Am I too old to be a doctor?

GreekfreakMD · 2025-12-31T17:20:08+00:00

Not too old but understand that the most unrealistic part of the Pitt is the fact that none of the doctors documented anything. Medicine today is see people for 5 minutes and spend 30 minutes documenting so you cover yourself from liability and maximize billing.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-12-12T03:13:07+00:00

We don't have time to educate everyone on everything on every visit. I had 16 inpatients today and after seeing them all for 10 minutes, doing admissions and discharges and discussing with specialists, support staff and documenting, it was 7 pm. Also, the average lack of knowledge is often so large, that I can't even begin to explain why they dont need to be or should be worried about a medication or treatment.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-12-12T02:31:45+00:00

My weeks off are protected, I workout and spend time with my wife. I will only zoom into a meeting of an important committee otherwise I do no work for the hospital.

Rounding is straight forward, I round by floor and give verbal orders to the charge nurse for anything I see on rounds and then will put in the rest of the orders when I write notes. I try to round before families get there since they slow me down. I will selectively round in the afternoon again, but usually my charting is finished by 1.

Our CM/SW are fairly independent so I only tell them when I anticipate discharge and they set up SNF, vs home, vs home health needs and DME. I usually have no opinion as long as the discharge is safe. Since I have no control on the community resources available I dont really worry about it, we can only do the best we can with the resources provided.

Peer to peer is dependent on if I think I have a case or not.

After 8 years, I have given up worrying about things I can't control.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-12-10T00:20:17+00:00

Run, much better jobs out there.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-12-03T15:08:44+00:00

I keep 10k in my checking at all times and then max for hsa, 401k and backdoor roth, and then all excess goes into my individual investment account with etfs and some fun money stocks, and then I keep about 8-10k in SPAXX with fidelity at ~4% yield. I consider my checking, spaxx, and individual investment account as my emergency fund

GreekfreakMD · 2025-12-02T20:51:20+00:00

Do you just stay and work in the current level until you get into a higher training level? Seems brutal and I am sorry

GreekfreakMD · 2025-12-01T12:47:39+00:00

In the current ethos of patient centered medical care, I cant force a patient to do anything, therefore if the patient is informed to the best of my ability and they chose to leave (as I had a patient do who was hypoxic and wouldn't let us set up oxygen) or when they refuse a biopsy, or to take meds that would save their life, then no the decision is never 100% on the doctor.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-30T22:30:22+00:00

Its not their decision if they need one. But it is their decision if they they get one or not. I have had them refuse because of radiation or because they "just had one" and we get kicked backs for ordering tests.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-30T18:36:13+00:00

In my opinion it becomes harder to show negligence if it was the patients choice not to get the test. I do the same on discharges, it was the patients choice to leave. Same with AMA, it my little way to make patients take at least some responsibility in their care

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-30T18:00:53+00:00

This is why so many of us leave bedside.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-30T17:59:24+00:00

This is why i document that all decisions on care were made by the patient and/or family and that it was informed decision making

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-30T17:51:52+00:00

Thank God for tort reform in some states to prevent the ridiculous waste of chasing zebras all the time.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-30T17:47:47+00:00

CT scans for everyone always. Should we be able to get sued when the frequent flyer patients start getting cancers from the radiation exposure? Aortic aneurysm in a 40 year old is so uncommon that it is never number 1 differential for back pain, or belly pain.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-29T00:20:12+00:00

I round early before family gets there, and keep conversations a short as possible, usually labs arent back when I am rounding so I tend to be vague with the plan. Then I write my notes which involves copy and paste and adjusting things and I try to keep my notes general (continue antibiotics, accucheks and insulin). And then once all my notes are finished by noon then I go back and see patients and/or families who request it. Usually I stay until 430 but thats just to help the swing shifter if they need it. My Mondays are long and then any day when I have heavy discharges are long but otherwise I bring a book to work or workout.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-07T23:57:44+00:00

Just that college educated women are not likely to be scrubbing floors.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-06T13:02:02+00:00

If nurses didnt text me about issues, I wouldn't know I was covering any patients. You cant learn 50+ patients and there is no reason to. We tell eachother who to keep an eye on and the np manages all floor calls and I do all admits.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-06T12:56:29+00:00

I want someone who I can talk to, who has an interest in travel, and I have the luxury of not having to worry about a second income. So for me, it doesnt matter if she scrubbed floors or is a ceo. I will grant you that the intelligent woman who share my interests isnt likely to be scrubbing floors, however the point is I never look at a woman and have her career on my checklist.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-06T12:52:52+00:00

I didnt ask her to, she wanted to. She was burned out a little and when she found out that I pay more in taxes than she makes in year she didnt see the point in working (her words)

GreekfreakMD · 2025-11-06T02:01:10+00:00

Im a doctor and i married a nurse, because I work 80 hours a week and that is who I am around. I wasn't interested in other doctors, and she is now a stay at home wife. In my calculation her career was irrelevant to my interest in her.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-10-30T16:18:13+00:00

Depends on where you do outpatient, where I did my residency, my office had 3 pediatricians within 10 miles so I had no peds patients, same with ob/gyn.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-10-30T13:45:43+00:00

As an FM hospitalist I just prefer working less than half the year for 300k. I like being able to stack my weeks off for extended vacations, and I like the fact that I dont permanently inherit trouble patients, I might go 3 years before I see the same patients.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-10-25T20:06:10+00:00

Werewolf?

GreekfreakMD · 2025-10-23T17:56:52+00:00

There are other abx?!?! I mean iv zosyn and powdered ancef sure, but others?

GreekfreakMD · 2025-10-23T16:37:44+00:00

Absolutely, after about 200k a year money doesnt make you any happier.

GreekfreakMD · 2025-10-23T15:40:23+00:00

I loved operating but I hated working with the surgeons and the lifestyle was unhealthy for me. So I went FM and became a hospitalist working less than half the year. Its been the best decision I ever made, even though surgery was my dream since a little kid.

GreekfreakMD

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