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78 sats \ 10 replies \ @SimpleStacker 10 Oct \ on: As Doctors’ Walkout Drags On, Some South Koreans Are Losing Patience news
I’m super confused. Doctors are mad that the government is increasing the number of doctors?!
I don’t get it, is it because they want to hold on to their prestige and their pricing power? They don’t want to face competition?
If so, the striking doctors should lose their license and be held liable for anyone who lost their life due to insufficient medical service availability during their strike. It’s unconscionable to strike like this over issues of prestige and power, especially for a profession that is already so highly respected.
Unless I’m missing something, this just seems weird
It's of course much more nuanced than that, but in essence, yes, doctors are afraid of losing their privileged position in society. The increase in # of doctors also isn't that high, accounting for the fact doctors per capita is already on the low end compared to other developed countries.
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Ok so price controls appears to be part of the problem too (unsurprisingly)
Another thing I get annoyed at with doctors is that they seem to think having a specialization entitles them to get paid more. Even if there is a shortage of primary care, they think that because a dermatologist has more specialized training they must get paid more than primary care physicians
They subscribe to the labor theory of value without realizing the problems it causes for the efficient distribution of medical services
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They subcribe to the theory of greed and ego.
I'm a doctor which means I am better than you and deserve more money than you
Korean doctors in particular have huge egos
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keep salary per capita high by limiting supply
not complicated
These doctors striking should lose their licenses
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These doctors striking should lose their licenses
I think that was one of the ways the government tried putting pressure on doctors/hospitals but to no avail. It really feels like a stalemate at this point.
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South Korea has a fertility rate = 0.5, replacement is 2.1
More people need to die before the stalemate ends.
If more senior citizens die, government can save money on senior medical care and social security.
it's a win win for de-population
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And to explain why I’m so incensed about this -I’ve long thought that doctors in the US are running an anticompetitive racket via unnecessarily tough medical admission standards and costs. It’s great for incumbents but horrible for everyone else. A lot of US medical services are now provided by nurses and PAs because there aren’t enough doctors. And yet doctors except to earn upwards of 300k a year as if they’re entitled to get paid like a ceo just to see people in clinic for 5 days a week
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As an unrelated trivia, in Korea it is not the nurses' job to take care of the patients in the same way it is the case in most countries. In Korea, family members are supposed to come over to bathe, feed, etc... a sick family member. It is a heavy burden on your family once you get sick. The other option is to hire a private nurse to do it in your stead.
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tough medical admission standards unless you are black or Hispanic in which case all standards are scrapped for diversity
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Prestige? yes
Pricing power? yes
hate competition? yes
you are not missing anything
lose their license and be incarcerated for 30 days with no food, no water and no medical attention
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