Will do, thanks! 8)

__________________
Saba Forum Moderator
Saba University School of Medicine, MSIV
Interests: Pediatrics, Psychiatry

Hey...retina_geek...good to hear your experience....i am from Toronto tooo and i would like to know if you wrote the Ontario Medical examination and if you can give us Canadian some advise on coming back to Canada or staying in US and best time to write your Canadian exams....

Thank you



Siddman

HEY ALL,
I'M ABOUT TO NEWPOST MY IMPRESSIONS OF THE AMAZING TRIP I HAD TO SABA. I'M VERY GRATEFUL TO THE PEOPLE I SPOKE TO, AND ALL THE PEOPLE ON THIS FORUM WHO HAVE TAKEN TIME TO RESPOND. THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU.

BUT BEFORE I CLOSE OUT THIS THREAD, I JUST HAVE TO DEFEND THE LEGAL PROFESSION. SURE, EVERYONE HATES LAWYERS, AND THEY HATE ALL THE ISSUES THAT SURROUND LAWYERS. LAW, BY IT'S VERY NATURE, IS A BATTLE OF REASON. BATTLES ARE OFTEN UNPLEASANT. BUT BEFORE YOU GET YOUR MD AND BECOME A LAWYER-HATING DOC, REMEMBER THAT BEHIND EVERY DOC WHO GETS SUED IN A MALPRACTICE CLAIM, IS A LAWYER FIGHTING TO PRESERVE THE PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY OF THAT DOC. NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU MORE MONEY, TIME AND STRESS THAN A REALLY GOOD LAWYER. SO I SUGGEST THAT YOU GET TO KNOW AS MANY OF THEM AS YOU CAN. LAWYERS KNOW OTHER LAWYERS, AND REFERRALS ARE A MUCH BETTER THING THAT LETTING YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING THROUGH THE YELLOW PAGES WHEN YOU'VE JUST BEEN SERVED MALPRACTICE/DIVORCE/INFRINGEMENT/BREACH OF CONTRACT PAPERS.

FOR THE RECORD MY AREA OF LAW IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AND A REALLY GOOD LAWYER SAVED MY OWN BUTT LAST YEAR WHEN A MULTINATIONAL WENT AFTER ME PERSONALLY FOR 360K IN DAMAGES. A VERY SIMPLE, CONCISE 21 WORD REPLY PUT THE WHOLE MATTER TO REST. IT COST ME $720 IN PROFESSIONAL FEES, AND TURNED OUT TO BE THE BEST VALUE ON THE PLANET.

YES, LAWYERS ARE OFTEN EVIL, AND OCCASSIONALLY EGO-MANIACAL, DRUG ADDICTED, CHRONICALLY DEPRESSED, SOCIAL CRETANS. THAT SAID, I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH MANY OF THEM IN PRO BONO SITUATIONS TO PROVIDE RIGHTS AND LEGAL STATUS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS, AND PROVIDE LEGAL SERVICES TO RELUCTANT MENTALLY DISTURBED HOMELESS PEOPLE.

LAW, LIKE DISEASE, IS A FACT OF LIFE. I'D RATHER HEAL THAN BATTLE, AND THAT'S WHY I'M CONTEMPLATING THE SWITCH. NO ONE EVER WANTS TO SEE A LAWYER, OR AN ONCOLOGIST, BUT IT'S GOOD TO KNOW ONE WHEN YOU NEED ONE.

SO SHUT UP OR I'LL SUE YOU!

BIGGUY

Well said!
You could substitute the word "doctor" for "lawyer" here easily.

__________________
Saba Forum Moderator
Saba University School of Medicine, MSIV
Interests: Pediatrics, Psychiatry

It sounds like you were one of the good ones. The problem with law is it is supersaturated with lawyers who have to become parasites to survive. When malpractice lawyers make millions on the backs of parents of cerebral palsey children it is disgusting. Realize that the greatest enemy of health care in this nation today is malpractice lawyers. They are the reason why OB/GYN docs don't deliver babies anymore and why some docs can't even afford to practice medicine anymore. I can appreciate your current career and good past experiences with lawyers, but I also see what they have done to the current state of health care. Not all of them are bad, but to a doctor it is difficult to tell the difference. There are bad doctors out there who need to be accountable to their actions, but there are 10 times as many parasites out there who will sue doctors regardless if there were mistakes or not. Unfortunately there are no repercussions for lawyers because law is the good old boys network. In order to sue a lawyer for malpractice another lawyer (i.e., the judge) has to decide against them. It doesn't happen very often.
I guess I am venting about lawyers, but this represents many of the current views on lawyers in the medical field. Everyone needs a good lawyer to help you out of jams like the one you talked about, but as a doctor it is difficult to trust any of them as they could destroy you and your family's livelihood!!!! Congrats to you on coming over from the dark side.

Well hello again,
Lawyers don't need to change. The legislation needs to change. This country desperately needs tort reform. Doctors aren't the only ones being forced out by frivolous claims; small businesses, landlords, property owners, and sole practitioners in virtually every field, have seen their insurance costs skyrocket in recent years. In my area of intellectual property, some aspects of design and media have become virtually uninsurable.

Many states have made "caps" on certain areas of liability. We need similar measures at a federal level.

The other thing that needs to happen is that the medical profession has to sew their balls back on and start pushing back and lobbying for better protection. Doctors are obviously smart, but they're rarely good business people, and rarely political. The erosion of the profession toward socialized
medicine will continue until MDs en masse stop agreeing to accept $15 to see medicare patients. You're only worth what you'll accept as payment. Unfortunately, too many docs are willing to sell out the profession.

One very clear cut legal distinction between the JD and the MD here in New York sums up how powerless MDs have become. In New York, a lawyer can not be held to a "noncompete agreement," signed for a firm. It's void for being against public policy to limit the practice of lawyers, who are an essential component of the protection of rights of the population. MDs do not have the same protection. So, newly out of residency you could go to work in NY for a small practice, find out it's not going to generate a living for you, and then be bound to a "noncompete agreement" that would preclude you from practicing with a 150 mile radius. You'd think that allowing an MD to use his 12 years (or more) of education to benefit the public health would be favorable public policy, but docs haven't fought for it, so they can still be held to "noncompete agreements."

Lawyers are not exceptionally greedy....everyone is greedy. The same mentality that drives someone to sue for medical malpractice is the same mentality that drives someone to sue for whiplash. It's the same mentality that allows a victim of sexual abuse by a priest to collect a multi-million dollar judgement, knowing full well that the money is coming directly from the purses and wallets of a blameless congregation.

A lawyer is neither judge, nor jury. They merely stand in the place of the plaintiff, and are required under the ethical rules, to fight for their party to the best of their ability.....even if that means being evil and ruthless. Sure, there are lots of lawyers pushing reluctant plaintiffs forward to sue, because they want their 30% of the judgement, but without a greedy plaintiff, a greedy lawyer can't do anything.

Yes, I've done some nice things for some people, but I've also held some people painfully accountable for their actions or inactions. That's what I'm paid to do, and that's what I swore an oath to do. The problem isn't the profession, it's the reluctance of congress to rewrite the law.

I'm beginning to think we may need couples therapy.

BIGGUY

You must be a good lawyer as well as you write.
Personally, I think big insurance companies are at least one or two notches more evil than lawyers.
What's the biggest industry in the United States again in revenue?
Hint: It's not law

__________________
Saba Forum Moderator
Saba University School of Medicine, MSIV
Interests: Pediatrics, Psychiatry

Arms? :P

I totally concur.....over here in Toronto, Canada...the car insurance is so high that it can be seen only meant for rich people.....just to give you an example....for a 1992 Honda Accord...it can be as much as $250 a month....and if you compare that to Montreal ....its $50/month.... i don’t know why such a big difference....but that is how they are running the business here in Toronto....


Siddman

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Faith it seems, is not without a touch of irony

Yes, that's a concept I can completely agree with. The insurance industry is the anti-Christ. My professional liabilty policy has so many pages of exclusions, that it's practically as big as the New Testament. Sometimes, just for a chuckle, I read through it and use my creative abilities to think of far fetched scenarios that the policy would actually cover. God knows, that like virtually every policy written today, it won't cover anything that has a reasonable chance of happening. Insurance today is like the "bumper to bumper warrantee" you get with a new car....it doesn't cover any part that has a chance of wearing out. The insurance industry is making a killing selling sham policies that cover virtually nothing. It's disturbing to me that the goverment is so concerned about the fact that over the counter herbs like Ephedra (which is now off the shelf in NY) may harm a minute portion of the population, but virtually unconcerned that almost every citizen is getting ripped off by the insurance industry. Apparently the governments unofficial policy is "Thugs not drugs."

Bigguy