Do physicians gossip about sales reps?

I ask this question because sales reps are notorious for gossiping about physicians in the field. Some good gossip and some bad. Mostly funny stories about their interactions with their physician customers. I was just wondering if doctors do the same thing when you have social interactions with one another? Do you find that those in your profession gossip about individual sales reps or tells funny stories about their interactions with reps? I've often wondered if the door swings in both directions?

 

Most medical doctors I know consider drug reps to be a necessary evil. Most docs are extremely busy in their practices (unlike drug reps) and probably have little spare time to gossip about drug reps, even if they had the inclination to do so (and most probably wouldn't even if they had the time). It actually takes brains to become a physician.

 

See does...lots of brains/washing. Get it? Brainwashing. Brainswashing. LOL.

The older I get, the more I see a failed healthcare system that feed the cows in this world drugs that don't solve long-term problems. People just do whatever their MD suggests, which is stupid, compared to learning about prevention and only going to an MD when it is absolutely necessary, which is going to happen only a handful of times in one's life.

Doctors are book smart, and that is as far as I will go with them. Most are terrible at business. Most have big ego (not a sign of being smart). And the worst part is that about half don't even care about their patients (and that number might be much higher).

Sorry for the downer, but I think most of what I wrote is accurate.

 

Excellent response, Dr. Dave.

What the previous poster doesn't understand is that the average MD did not make the rules that apply to modern medicine and is not responsible for the failed healthcare system in America. The politicians in Washington DC and the Harvard educated MBA CEO's of the major insurance companies make the rules that the common physician is either obligated to obey or risk losing his licence to practice medicine. The physicians don't control the pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs or the FDA. MD's are given their marching orders by the Ivy League MBA brats and are expected to carry them out.

Oh, and your average MD makes one heck of an investment to get a medical license, unlike a pharma sales monkey who goes from office to office peddling his company's products. A doctor had to shine as an undergrad to get a shot at medical school - then enter into 4 years of grinding competitive scholarship, an internship and a low-paid residency to secure the right hang out a shingle and make a living. Most MD's have to pay off huge education loans of $400,000 or more upon entering a medical practice.

Oh, and as far as business acumen goes, if you trained for most of your life to be an engineer could I reasonably expect you to also be an expert in the field of anthropology? Accordingly, high expectations of a medical doctor having Warren Buffet business skills is so very stupid it hurts.

Personally I'm perplexed why a man or woman with the brain power to become a physician even considers medicine as an occupation in this day and age. It must be torture to have some MBA bean counter in an insurance company dicate how you will practice a trade that it took you 11 years or longer to learn. Very few physicians I have spoken with about their chosen profession would ever suggest their children to follow in their footsteps. Who needs all that responsibility, liability, long hours, paperwork, continued education, listening to patient complaints day after day, etc...

Oh, and all of my previous and current family physicians have emphasized preventative medicine. Each recommended that I follow a specific healthy lifestyle (diet, exercise, stress reduction, etc...) to promote a long and quality life. HOWEVER IT IS MY CHOICE WHETHER TO FOLLOW THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS OR NOT!

I thank the Lord that there are still people like you, Dr. Dave, who are willing to sacrafice and share your talents so that we can get competent treatment when we fall ill. The previous poster may not appreciate that. Trust me. I do.

 

I totally understand why some who would make great physicians decide to enter other vocational fields. Student debt of half a million dollars at graduation would certainly make me look at other options. I think the european system is better. Over there qualified applicants get their tuition and fees paid by the government. Sure, they don't have the same income as American doctors but they still make good livings. Graduating from medical school debt free would be a big plus. Also, it would attract more candidates who have a sincere interest in medicine and treating sick people - rather than those with aspirations to just get rich.