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The Forum Be Careful What You Wish forSometimes, the frustrations can make the grass look greener, even where we know it’s not.Mark H. Blecher, MD
As gruesome and foolish as that black humor may be, it reflected several truisms of the time. We were all rather despondent over the prospect that changes in reimbursement would reduce our income sufficiently that we might, even in jest, wish to stop working and go on disability. Prudent ophthalmologists had availed themselves of the gold-edged job-specific disability plans available at the time. After taxes, if you played it right, you would take home almost as much for not doing surgery as you did working 80 hours a week. During the late ’80s and ’90s, disability claims among our colleagues, according to the insurance industry, rose significantly. Today, few insurers write such generous job-specific policies for new applicants. Despite my aversion to personal pain, the thought of lounging around on the insurance companies’ money (my money, actually, in the form of outrageous premiums) is still appealing. Especially when each day seems, at times, to be more aggravating than the day before. I know I am not alone in these fantasies. If only I could figure out a less-disfiguring disability than a lawn-cutting accident. The reality, of course, is usually quite different. One of my partners has had a chronic back problem for almost 10 years, which has occasionally slowed him down a bit. His medical condition has been clearly documented. Unlike me, the thought of going on disability never appealed to him. A couple of months ago, his conditioned worsened and he needed surgery. He faced the very real possibility of involuntary permanent disability; at the least, he would be out of the office for a few months. He didn’t last two days before he was on the phone instructing the staff to start scheduling patients for him. Despite doctor’s instructions, he came in only four days after surgery, having started to go stir-crazy at home. He isn’t a workaholic; it’s just that, when it stared him in the face, the idea of no longer working at his profession was abhorrent. Despite the attractive financial situation that disability presented, he quickly realized the high price of that largesse. Many people, and certainly most physicians, are bound to their life’s work. Despite the uncertainty, aggravation and long hours, we desire and need the connection to our profession. Some more than others I’m sure, but in each of us, our work is a part of our identity. In the appropriate amount this is a good thing. This is not to say that some might not take the money and run. In each situation there is a unique set of circumstances and a unique answer. This was a lesson to me that, while I think I could sit around with a book and a cool drink while the disability checks are deposited in my account, perhaps I need to be more thankful for having work I enjoy doing, being paid well for doing it and for having the ability and good health with which to do it. Contact Dr. Blecher at mhbmd@bellatlantic.net. |