For most doctors, particularly OBs, 40 hours a week is part time!

This is absolutely true, at least outside what I’ll call the “vanity” specialties. And this is the fundamental problem with your system. You receive no reward for being great.

This is true. It is equally true for many of my friends who are medical professors, family physicians, architects, etc.

I am primarily referring to the best and the brightest and what they may choose to do.

Rich or poor, famous or infamous, celebrity or street person, the physician by and large cannot command a higher price for one versus the other. You cannot capture the economic value of your work. How much is saving life with a cardiac bypass or removing a tumor worth? In economic terms it varies. You will be compensated the same regardless. If you are a really excellent lawyer or business person, you can command higher prices and better compensation. Many of the best physicians are not the highest paid, and some of the worst are. I think the same is largely true of other professions.

As far as keeping to the facts, I will restate: ONE of the Forbes 400 2006 made the list practicing law. There are NO physicians who made this list practicing medicine (and there really shouldn’t be).

Many very good lawyers who are your “contemporaries” work for far, far less for the public defender’s office, for nonprofits, at smaller firms, for the Justice Dept., for the district attorney, etc. They’ll be lucky to make $1 million in 7 years, much less 1.

O’Quinn hasn’t been on, if ever, for years. Facts, indeed.

I do guess John O’Quinn dropped off the Forbes 400 list as he has added to his auto collection depleting his funds by millions per auction.

My contemporaries span some of the best in all professions: medicine, law, business, as well as sports.

I would just consider myself older and wiser.

Your information is incorrect, like the post that began this thread. There is one lawyer on the Forbes 400 who got there practicing law – Joe Jamail. The case that put him there – a business litigation case – Pennzoil v. Texaco.

“My contemporaries are the best and brightest regardless of profession.”

Please. What a load of crap. How many physicians do you know that you would not even think of sending your family to? All physicians know one of their colleagues like that.

“I would wager that the American trained doctors I know would be landing six-figure jobs at silk-stocking firms. My contemporaries who are attorneys all make $500k to $1million+. The fact is that we would not have to import doctors if things were so wonderful or standards were not so high.”

Who do you consider your contemporaries? How old are you? Where do you live? I guarantee that unless it’s Manhattan, the average salary of your “contemporaries” in law is certainly nowhere near yours. You guys are taking a few people and assuming that all of them make that. Clearly, the top in any profession do well, and would likely do well in any other profession, assuming they don’t have a particular gift unique to their own.

We’re importing doctors because your profession has universal skill sets. To be a lawyer in another country requires basically relearning the law of that jurisdiction, which may be vastly different from your own. Apples to Oranges.

In 2000, there were about 600k doctors and 1 million lawyers in the US. Given the differences in length of training and opportunity costs, competiveness of admissions, and the fact that there are no physicians on the Forbes 400 who got there from practicing medicine, but a few lawyers who got there practicing law, I certainly do not think doctors are overpaid compared to lawyers. My contemporaries are the best and brightest regardless of profession. Some are certainly not valued fully in economic terms. This applies across professions. In the long run this does influence what professions the best and brightest choose.

I guess that helps explain why they have to play the bogus lawsuit lottery.