I agree with Jenny, please don't loose your compassion towards patients. Working for and with doctors for the past 12 years has given me inside views on how doctors treat their patients. For the most part I have worked with great doctors. There is, however, a handful who they could not pay ME to go and see THEM for one reason or another!
I am just stating an opinion here from what I've experienced, insurance companies have made life hell for doctors over the last few years. They need specific diagnoses and procedure codes for everything they do....or they do not get paid. They need pre-approval before doing any type of testing or invasive surgery...I think that the doctors should be able to be the judge of what type of testing and treatments we need, not someone sitting at a phone all day, of whom we have never met, deciding our fate. They are also allowed a certain amount of time for surgeries and if they go over it for trying to fix the problems, then they don't get paid for it! For these reasons, and many more complicated red tape reasons, I think doctors become aggravated and angry because all they are trying to do is treat their patients and the insurance companies always get in the way. Many wide eyed doctors just coming into these situations are not anticipating this and this leads to a rude awakening. Thus other payment methods are put into place, like the prepayments.
Regina, you didn't say what type of doctor you were going to become or what year you are in? If you did, I missed it. Have you ever thought of specializing in adhesion patients? What an oppurtunity that would be. Many of us can only spread the word through typing on this message board or word of mouth. YOU have the resources along with your personal experiences to help you help other ARD patients, whether it be through surgery or searching for a "cure" or "treatment". Your personal experiences, no matter what you decide to do, will help you keep your compassion towards your patients. That is one thing you can never loose.
Good luck in your career. I'm sure you will be one of the best in whatever you choose.
-- Karen