[Musing] Class Status
With the healthcare “debate” in the US being in high swing the usual ones are coming out of the woodwork here in Canada as well, mainly the ones that slack the “Canadian Healthcare System” (which doesn’t exist, it’s all provincially run, the Federal Government does provide funds, but the administration is in the hands of each Province).
One of the favourite “punching bags” for those who criticize the Canadian System is the lack of General Practitioners (GPs) or as you may know them: Family Doctors.
It is true, of course, that they are few and far between, anybody who ever moved and had to find a new one can tell you a story about that, but while the critics like to lay the blame at the feet of the public system, the reality for it is most likely to find somewhere else: Societal Perception.
Back when I first came to Canada the sister of the girl I was dating for a while asked me what I was doing for a living one day. I told her I am involved with Computers (there isn’t really a lot of sense getting more specific with most people). Her answer to that was: “Oh, at least you have a real job, unlike her ex.”
Curious I asked her what it was that he did and the answer was: “Car Mechanic”.
Now the ex was an asshole out of a variety of reasons, but I don’t think his job choice counts as one of those bad things about him. But what it did show me is that most people have very little to no respect for “manual labour”.
So what does this have to do with the GP shortage?
GPs aren’t really specialists, what they do is, in general, perceived as “low level medical work” not as glamorous as say a Neuro Surgeon etc. The fallout of this is that when most students go into medicine they try to specialize, find a niche that has a certain “cache” as such lots and lots of would be doctors end up in a field that requires a lot of specialized knowledge but nobody with a broad enough base to act as “first contact”.
The drought of family doctors I think can be directly attributed to the way society sees them compared to all these specialists out there. People want to have recognition and if you go to University for a few years and indebt yourself with student loans you want something to show for it.
Think about it, when would you be more impressed, when someone told you they are a Neuro Surgeon or if they tell you they are a Family Doctor (in a small community in northern Canada)? Exactly.
So, next time someone tells you what they are doing, think about what it REALLY is that they do for you and society and maybe adjust your perception of what “low level” is. Simply put: If you cannot do it yourself, maybe you should show some respect to what the person is doing. If you could do it but don’t want to and rather pay someone else, stop looking down.
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Tags: Asshole, Book of Job, Canada, Car Mechanic, Cobra (GPSM2500) Car GPS Receiver, Federal Government, GPS, healthcare, Neuro Surgeon, Profanity, United States