Tag: money

“They” say that money isn’t everything…but who’s they? The people with the money?

The Dalai Lama once said that “These days, in our materialistic culture, may people are led to believe that money is the ultimate source of happiness. Consequently, when they don’t have enough of it they feel let down. Therefore, it is important to let people know that they have the source of contentment and happiness within themselves, and that it is related to nurturing our natural inner values.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Earl Wilson said, ” Always remember, money isn’t everything-but also remember to make a lot of it before talking such fool nonsense.”

So, who’s right? How important is money in our lives? How important is money to our happiness? I am sitting here browsing through all these wise and quippy quotes about money. The trend that draws my attention is that every quote that belittles the possession of money or summizes that it is insignificant, seems to be made by a very wealthy or famous person. The rest of quotes that address the fact that some financial backing is essential to survival seem to be made by everyone else.

Interesting. I think all of them are correct actually. Once you have achieved fame and fortune, money becomes less important because you already have it. You already have a foundation. The struggle is over. For the rest of us, we realize that human beings need money to pay for all the things that make your life possible. You need it to pay for your basic needs like healthcare, food, and shelter. That is just a fact. Having more money gives a person more choices and comes with more autonomy in their own lives. Can money buy happiness? Well, I think we have answered that question with a resounding no over the ages. Money cannot buy happiness. I am sure there are miserable millionaires everywhere.

There are some plot twists though. There are studies that show that, while having enough money for basic needs and provide a safety net is essential to well being, having additional income may not actually increase wellbeing and may even have a negative impact. Here are some statistics.

A study was done looking at per capita income in the United States from 1946 to 1990. Per capita income rose 150%, yet the percentage of people who reporting being happy fell significantly and depression rates rose ten fold. People who won large sums of money with lotteries were not actually happier a year later and had more daily dissatisfaction. The University of Minnesota did a nine experiment series that showed that when people are thinking about money, they isolate themselves from others. Money made people want to be free of dependents, be less helpful to others. When people compared themselves economically to others it only caused distress. Well, none of that sounds good.

So, why think about money so much? It does allow for some instant gratification possibilities. It does help provide for our basic needs, but we have shown that it doesn’t buy happiness. In fact, we have shown that sometimes too much of it can make things worse. I think it is not realistic to say that it doesn’t matter at all. That is not really possible. I just think that it can’t be your primary focus all the time. It’s too disruptive mentally and physically. There are other things that matter more like relationships, purpose, and happiness. Within reason, I think over focusing on money should take a back seat to those.

Dr. Katz

You need to love your job…or stop doing it

According to statistics from February 2022, 65% of U.S employees are satisfied with their jobs, but only 20% are passionate about them. Notice that these statistics don’t address how many people are actively employed, it just speaks to the percentage that are. This makes it a little tougher to ascertain the true meaning of this. But let’s take them at face value. To be honest, with everyone’s behavior lately, I am surprised that the statistics are even this positive. I sometimes wonder if the majority of people in the United States even want to work anymore. I am extremely thankful that I have found some that do.

So, why is job satisfaction so important? Doesn’t it only matter that the work gets done? The short answer is no. The completion of work is not the only significant factor. Job satisfaction really matters. Let’s look at why.

Job satisfaction affects workers, which in turn affects the company. When workers are happy with their careers, they become better team players. They tend to align themselves in a sincere way with the company mission and goals. This leads to employees being PR ambassadors, spreading the word about how much they love working there and then generating more word of mouth business for the company.

There is way less job turnover when employees are satisfied. This means less HR headaches and less time and money spent on hiring. On top of that, satisfied workers are more productive and more motivated to complete their tasks. They will work harder and company profit will increase. It’s a win win.

So, let’s take a look at what makes jobs satisfying. 60% of U.S employees feel that their co workers are the biggest factor in their work happiness. This does not necessarily refer to their upper level bosses. These are the people that they work with every day. If they all get along, have each other’s backs, and work as a team,, everything goes better and is more enjoyable. Even if they are not a fan of their boss, as long as they get along with their co workers, things usually function ok. Another 74% of U.S employees believe that company culture is the biggest contributing factor. It makes sense. A healthy and positive work environment makes any day go better. I have to agree with this. Having a good team around me has made work more enjoyable than it has been in years.

What are some of the most satisfying jobs in the workforce? According to U.S News and World Report, PayScale and CareerBliss, this is the list of the most satisfying jobs available:

Chiropractor

Chief Executive

Conservation Scientist

Physician

Nurse

Physical Therapist

Teachers

Clergy

Psychologist

Surgeon

What is so special about these jobs? From my estimation, all of these jobs have some characteristics in common. There is variety. New things happen every day. The job is ever changing. They have an opportunity to advance. They involve helping people. They have higher salaries, which decreases bill pay stress. All of these factors contribute to job satisfaction.

What makes a job less satisfying? Less flexibility, lower pay, lack of benefits, poor work environment, no opportunity for advancement and high turnover rate all lead to less job satisfaction. Jobs that fall into this category include parking lot attendants, fast food cooks, dishwashers, cashiers, waiters, and retail salespeople.

Now, having said all of this, I am sure that a lot of employees don’t fit into these categories. Some cooks love their jobs. Some teachers hate theirs. I am not attempting to generalize. These examples are research-based. I realize that there are always exceptions.

We have discussed all the statistics. Now let’s talk about why I think job satisfaction is important. I think it is important because I literally can’t do my job well without it. I am grateful every day that I love what I do. I know this from the bottom of my heart. I have really been tested lately. Many of us have. Times have been really rough these last three years. I have worked without pay, through cancer, through family mental health issues, through my husband’s heart attack, and through the pandemic. I haven’t worked for reimbursement. I have worked because I love it. I still do. As long as I keep that in mind, and as long as that is still true, I will keep on doing it.

Dr. Katz

Physician Burnout

Being a good doctor has been especially tough lately. It seems like there are so many obstacles to being able to provide quality care without completely sacrificing your own mental and physical health. Fortunately for me, I consider myself to be very strong of mind and body and my love for my patients and my job still far outweighs all the negative impact of the obstacles. I am very grateful for that, but, some are not so lucky.

You ask yourself, what kind of obstacles could doctors really have? Don’t they have it made? I mean, don’t they just make a ton of money off of the rest of us and live these amazing extravagant lives? Don’t they just get to direct us like sheep with all of their recommendations, procedures, and prescriptions etc? I hate to burst your bubble, but it is not like that at all, at least not for me.

Did you know that the rate of physician burnout is set to hit and all time high this year? The final numbers are not in yet, but it doesn’t look good. On top of that, Ob Gyn as a specialty has the fourth highest rate of burnout among all the specialties. 46% of Ob Gyn physicians report feeling burnout. So, what is burnout anyway? Physician burnout is classified as a psychological syndrome that is a prolonged response to chronic occupational stressors. Heh? What? It means that the stresses of the job potentially get so overwhelming and so stressful that you kind of break down and just don’t want to do it anymore. Yikes! Sounds awful doesn’t it? I mean anything with the word burn in it can’t be good right?

So, what are the symptoms of burnout? 1) Feeling tired and drained all the time is one of them. 2) Fatigue that does not budge no matter how much sleep you get is another. 3) Feeling sick all the time is yet another. 4) Changes in appetite or sleeping habits 5) Drop in libido or sexual desire 6) frequent back pain, muscle aches, headaches with no other apparent cause.

What do physicians have to be so stressed out about you ask? There are a ton of potential stressors. Let’s start off with the fact that your incredibly high medical school loans offset by the lower average salaries for most physicians means that your debt is not paid off until you are nearing 50. How about the fact that reimbursements for physicians, particularly in my specialty continue to drop, regardless of manhours spent or level of difficulty to the point that I find myself wondering if I am going to be the one paying to do procedures on patients instead of the patients…lol. Let’s think about the hours for a minute. For me, a solo practicing obgyn, I am essentially on call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. My ability to do anything with my family completely depends on what is happening with patients. I find myself getting coverage if I decide to go to the bathroom in a town that’s greater than 30 miles away, much less if I am going on an actual vacation. I just can’t risk missing a call. For those of you with 9 to 5 jobs, most of you get to be done when you go home. I am never really done. I am always responsible for my patients. I am not complaining. I chose this life and this specialty. I am just clarifying.

Another stressor is the fact that there has been a huge breakdown in the concept of the doctor patient team relationship. Patients are now viewed as consumers rather than patients and as such, this wave of consumer-oriented thinking has brought a wave of bossy, entitled, demanding behavior that is often hard to stomach. I am extremely fortunate that I do not have a lot of these patients, but when I do, it is very exhausting. I have spent too much time invested in my education and have worked too hard and too long to have patients shake their finger at me, dictating their own care without listening as if I am their secretary or sales rep, rather than their doctor. It’s just not right.

One of the biggest stressors is the fact that doctors, even with all of their training and medical knowledge, do not really have the final say in what they can recommend for patients. The insurance companies do. The expenses do. The patient’s ability to pay does. I cannot tell you how many thousands of times in the last 25 years that I have had to change the optimum management, prescription, procedure, etc for a patient because of insurance and cost. Most of the time, my poor patients have to go through multiple treatment failures, medication side effects, extra office visits, etc before I am allowed to finally do the right thing for them because of some insurance criteria. To make it worse, most of them do not understand that I am not the one dictating these delays. They are under the impression that I am just “nickel and diming” them. Nothing could be further from the truth, yet I bear the brunt of their frustration and mine anyway.

Last but not least, let’s touch on the impact of COVID 19 for a minute. Wow talk about a stressor! Now we have to worry about exposure, like the rest of the world. We can’t hug our patients, hold their hand or comfort them in any way except with words, which is just not enough for some patients. If you thought insurance companies were bad about dictating care, they have nothing on COVID. We are being told when we can do procedures. I didn’t operate for months. We are being told what care is essential and what care isn’t. (Apparently vaginas fell in the isn’t category for awhile, unless a baby was coming out.) Our businesses are shut down and employees are sent home because there weren’t enough patients to keep them. Employees are afraid to come to work even when we have enough patients. We are told to do virtual consults instead of bringing patients to the office. How exactly are you supposed to do that with ObGyn patients? Hold their vaginas up to the screen? Generalization and conformity rules over sense and applicability. Even now when we are allowed to see patients, fear keeps most of them home anyway, crippling my ability to adequately care for them. I can say 100 times that it has never been safer to go to the office with all the precautions and prescreening, but I cannot force them to come in.

Long story short, physician burnout is a real thing. It affects nearly half the physicians in a lot of different specialties, and obgyn is no exception. I just want everyone to keep in mind that we doctors realize that everyone is struggling right now, but we need you to realize that we are right there with you.

Have a thoughtful day.

Dr. Katz