Lactic Folly

Reread Wachaa's last post carefully. I don't think it's saying that disparity isn't an issue (eta: many codes do not account for case complexity, leading to significant variance between practice settings in the same field, so it's not that straightforward to define their value). But perhaps advocating for increased supports, where needed, might be more helpful to the majority of medical practices. As this thread has gone off-topic, I will circle back and say that one advantage of family medicine is the ability to conduct discussions like the thread below in a vastly different tone:

Since cataracts are a publicly funded medical procedure, if a claim is being made that someone is doing increased numbers of a procedure solely for profit, it would be helpful to elaborate on what other medically necessary care has been displaced as a result, or whether some patients actually do not require the procedure. Given that most surgeries occur in publicly funded institutions, most of the decisions regarding number of procedures/day will be made at the administrative level. The wait times in each region of Ontario are constantly being tracked. With over 117k cataract surgeries pe

Thank you for clarifying that extrinsic and intrinsic motivators can coexist. I don't disagree that pay obviously influences behaviour, but when I responded to Arztin's comment, I was thinking of my friend in ophtho who, as a student, expressed his awe about the gratitude from patients after their surgeries. Now with a young family, he continues to provide volunteer services and teach in the developing world (before this year, anyway). I'm sure he enjoys his income too, but wouldn't presume to state that pay is his only motivation. It's a bit of a harsh judgment to make about the character of

There is absolutely zero implication of that in my post. I am very surprised to see such a response and have no idea why you would say that. Did you see my post in the other thread here?

How about restoring people's sight and significantly improving their quality of life with a single procedure? Is that such a far fetched possibility?

You mean for credit or audit? Why would tuition be included in the MD program? Why not take one of the numerous online free courses now before classes start?

I'm not sure that such a distinction can actually be made. But I do envision dedicated family physicians working to facilitate positive lifestyle changes, help their patients obtain necessary resources and supports (especially those who are underprivileged), detect early signs of disease, and coordinate multiple aspects of a patient's care, and that these are important aspects of medical care and prevention that help patients navigate the often fragmented healthcare system and reduce the burden of disease.

Traditional family medicine is more about the patient than the disease. Check out the writings of family doctors who share their patients' stories, and how they have built relationships with entire families and cared for them over a lifetime.

Some provincial medical associations have a limited "insurance only" membership option to allow members who reside out of province to continue their insurance policies. I'd ask about that.

Depends on the context. Sometimes insecure people might perceive someone else as bragging about their experiences if they hadn't been asked to share - I wonder if that is what OP is hesitant about.

Not clear whether you think the references provided were themselves weak/lukewarm and this contributed to your rejection, or whether you have gotten a sign that the referees seem weary about continuing to help (for example, delayed responses to requests compared to previous).

There is a re-entry program funded by the Ministry of Health in Ontario. Not familiar with the process in the other provinces.

This is a good suggestion. There are tons of bloggers and authors out there whose writings will provide much more insight into a medical career than your typical hospital volunteer placement.

I think the importance of looking into specialty selection early on has been well covered here. As the medical training process tends to condition people to jump through successive hoops, I'd also give some thought to the longer term scenario - your values in work and life, and how that would translate into the type of career you would like to have and where (for example, if you have any special interests you might like to pursue, or if a particular location is important to you - so you can lay the groundwork and incorporate that into your decision making).

It's important to take care of one's health as best as possible. But time and energy can be a limitation, especially for things like hobbies. I found that having high intrinsic motivation, sense of meaning in one's work, and a supportive team environment made for a positive residency experience overall.