why are doctors in the philippines so underpaid?
@doc_alma_jones (822)
Philippines
February 3, 2009 8:30am CST
most doctors who are fresh from the farm, so to speak, are usually underpaid. some get paid even less than a janitor (doctors get paid P1000 per 24 hour duty, which is about P41 per hour, while janitors earn a minimum wage of P45).
after all the hardships that every doctor has been through, the countless expenses, the sleepless nights, the friendships ruined by not keeping in touch, all that a starting doctor gets is a measly 41 pesos per hour.
whose fault is this? is it the doctors' fault for letting this happen without so much a formal move to improve doctor's wages? is it the government's fault for not keeping doctor's wages higher than they are?
2 people like this
3 responses
@phyrethyme (1267)
• Philippines
3 Feb 09
Hmm.. Thank you for this information. I wasn't really aware that our doctors aren't paid well. I think it always has something to do with our economy anyway, considering our country's status. I don't really know, but does the government really care about these things? Maybe we can also consider the status of the patients too. They pay what they can.. As we all know, money is something difficult in our country, right?..
Just an opinion and some observation.. If we have something so that we can pay doctors right, why not? But I guess, we only give what we can..
*Despite this, I still want to become a doctor someday, though. 
Are you a doctor? What do you specialize in?
Are you a doctor? What do you specialize in?1 person likes this
@doc_alma_jones (822)
• Philippines
3 Feb 09
actually, it's not the patients who directly pay the P41 per hour... it's the hospitals who set the rate. a new doctor is lucky to find a hospital who gives more than a thousand pesos for each 24 hour duty. so i doubt if it's due to the poverty of the patients, although this may play a role.
it seems that health is not a main issue in the philippines: health insurance is not a priority, and doctors and patients alike are not cared for the way they should be.
thanks for your insight! and goodluck with your chosen career. i believe that becoming a doctor is a calling, not a get-rich-quick scheme. so if you have the calling, heed it. :D
1 person likes this
@phyrethyme (1267)
• Philippines
3 Feb 09
I see.. But the income does come from the patients in the hospital right..? So.. I don't know. What pre-med course did you take? :D
@doc_alma_jones (822)
• Philippines
3 Feb 09
i had to choose between physical therapy and nursing. but perhaps i will reveal my choice some other day. :D do you think you can tell which premed i took? ;)
how about you, what is your pre-med course?
1 person likes this
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
11 Feb 09
I didn't know that I thought doctors made good Money, well, I THINK THE DOCTORS SHOULD COME TO THE uNITED sTATES.
1 person likes this
@doc_alma_jones (822)
• Philippines
11 Feb 09
some of the doctors go abroad, but they do so as nurses. i think they find it easier. and they earn more money immediately. :o
@siomaiii (238)
• Philippines
4 Feb 09
Thanks for the information! I didn't know that doctors are paid for only 1000 for working 24 hours. No wonder, we have only few doctors left in the country. Some of them became nurses already and work abroad. Doctors play a very important role in our society. They shouldn't be taken for granted. They save people's lives at the same time risking their lives too.
@doc_alma_jones (822)
• Philippines
4 Feb 09
unfortunately, this is the harsh truth about doctors.
a lot of doctors are really becoming entrepreneurs because they are left with no choice. some of them have also chosen to go to greener pastures by taking up nursing. to think that we have very few doctors in the country.
so, who do you think is at fault? :D
