Let me start by saying - I've been working for 3 weeks now, and it has been heavenly. I love the staff. I love the medicine. I love being a doctor.
But...and there is always a but....some things are just so ethically tricky that they make my brain hurt and my belly grumble.
Today a drug rep brought lunch for the whole office. I have never worked in an office that allowed drug reps! That's just how I was raised. If they don't spend their money on wooing me, then they could make the drugs cheaper for my patients. I had told our office manager straight off the bat that I don't accept anything from drug reps, so she kindly did not order me a lunch portion, and I brought my own. But OMG was it ever awkward!! He talked like I wasn't even there! Everyone discussed the good old days when drug reps could bring pens and pads and isn't it so sad that is over now?!
Apparently there is also a new law that each drug company can only spend $50 per physician per year on meals and patients can somehow check up online about whether their doctor is receiving things from drug companies? Everyone was shocked. I sat quietly eating my salad. I didn't know what to say! Where do you even start to explain that $50/physician for every doctor in the US still adds up to ENORMOUS amounts of money!!! Imagine the savings that could be passed on to patients if we didn't have free lunch today, which we all could have afforded anyway. But you know who can't afford lunch? The people paying astronomical amounts for their drugs. The people who come to our clinic with no insurance, in dirty clothes, with 5 babies trailing behind. Those are the people that need a free lunch, not me.
I really don't know what I'm gonna do about this, cause it hurts my heart and my brain. It's hard to keep quiet when I feel so passionately about this, but I'm the new girl and I don't want to rock the boat too badly in my first month.
Love
Confused in Texas.
You are amazing! You made your point, stood your ground while you felt awkward, and perhaps that's enough for now. The people in your office will know about your struggle, and it's bound to make them think - at least for a moment or two...well done! I'm so proud of you.
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