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‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

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Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#31

Post by aflag »

rohit2412 wrote: post #9
SolaceQuantum wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theoretically if the podunk town is willing to pay 5x, 10x, 100x, etc. A doctor would definitely take up that. Hell, I would do software development in a podunk town for a million dollar salary. Maybe even a 750k salary.

Yeah that's a dynamic I can't understand. Most software professionals talk about relocating away from the cities the first chance they get, but everybody else is rushing to the same cities that only software developers seem to be able to afford. This dynamic extends beyond usa. Even in India, doctors command high salaries in rural areas, often 2-3x what they can in metropolitan cities.

The software engineers talk about it, but they never do it. Romanticising about moving to a simpler place is very different from actually doing it.

A developer is even more relocatable than the doctor. You can still work for a major company and you still have the big city market open to you, even if you live in a small town. Whereas for a doctor it's a major career change.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#32

Post by HarryHirsch »

thrower123 wrote: post #10
SolaceQuantum wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theoretically if the podunk town is willing to pay 5x, 10x, 100x, etc. A doctor would definitely take up that. Hell, I would do software development in a podunk town for a million dollar salary. Maybe even a 750k salary.

I'd happily do my software job remotely in a podunk town for just my current salary. The dollars would go almost twice as far.

Serious question: do you have children? The quality of schooling in large swathes of the country is abysmal.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#33

Post by wolco »

castratikron wrote: post #12

The picture at the end of the article says it all, "No services next 74 miles". If you choose to live in rural US, you are signing up for this kind of lifestyle; you're on your own. As long as that's advertised I don't see a real problem. If you need health care then you should live near health care. Don't expect the same level of support in rural MN as you would get in NYC.

Once they move as you suggest people will say you should have moved to a country that grows food if you want to eat.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#34

Post by coryrc »

swiley wrote: post #26
castratikron wrote: post #12

The picture at the end of the article says it all, "No services next 74 miles". If you choose to live in rural US, you are signing up for this kind of lifestyle; you're on your own. As long as that's advertised I don't see a real problem. If you need health care then you should live near health care. Don't expect the same level of support in rural MN as you would get in NYC.

People are told they should live in places like this because the rent in more populated places is too high.

Small/cheap cities are not the same as rural.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#35

Post by thrower123 »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #32
thrower123 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd happily do my software job remotely in a podunk town for just my current salary. The dollars would go almost twice as far.

Serious question: do you have children? The quality of schooling in large swathes of the country is abysmal.

Unless you are shelling out a college tuition for a top-level private school for the connections that it gives, there's effectively no real difference in your public school options - absent completely abysmal warzone type places.

In any case, one will need to put in the effort to get one's children properly educated. A smaller school district probably gives more opportunities to experience a wider spectrum of activities anyway - I certainly wouldn't have been able to be a three sport athlete, take every shop class available, participate in math and geography competitions, and a whole host of other extra curricular activities in a bigger pool.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#36

Post by coryrc »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #32
thrower123 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd happily do my software job remotely in a podunk town for just my current salary. The dollars would go almost twice as far.

Serious question: do you have children? The quality of schooling in large swathes of the country is abysmal.

Your spouse can homeschool if you make that much.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#37

Post by NullPrefix »

elsonrodriguez wrote: post #28
castratikron wrote: post #12

The picture at the end of the article says it all, "No services next 74 miles". If you choose to live in rural US, you are signing up for this kind of lifestyle; you're on your own. As long as that's advertised I don't see a real problem. If you need health care then you should live near health care. Don't expect the same level of support in rural MN as you would get in NYC.

> If you choose to live in rural US, you are signing up for this kind of lifestyle; you're on your own. Some people don't choose, and other people do choose, but more importantly: your food comes from the rural US and you should keep that in mind before being flippant about their fate.

>your food comes from the rural US and you should keep that in mind before being flippant about their fate

My food comes from the supermarket, get your facts straight.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#38

Post by kgermino »

EliRivers wrote: post #17
castratikron wrote: post #12

The picture at the end of the article says it all, "No services next 74 miles". If you choose to live in rural US, you are signing up for this kind of lifestyle; you're on your own. As long as that's advertised I don't see a real problem. If you need health care then you should live near health care. Don't expect the same level of support in rural MN as you would get in NYC.

I understand a lot of poor people in these regions lack the resources to move to more populated areas. Would you support a federal or state rehousing program to enable that? It's a genuine question; should the US taxpayer pony up so poor people trapped in rural areas can move to population centres and enjoy the benefits thereof?

I absolutely would. One of the best things we can do for poor people - and for the economy as a whole - is getting them physical access to better jobs. If people are trapped in an economically dead area the few grand it would take to support them moving to a more vibrant area is a pittance, especially compared to the cost of bringing jobs and services to rural areas.

I'm absolutely opposed to forcing people to move, but if they want to I have no problem spending a bit to help them.

(For reference I tend libertarian-ish)

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#39

Post by beerandt »

Obamacare set rules that require large scale-out to be affordable, especially billing and electronic medical records. This is why so many smaller practices, even in large cities, had no choice but to be absorbed by local hospitals or merge with competitors; they couldn't afford that cost of regulation on their own.

This also means that in areas lacking a certain critical mass of patients, practicing medicine won't make financial sense.

Re: ‘Out here, it’s just me’: one doctor for 11,000 square miles

#40

Post by rb808 »

honkycat wrote: post #6

This is happening on my home town. The hospital has been scaling back more and more. What was once a thriving hospital now only has 3 doctors. Not due to demand, but because there are not enough doctors. Doctors do not want to live in a podunk town, no matter how much the hospitals are willing to pay.

its disappointing that medical education is reserved for the best and brightest that unsurprisingly want to live in nice places. I have a friend that would love to be a rural doctor but didn't have the grades. They would have probably been smart enough to pass and be a great doctor, but the profession would rather have the highest academic scores.
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