Changing motivations for physicians as social narrative

Item two: You and your hippie doctors.

So, I happen to work with this doctors' daughter. That's right, both parents are doctors. And she scoffs at young doctors for entering the profession for the money, claiming that her parents became doctors out of passion.

Clearly this is a kid that has never wanted for anything, has been confident that she would always be able to obtain gainful employment, etc. It's hard to believe that such a person could internalize the conception that choosing a profession based on passion is a luxury. Of course more people are choosing their jobs based on the money now than 40 years ago, because money is a lot more scarce, or at least has a lot less buying power, than it did then. Combine this with a recession that started about 4 years ago and the economic hardships we had before Clinton, the ridiculous rising prices of homes the past two decades, and it becomes much easier, for those of us who can identify with being in a state of want, to see why more and more doctors are in it for the security of income and the high lifestyle that they wish to maintain.

Granted, anyone who goes into medicine for the money either made a really bad decision, or was willing to sacrifice some income because they like the job for whatever reason. There are much more effective ways to get rich than to be a doctor, cleaner too. With fewer years in between of student debt and slave-wage residency.

My point is, I get pissed at people who get pissed at people who pursue jobs for the money. We all need money. Just because you're lucky enough to have it without sacrificing your moralistic dignity does not make you better than anyone else. It just makes you lucky. It doesn't mean that others in your position wouldn't make the same decision. It just means that they're not in your position.
Granted, I know plenty of very well-to-do young folks who don't use the luxury of choice to follow their morals. And perhaps I'm making a bad assumption that this young lady's aspirations are moralistic. Maybe she's just passionate about the profession as a stimulating activity rather than as a service to others. But my minimally-informed judgment is that she is actually a nice person, so I'll maintain the righteous moralist image. So applause to her that she is using her gifts, talents and financial luck for the good of humanity. I still do not believe that that gives her a right to look down her nose at people who pursue what is an otherwise noble profession for the money. I mean seriously, these people could have done a lot of damage on Wallstreet, instead they decided to earn their luxurious wages by cutting out cataracts, or whatever.