Primary care crisis in northern New York

What’s the point of enjoying the scenic living if you’re on call all the time?

Typical was what one primary care doctor who recently left for an out-of-state job and a 50 percent salary hike told Mundy: “I came here knowing I’d make less money, but I did it for the rural lifestyle. I never had time to enjoy the mountains. I’ll leave, make a lot more more money and bring my family back to the Adirondacks on vacation.”

It’s probably time to stop thinking that physicians are more altruistic than others:

“This nation’s set of values has not extolled the social worker model of the physician of old,” Fein said. “Making the most money has become the way we’ve come to assess things. I don’t expect doctors to be better than the rest of us.”

Prev
Next