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Friday, January 03, 2003
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As the spouse of a physician I've watched a lot of the reporting on the surgeons walkout in West Virginia. The coverage in print has been pretty good, but everything on the tube has really glossed over the real issues. More of the coverage has been the typical sensationalism like "woman with non-life threatening injury couldn't get surgery at hospital x, and had to be taken to another one."
I thought I would try and show why the malpractice insurance costs in West Virginia is such a problem for surgeons. Consider the economics of being a general surgeon in West Virginia:
$220,000 (Average salary for a general surgeon)
-$78,100 (Uncle Sam's 35.5% income tax)
-$14,300 (West Virginia's 6.5% income tax)
-$73,000 (Current malpractice insurance costs in W. Va. for surgeons)
-$27,000 (Expected increase in premiums for W. Va. surgeons)
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$27,600 (What you have left of your salary)
Now also consider that general surgeons work about 100 hours per week with about 4 weeks of vacation per year. So that means their hourly wage is:
$5.75 per hour (U.S. minimum wage is $5.15 per hour)
I also didn't mention that general surgeons must first go through a five-year residency program where they work 100+ hours per week and earn between $36,000 and $43,000 per year. And when they get done they also have to pay back their medical school loans that average about $125,000 or $13,000 per year.
This is not a career choice problem. This is a problem created by malpractice lawyers that have driven up the cost of insurance. West Virginia has no caps on lawsuits, unlike most other states, and the pure economics of the profession have created this situation. Pennsylvania's new Governor Ed Rendell recently stepped in to stop a similar crisis, and hopefully politicians in West Virginia will have the sense to do the same thing. [ Saltire ]
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9:37:14 PM 
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"Love is not automatic. It takes conscious practice and awareness, just like playing the piano or golf. However, you have ample opportunities to practice. Everyone you meet can be your practice session." -- HeartMath Discovery Program, Doc Childre and Sara Paddison
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11:26:26 AM
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It's perfectly possible to be healthy on a vegetarian diet. In fact, vegetarians have a lower incidence of heart disease and cancer than people who include meat in their diets. While the type of vegetarian you are will affect the types of nutrients you need, here are some general guidelines:
- Pay attention to your calcium intake: The best vegetarian sources are sesame seeds, collards, broccoli, sea vegetables, and tofu that is coagulated with calcium. You can also buy calcium-fortified orange juice and soymilk. If you're still concerned, take a calcium supplement. I generally recommend 1,000 mg to 1,500 mg a day for women, and up to 1,000 mg a day for men. Look for calcium citrate, because it is the most easily assimilated (and it’s inexpensive). Be sure to complement your calcium with half as much magnesium.
- If you're a vegan, you'll want to make sure you get plenty of vitamin B12 (through fortified soy milks or cereals or supplements).
- Some vegetarian diets are deficient in zinc and iron. Vegetarian sources of iron are dried beans, prunes, figs, raisins, molasses, and dark, leafy green vegetables. [ www.drweil.com ]
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9:54:56 AM
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Adelle Davis. "As I see it every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself."
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9:37:11 AM
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© Copyright
2003
Rick@Leaders.net.
Last update:
2/5/2003; 2:57:06 PM.
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