-east part of  Montreal, he obviously proved his own less than altruistic motives, when allowing a man to die in his waiting room and making no attempt to revive him (Here is the coroner’s press release: sorry, only available in French).

When doctors start worrying more about their pay cheques and prestige that goes along with having M.D. appended to their name and less about caring for their patients, do we really want them treating us as opposed to doctors who may not earn as much but genuinely care about their patients?