Sir, – Matthew Glover (August 12th) should not paint all doctors with the same brush.
I would like to reassure him that, despite being in my 12th year of training after completing a six-year medical degree, that I have yet to earn a six-figure salary and am at least several years away from this.
Although I did not pay college fees for my medical degree, my parents and I paid thousands in college administrative fees that were hardly negligible. I have invested tens of thousands of euro more (of post-tax income) in my postgraduate training in obstetrics and gynaecology, including funding a diploma, a master’s degree and a PhD, all to improve the quality I can bring to our patients and health service.
To optimise my medical training I have moved my family nationally and internationally at huge personal expense, not to mention the stress of uprooting my family annually. I have regularly worked inhumane hospital shifts in Ireland in excess of 24 to 48 hours non-stop.
The administrative and research side of my work is generally done out of hours in my personal time and generally at significant personal expense.
Contrary to what some may believe, I owe the Irish tax payer absolutely nothing for the medical degree I worked hard to achieve. I love what I do and am privileged to do it. Why some feel that I make a legitimate target for further financial punitive measures is a mystery to me. – Yours, etc,
Dr FERGUS McCARTHY,
London.