“I’m a Neurosurgeon and I Quit” | Spine Surgeon Reacts
Summary
TLDRDr. Antonio Webb, a board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon, reacts to a video by a neurosurgeon who quit his job after 20 years. The discussion highlights issues in the healthcare system, including burnout, administrative burdens, and the disillusionment many doctors face after extensive training. The video underscores the importance of addressing underlying health issues, the role of diet and lifestyle, and the financial realities of practicing medicine. Dr. Webb emphasizes the need for doctors to prioritize their well-being and make informed career decisions.
Takeaways
- 😔 The script discusses the dissatisfaction in the medical field, where the focus seems to be more on generating revenue than on healing patients.
- 👨⚕️ Dr. Antonio Webb, an Orthopedic spine surgeon, reacts to a video by a neurosurgeon who quit his job, highlighting common reasons for physicians leaving the field, such as burnout and administrative burdens.
- 🏥 The healthcare system is portrayed as an evolving and challenging environment where the reality of practicing medicine often differs from initial expectations.
- 🎓 The high level of training required to become a neurosurgeon, often over a decade, is emphasized, yet many are leaving the profession despite this significant investment.
- 🤔 The script raises questions about the decision-making process behind leaving a high-stakes career and the difficulty of explaining such a choice to others.
- 🏠 The analogy of fixing a house by addressing only the symptoms, not the root cause, is used to illustrate the limitations of surgeries in treating underlying health issues.
- 🍽️ Diet and lifestyle are highlighted as critical factors in health outcomes, with plant-based diets and anti-inflammatory foods being suggested as beneficial.
- 💰 The business aspect of medicine is critiqued, with the focus on profit over patient care, leading to dissatisfaction among healthcare professionals.
- 🤝 The importance of social support, stress management, and a healthy lifestyle is underscored as key to both personal well-being and effective patient care.
- 💔 The emotional toll of practicing medicine is acknowledged, including the struggle with helping patients and the reality that not everyone can be helped.
- 🌱 The video concludes with a call for self-reflection and the pursuit of personal happiness and fulfillment, suggesting that finding one's passion is essential for a meaningful life.
Q & A
Why did the neurosurgeon in the video decide to quit his job?
-The neurosurgeon quit his job due to dissatisfaction with the healthcare system, burnout, stress, and the realization that his work was not fulfilling as he had hoped. He felt that the focus of medicine was more on making money through surgeries and pills rather than truly healing patients.
What are some common reasons that physicians are leaving the medical profession?
-Physicians are leaving the medical profession due to overwork, burnout, stress, administrative burdens, declining reimbursements, and a general dissatisfaction with the current state of the healthcare system.
What did Dr. Antonio Webb find interesting about the neurosurgeon's residency training?
-Dr. Antonio Webb found it interesting that the neurosurgeon only learned spine surgery in his last year of residency, as most neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons typically receive spine surgery training earlier in their residency.
What challenges did the neurosurgeon face after completing his training and starting his practice?
-The neurosurgeon faced challenges such as realizing that the practice of medicine was not as fulfilling as he had anticipated. Despite having good pay, respected colleagues, and support, he was deeply unhappy because the surgeries he performed often didn't fix the underlying issues for many patients.
Why does Dr. Antonio Webb agree that surgery does not always solve the underlying health issues?
-Dr. Antonio Webb agrees that surgery does not always solve underlying health issues because surgery addresses specific symptoms or conditions but does not fix the root causes such as poor diet, obesity, or other lifestyle factors. If these underlying issues are not corrected, patients may continue to experience problems even after surgery.
What is the analogy used by the neurosurgeon to describe the limitations of surgery?
-The neurosurgeon used the analogy of repairing a house with moldy insulation. Performing surgery is like tearing down the drywall, removing the moldy insulation, and rebuilding the wall, but not fixing the leak in the roof. This means that the underlying problem, such as unhealthy lifestyle choices, remains unaddressed.
What lifestyle factors did the neurosurgeon identify as contributing to better health outcomes?
-The neurosurgeon identified lifestyle factors such as a plant-based diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep, stress management, and strong social support as contributing to better health outcomes. He noted that people who followed these practices tended to recover better and have fewer health problems.
How does Dr. Antonio Webb view the relationship between medicine and business?
-Dr. Antonio Webb views medicine as being heavily influenced by business interests. He acknowledges that while healthcare professionals enter the field to help people, hospitals and insurance companies are primarily focused on making money, which can lead to decisions that are not always in the best interest of patients.
What financial advice does Dr. Antonio Webb offer to medical students and professionals?
-Dr. Antonio Webb advises medical students and professionals to be financially savvy and make smart financial decisions. He emphasizes the importance of being in a position where they can walk away from their job if they are unhappy, without worrying about their financial stability.
What is Dr. Antonio Webb's overall takeaway from the neurosurgeon's story?
-Dr. Antonio Webb's overall takeaway is that it's important for medical professionals to prioritize their well-being, recognize when they are unhappy or burnt out, and make decisions that are best for their mental and physical health. He stresses the importance of having a support system and being able to find peace and fulfillment in life, whether in medicine or another field.
Outlines
🤔 Disillusionment in Medicine: A Neurosurgeon's Perspective
Dr. Antonio Webb, an Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, reacts to a video by a neurosurgeon who quit his job after 10 years. The video discusses the disillusionment with the healthcare system, focusing on the financial motives behind surgeries and pills rather than healing. The neurosurgeon, Gooby, highlights the administrative burden, declining reimbursements, and the emotional toll of being unable to help every patient despite extensive training. Dr. Webb finds common themes among physicians leaving the field due to overwork and burnout.
🔍 The Reality of Surgical Practice and Patient Care
The summary delves into the reality of surgical practice, where not all patients are surgical candidates due to various health complications. It discusses the surgeon's struggle with the limitations of their ability to help and the emotional impact of informing patients that surgery won't help them. The paragraph also addresses the effectiveness of surgery in treating specific conditions like arthritis and herniated discs, while acknowledging that surgery alone can't address underlying health issues such as obesity and diabetes.
🌱 Lifestyle Factors in Healing and Prevention
This section highlights the importance of diet and lifestyle in healing and preventing health issues. It contrasts the success of patients who follow a plant-based diet and engage in regular physical activity with the challenges faced by those who don't. The summary emphasizes the interconnectedness of diet, exercise, and stress management in overall health and the prevention of conditions that may require surgery.
💼 The Business of Medicine and Its Financial Strains
The summary discusses the business side of medicine, where the focus on profit can overshadow patient care. It talks about the pressure on doctors to see more patients and generate revenue, the delayed payments from insurance companies, and the financial insecurity this creates for medical professionals. The paragraph also shares personal insights from Dr. Webb on the importance of financial planning to ensure the freedom to leave a job if it becomes unbearable.
🌟 Finding Peace and the Importance of Self-Care in Medicine
The final summary reflects on the importance of self-care and finding one's passion in life. It emphasizes the need for medical professionals to address their own well-being and happiness to be effective in their careers. The paragraph discusses the high rates of burnout and suicide among physicians and the importance of having an outlet and support system. It concludes with a message of hope and the possibility of finding a fulfilling path outside of traditional medicine.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Burnout
💡Healthcare System
💡Surgery
💡Administrative Burden
💡Patient Selection
💡Lifestyle Changes
💡Insurance Companies
💡Financial Savvy
💡Stress Management
💡Altruism in Medicine
Highlights
Dr. Antonio Webb, an Orthopedic spine surgeon, reacts to a video by a neurosurgeon who quit his job due to dissatisfaction with the healthcare system.
The neurosurgeon, Gooby, expresses frustration with the focus on profit over healing in medicine.
Gooby highlights the administrative burden and declining reimbursements as reasons for physicians leaving the field.
Dr. Webb discusses the reality of not being able to help every patient despite extensive training.
The importance of patient selection for surgical outcomes is emphasized by both doctors.
Dr. Webb disagrees with Gooby's view on the effectiveness of surgeries for certain conditions.
The analogy of fixing a house by addressing only symptoms, not the root cause, is used to describe ineffective surgeries.
Lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise are noted as crucial for patient recovery beyond surgery.
Dr. Webb agrees that diet plays a significant role in inflammatory states and overall health.
The business aspect of medicine is criticized for prioritizing profit over patient care.
Insurance companies are called out for delaying payments to surgeons while expecting timely premium payments from patients.
Dr. Webb shares personal experiences of financial stress due to delayed insurance payments.
The video serves as a call for help for physicians struggling with job dissatisfaction and burnout.
Dr. Webb emphasizes the importance of financial planning for physicians to have the freedom to leave if unhappy.
The video concludes with a message of hope and the importance of finding one's passion in life.
A reminder for physicians to seek help and maintain a support system when facing professional challenges.
The video encourages physicians to consider the impact of their lifestyle choices on their patients' health outcomes.
Transcripts
really felt like the focus of medicine
wasn't in the right place it wasn't in
healing it was in making money from
surgeries and pills what's up guys Dr
Antonio Webb I'm at board certified
Orthopedic spine surgeon in San Antonio
Texas and in this video we're going to
be reacting to a video that was put out
uh by a neurosurgeon who recently became
unemployed he quit his job I'm going
give my thoughts about uh some of the
things that he stated during the video
about his reasons for quitting uh a lot
of the issues with our Health Care
system and just My overall thoughts as a
spine surgeon react into this video so
we're going to jump right into it hi I'm
Gooby so I used to be a neurosurgeon
went to college at MIT and did uh four
years of medical school and 6 years of
neurosurgery training and and I I I was
a neurosurgeon for almost 10 years after
all of that so that's 20 years of my
life and I quit and nobody understood
why quit there's been a lot of doctors
that have recently quit you know since
the co outbreak there's been a lot of
Physicians who have left practice and
for a variety of different reasons being
overworked being burnt out the stress
all the administrative burden of being
in the health care field declining
reimbursements so I'm seeing this over
and over and over again becoming a
really common theme between Physicians
that are exiting medicine the despite
undergoing 10 plus years of training it
it blows my mind but it's it's happening
people would ask but a decision that
involves 20 years of your life you can't
really answer in a couple minutes and
why someone's doing something that most
people would never do and they don't
really understand why I would do that so
that's why I'm making this video uh
first to help sort my own thoughts out
about the whole thing cuz there's a lot
of actors but also to maybe help
somebody else who's in U in a tough spot
and there are a lot of people that are
in tough spots and they just don't know
what to do some people are contemplating
whether to leave medicine whether to go
into another field I know a surgeon who
recently cross trained into Radiology so
instead of being a spine surgeon after
going through all that training he's
going to be a radiologist and he
recently went back to residency to do
that so a lot of different things that
are going on and I'm seeing this over
and over again so in my last year of
residency I um I learned how to do spine
surgery because that's what most
neurosurgeons do it's the most common
thing is what a regular neurosurgery job
is it's really interesting he said that
his last year residency he learned how
to do spine surgery most neurosurgeons
they get spine surgery training kind of
early on throughout the residency
starting their first year and second
year and third year uh um I found that
really interesting even us as orthopedic
surgeons we start spine surgery training
our second year of residency got my
first job and yeah I knew that something
was not right right away a lot of people
go into the workforce you finish all
this training residency Fellowship
medical school and you get out into the
practice you you start practicing
medicine and you realize it's not all as
uh you thought it would be there are a
lot of different things that have
changed maybe um the healthc care field
is constantly in evolving field and
there are a lot of different things that
can change so when you start your
training 10 years later could be a whole
totally different uh Workforce you know
I had good partners I had good hospitals
that I worked at uh but something was
not right I was very unhappy I I and on
the surface it didn't make sense I was
getting paid very well it was a very
well-respected
job I had good colleagues had good
support but I was the most
unhappy um that I've ever been wow I
found that also pretty interesting that
um you know you have these Ambitions and
these desires to become like a
neurosurgeon really prestigious and
respectable field and then you work your
butt off getting to this point and you
like hey I'm finally here I'm going to
be a neurosurgeon this is a the greatest
job ever people would die for this job
and then you're unhappy it's it is very
common a lot of people kind of report
that because it they don't know what
they're getting into until they get into
it going back to medical school when
when I took that oath and I had that um
older Professor say that your job is to
relieve suffering you know that's what I
understood of what it means to be a good
doctor all the latest techniques you
know I learned and I learned how to do
well and I I did them and I I helped I
helped a lot of people
out but there were way more people that
I couldn't help I've seen that in my own
practice I see a lot of patients my
clinic and some days seeing 30 to 50
patients in office and vast majority of
those patients don't need surgery or a
good percentage of those patients are
not surgical candidates uh they either
have too many medical Cor I ities on
blood thinners smokers overweight
uncontrolled diabetes which would make
for surgery to be very complicated and
have complications I didn't realize this
until I got into practice is that I
can't help everyone you I mean you come
out with this altruistic mentality that
you want to help people and get people
better you have all this training you
went to school for 10 to 12 years and
then you get out you realize I just
can't help everyone now I remember
specifically when I realized that into
practice and I started just telling
myself that I can only do so much there
are only so many patients that I can
help and some patients I just can't help
so what I was doing was I was doing the
surgeries that I learned how to do I was
trying to help people but these
surgeries they weren't fixing the
problem they would help some people feel
better some people would feel the same
some people would be worse a lot of
people I saw in Clinic I had to tell
them that oh surgery is not going to
help you and of course they would be
devastated because I was sort of their
last hope I kind of disagree with that I
I do I do think surgery does address
those things those things happen the
arthritis the bulging disc the
herniations the slippage of the
vertebrae that's called a spond athesis
those things do happen that those are
age related and wear and tear features
of the spine everybody gets them as we
get older
uh surgery does address that we there's
great surgeries minimally invasive
options there's some open procedures
that we can do to address that uh but he
is correct that it doesn't address the
underlying issue if a patient is
overweight let's say their BMI is 50
they're 290 lbs they're uncontrolled
diabetic uh they have a lot of medical
problems well maybe it's uh patient
selection maybe that patient wasn't a
great
surgical indication or surgical
candidate at first and didn't need
surgery or should not have undergone
surgery those are the patients that get
poor outcomes but if a surgery is well
indicated it's selected appropriately
patient has commiserates or appropriate
pathology that correlates with their
Imaging studies then I think those
patients do really well with
surgery I could do a perfect surgery and
some people would get better some people
would stay the same some people would
get worse you even though I did the
exact same perfect surgery I agree
that's what I tell my patients surgery
it can make you better for most patients
if you select the right patient and have
the right pathology the right disease
that we're trying to treat it can help
them make get better there are some
patients that it can make your pain
worse and that's a risk of surgery and
that's something that I counsel every
patient patient on before we undergo
surgery and there are some patients that
don't get better with surgery and that's
out of my hands I realized that early on
in practice that I can't help everyone
if a patient has severe stenosis or
tightening of their spinal cord or if
their spinal cord has been squeezed and
tight for 12 years and they come to my
office for surgery well that patient
probably was a good surgical candidate
10 years ago or 11 years ago but we're
already behind the eightball we're 10
years behind this patient has severe
nerve compression for the last 10 years
whatever I do as a spine surgeon may or
may not make that patient better and
that's the complex part that a lot of
people don't talk about is that if you
delay certain things and if you wait
sometimes your symptoms can be
irreversible whatever we do as spine
surgeons may or may not make it better
at that point the surgeries that I could
do were like going into that house
tearing down that drywall ripping out
the moldy insulation putting in brand
new insulation and rebuilding the wall
but not fixing the leak in the roof he's
absolutely right his analogy comparing
the house to a patient that is 300 lb uh
uncontrolled diabetes has had three
surgeries you can do a really minimally
invasive surgery or surgery to address a
specific symptom but if you don't
correct the underlying issue which which
is that patients weight their uh
comorbidity their conditions that they
have if they don't address that they're
going to be right back at surgery and
that's why they call it back surgery
patients just keep coming back and those
are the patients that keep coming back
people that got better were having a
mostly plant-based diet they weren't
eating too much animal foods and they
were definitely not eating salty and
they would do things that would make
them sweat like exercise being outside
hiking like this going to a sauna or
they live in a warm place they didn't
smoke they didn't drink much uh they
usually had a good social support love
ones family members children friends
they would sleep like 8 hours every day
and they weren't stressed out or they if
they had a stressful job or something
they they they found a way to like be
mindful or meditate or like just be
present and um release the stress back
into the Universe I agree your diet is
uh one of the most important things what
you put in your mouth um you know is
extremely important your body is a
temple I mean America is notorious for
having fast foods at restaurants on
every single corner and it's killing us
there are a lot of patients that come in
with uncontrolled hypertension high
blood pressure uncontrolled diabetes
heart disease kidney disease issues with
their back and with their other their
joints and it's all because of what
we're eating it's an inflammatory State
arthritis is an inflammatory State
that's in your hips your knees your
spine so what we eat is extremely
important I think there's a lot of Truth
in what he said about plant-based diets
and anti-inflammatory foods because this
can make situations worse it can make
your back worse make your joints worse
make your AOS sclerosis which is
heartening of your arteries which can
lead to blood pressure and heart issues
it's all interconnected your diet
extremely important really felt like the
focus of medicine wasn't in the right
place it wasn't in healing it was in in
making money from surgeries and pills
and images whatever you can make money
from no matter what you heard no matter
if people deny it all the time medicine
is a business people are in medicine to
make money yes they're in it to help
people and they have this giving or
helping mentality but hospitals
administrators they're in it to make
money it's a business so if you're not
making money if you're not busy if
you're not seeing multiple loads of
patients per day as an employed doctor
you will get cancelled they'll call you
into the office and say hey Dr Jones you
only saw 20 patients today you need to
see 30 patients now well hey um
administrator um you know I'm I don't
have enough time to see this many
patients I only have 15 minutes to see
patients we see them in 10 minutes
that's what hospitals are they're about
they're about making money they're about
profit they're not really in the best
interest of the patient
they're in it to make money and same
thing with insurance companies they're
in it to make money you can pay all of
this money for your insurance premiums
and for your deductibles and when you
need to use your insurance you can't
because the insurance is denying your
surgery because you didn't go to
physical therapy for six weeks you went
for five weeks they think of every
excuse that they can to deny your
surgery even though that you paid um for
years for the medical insurance and
they'll deny it and any reason that they
can the other thing is with a
surgeon after the surgery is completed
the insurance company is the last to pay
the surgeon so I did a surgery in a
gentleman a year ago I still haven't
been paid there are some surgeries that
I did six months ago and the insurance
company still hasn't paid me but if I
don't pay my insurance premium they'll
cut my insurance I can't use the
insurance if I go to the hospital hey
I'm only 30 days late for my my
insurance and I can't use it but on the
flip side if the surgeon doesn't get
paid for nine months out of surgery what
do I do nothing I just wait sucks my my
wife you know I was I said earlier that
she said I see what you're going through
I've I've lived with you through it you
should just quit and I I I said what H
how can I quit you know you're not
you're not working yet she was going to
school for a second career and she said
well we'll be okay we we saved up some
money it's not enough to retire but
something to live off of for a few years
one thing I took away from this video is
that um a lot of Physicians even though
he's been a neurosurgeon for about 10
years he he noted that he wasn't set
financially to retire just yet um that's
one of the things I really motivated me
to just be financially Savvy and also
smart with my income because I don't
never want to be put in a position where
I have to think about whether I can
retire or not and two years from now or
three years four years 5 years um if I
wanted to quit working and not work at
all I want to be in a position where I
can just walk away if I'm this unhappy
gain 40 PBS not happy with my job my
position uh things are not going well I
want to be able to walk away and that
that's one of my goals and that's what I
recommend for students residents
attendings out there is to make smart
financial decisions that will allow you
to have that freedom um and that's what
I took away from this video I hope that
you have a wonderful day if you're
listening to this and uh you know trust
your heart trust your heart lean on the
people that love you and do what you
need to do whatever that is wow so I I I
think this video there's a lot to unpack
here um you know my overall thought of
this video is that he found peace he
found his way out and know a lot of
people suffer and they go through years
and years of turmoil turmoil and um just
depressed and burnt out and they give up
they commit suicide a lot of people
don't talk about the suicide rates um
they say that within a every day there's
a physician that commit suicide you just
don't hear about it because of stuff
like this um so what I take away from
this video is that uh if you're unhappy
if you're having some issues if if
you're just burnt out if you're stressed
out you have to talk to someone you also
have to make sure that medicine is what
you want to do but it's hard because you
don't know what medicine is going to be
like until you're actually in the field
you're in practice and you're there and
you're working and I've learned a lot
about medicine that I had no idea like
the insurance issues like the politics
with medicine the administrative burden
all the things behind the scenes that we
have to do as surgeons that I didn't
realize until I was in practice so I
think a lot of what he said was actually
true about the issues about not
correcting the underlying issues with
our weight with our diet our lifestyle
you know how inactive a lot of people
are if you don't correct those things
you can do a surgery and it not help a
patient or cause more issues or the
patient's unhappy which leads to another
surgery so the main things that I take
away from this video are make sure that
you're active that you watch your blood
pressure your heart rate your diabetes
your cholesterol you're eating healthy
you're you're walking you're minimizing
stress all those things can exacerbate
the other one stress can elevate your
blood pressure it can make your diabetes
elevate it and your cortisol is released
it's so stress hormone that can raise
your glucose so all of those things have
to be optimized I think if you're
unhappy you have to just come to a uh
sit down with yourself and you know your
support system and just make sure that
you make the best decision for you
because you can't help others and
patience if you can't help yourself and
this is what I took away from this video
I think it was a cry for help from this
neurosurgeon here uh he's found peace
he's happy he's doing things that he
enjoys doing you know um and that's what
life is all about just finding what your
passion is and doing that that's what I
took away thank you guys for watching
this reaction there's a lot of people
out there that are suffering may not
have an outlet and you gave them hope
you just told them that there was a
possibility and a lot of people get
really nervous about making a decision
like this after going through so much
training and there's been multiple times
along my journey and my in my practice
that I was like man this is not it I
don't want to do this anymore this is
crazy I'm working all these hours I
haven't seen my kids in a few days it's
stressful this patient is trying to sue
me this patient had a bad outcome but I
think overall you have to have an outlet
to medicine make sure that you have a
way to relieve stress stay active eat
healthy and just enjoy it if this is
something that you really want to do
medicine's a very rewarding career
it's not for everyone but it can be very
rewarding and lifechanging for patients
thank you for watching we'll see you
next time
[Music]
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