The Focus on Wealth from Athletes and Physicians

According to Times Magazine, “Upmarket estate agents have been voted the most overpaid members of any profession, ahead of lawyers, celebrity chefs and football players.” (Coates), however many people believe that professional athletes have the most overpaid occupation. An average athlete’s salary ranges depending on the sport you participate in. In the NBA an athlete makes around five million dollars a year; yet in the MLB an average baseball player will make about three million dollars a year. A football player In the NFL averages two million dollars a year, and the NHL’s average salary is roughly $1.5 million dollars (Coates). Athletes are not the problem in today’s economy; the problem is currently America’s physicians. The focus should be put more specifically on physicians and not professional athletes because we need physicians to survive; while athletes are a source of entertainment. Although an athlete’s salary is surprising large, athletes willing do what they love because of their fan base and all of the people that support them throughout their career. Physicians lost the focus that was once on their patients, and are now concentrating more on how they can supplement their money, which is selfishly putting them above all people. Having a doctor who is unfocused is threatening to all patients, who may or may not know what it actually going in behind closed doors.

A doctor’s waiting room for patients is beginning to become more and more crowded. Unsatisfied patients are starting to feel like they are waiting longer to see the doctors, and not spending enough time in an actual doctor’s room. “Studies show a steep decline over the last three decades in patients sense of satisfaction and the feeling their doctors are pro...

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...g it would be hard for many doctors to turn away seniors and maintain a viable business” (Sanger-Katz). Nevertheless, not all hope is lost just yet. “Med-school applications are booming, as are applications from foreign-trained physicians to enter U.S. residency programs. Even current doctors, who enjoy high incomes, say their major career satisfaction is patient relationships, not financial rewards, according to a recent survey from the Physicians Foundation. "It's an inherently appealing profession," says Berenson, who adds that lower physician pay might have a "salubrious" affect. "We would have people who wanted to be in the profession for the right reason"” (Sanger-Katz). It feels remarkable knowing that there are still people in the United States who want the job to help people and save lives, rather than the large paycheck they will receive as a physician.