Michael Crichton: For a guy who chose not to practice medicine after

[NNguyenMD]

Residency, he's kind of a real douche bag.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4105327.stm

By the way, I interview medical school applicants all the time, and its bright-eyed "lost souls" like this Jurrasic Park Gem I look to reject. No interest in using their medical doctorate to see patients, just want it because it'll look good in their living room, or because their mommy or daddy with forsake their love for them if they dont' grow up to be doctors.

PETITION TO SUSPEND MICHAEL CRICHTON'S MEDICAL LICENCE BECAUSE HE'S NOTHING BUT A WARM BODY WHO JUST LEAVES IT LYING AROUND TO BE WASTED.

Imagine the number of patients who could have benefited over the last 35 years of potential medical practice if a REAL doctor would have been accepted in his place, and actually saw real live patients.

Crushing dissapointment in the creator of a show I used to watch, ER.

[Cleita]

1. That's harsh.

Maybe he should have been a writer all along. The fact that he can write about medical and scientific matters means that those of us who read fiction can learn from it. There is only so much literary fiction that can fill the book shelves. Sometimes you just need a Michner or a Crichton to provide you a glimpse into other worlds. Let's face it. You guys who practice medicine are pretty busy to be writing novels full time.

On edit: I don't agree with him about Bush.

[HuckleB]

2. X

X

[MercutioATC]

3. So everybody with a M.D. must practice medicine?

I don't agree with his global warming opinion, but i don't see where having a medical degree and being a writer is such a bad thing.

[NNguyenMD]

6. He can write novels all he wants, in fact I prefer he writes because the

man has not seen a patient since his residency.

My problem is that he choose not to use his medical degree to see patients, or function in the capacity of advancing healthcare delivery.

There are many great MD's who work in epidimeology, clinical and basic science research, hospital administration, dictating healthcare policy, and serve very useful roles utilizing their MDs.

This guy is a freaking novelist. Not to say that a novelist is uselss but he didn't have to go to medical school to do it. He could have just been a novelist, and let the next guy in line go ahead and become a functioning doctor. The fact that he chose not to see patients after his residency speaks volumes to precisely how much passion he has for taking care of sick people, bupkiss.

[MercutioATC]

8. I do understand, but I don't agree.

I'd imagine that his initial interest was in medicine. Should he be prevented from changing carreers if he wants to explore something different?

Even if he HAD gone to med school with the intention of being a writer, I still believe he should have the freedom to do that.

[Warpy]

11. some get through the whole marathon only to find out

that they really aren't suited to all the hassles that come with practicing medicine. Docs work damned hard, taking night call at least once a week, fighting with dimwits at insurance companies to get tests and treatments approved, and seeing twice as many patients as they used to. Some leave and go into teaching; others leave and go into administration; a few leave and do nonmedical things like write novels.

I don't fault his choice. However, I've never really liked his novels and I loathe his politics.

[kath]

4. plenty of people get law degrees and don't use them, so what's so awful

about an MD not using his or her degree??
And for plenty of people, the career that you plan for and think that you'll love turns out to not be so great for you after all. Such things happen.

[Jack_DeLeon]

5. Thats assinine...

People should be able to learn, study, and get a degree in whatever they want and if they choose not to make a career of it so what.

There are plenty of people who get a degree in whatever and decide its not what they really want to do so they do other things.

[NNguyenMD]

9. it just seems incredibly wasteful...maybe I take it personally because

I interview a lot of applicants, making sure that this is the job that they want to do for the rest of their lives. Its not enough to get have good grades and test scores to get into medical school. Becoming a doctor is a very big investment to make, both by the school and the student.

He went to a private school, so I'm not sure how Harvard Medical school feels about its graduates chosing to not see patients.

But teaching dedicated students how to take care of patients is the business of my medical school, which is public, and its disspointing when a students choses to quit or decides to take their career into a direction that doesn't involve patients, or people. It means that there could have been someone else who could have been in that spot, who we could have trained to see many many patients over a long career.

I'm not saying that writing is not important. But if he went to medical school just because he knew that he could, or because his parents made him, and said so long once his commitment to training was over, I call that a waste.

[mitchum]

7. He's a terrible writer...

maybe he would have been an equally bad doctor. Perhaps a blessing.

[mojavekid]

10. There you have it, His writing dosen't kill people.

Leave the guy alone?

[Charon]

12. For a guy who chose not to practice medicine

How many patients has Howard Dean seen recently?

[NNguyenMD]

13. at least he's actually worked as a doctor, and used his clout as a

former practicing physician to make sure all Vermont children were covered for healthcare when he was governor.