The YPS is the voice of young physicians concerned about issues affecting their practice and their patients. Members work to influence policy and advocacy, and address various issues including health equity, work/life balance, income/reimbursement and administrative burdens.
A note from the YPS chair
March 2024
From YPS Chair Jordan Warchol, MD, MPH
I met with my accountant today. He’s an older gentleman with thick black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, wispy white hair and well-worn moccasins. As an emergency physician, I appreciate that I’ve never seen him not wearing a Patagonia jacket. Marty is his name. He has a funny habit of keeping his eyes mostly closed as he rambles a constant, stream-of-consciousness dialogue with himself, and maybe me sometimes. As I sat in his office, between his musings on my 1099s and W2s, he said into the air, “What an honor it is to care for someone the way you do.”
His comment struck me. This may be because I only got three hours of sleep today after my emotionally draining night shift, but instead I’m going to believe it was because of how the narrative around medicine has changed.
Much ado has been made about the way Gen Z is approaching our field. Concerns have been raised about the rising attitude that medicine is simply a job, and not a calling. I understand that this shift often comes from recognition that our career tends to at times encompass all of our being when maybe it should not, and that the sacrifices we and our families make are great. The current cog-in-the-wheel view of physicians by administrators and payors does not satisfy our desire to make a difference for others.
Yet I worry that seeing this noble profession as just a job ignores what Marty said. The privilege of having a profound impact on the lives of our patients should never be seen akin to a career in finance or sales. This is not to disparage persons who work in those fields; it is simply to recognize the true honor we are bestowed every day when we care for patients.
I think that in the end, the answer is somewhere in the middle. On the whole, young physicians today are not looking to spend as much time at work as our predecessors have in the past. Still though, when I talk to friends around the country, we see this work as a true vocation and calling and we are happy to spend more hours on the clock if that means our patients receive better care. Because it truly is an honor to care for someone the way we do.
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