I'm just in residency so I'm poor...but was just wondering if flashing an M.D. badge or saying youre a doctor has helped anyone get an upgrade. I only fly 5 or 6 times a year so usually don't have enough miles for an upgrade. hope this isn't a dumb question. thanks.

Um, Nope. Well, if you're in the Millitary I've heard some people have had success with that.

Do you think it should help? And if so, why do you think it should help any more than anyone else who isn't a doctor?

Mike

Maybe you'll get a thank you. Seriously get over yourself. Having MD after your name is not what it used to be my friend. The hours suck and the pay is low. We laugh all the time wondering where the rich doctors are...not in primary care for sure. I hope you are a super specialist. There are few if any big benefits to being an MD other than doing "good" and the work can be enjoyable. Once I tried to get out of a traffic ticket with my name badge on the way to my urgent care shift and still had to pay the fine anyway.

Oh well

Sadly, education is not valued in the competition for upgrades. Try to find comfort in the fact that some day there will be a "is there a doctor on board" call for you. In the meantime, use your title to charm innocent TSA personnel ("you should have that checked out.")

Welcome to FT!

I agree with iijkh. This only comes up when something is not going well for someone else. Only time this has ever been significan for me was at DFW when the woman sitting next to me randomly slumped to the floor. Thankfully it was back spasms, nothing worse. And don't forget about your D.O. friends

No.

And the "is there a doctor on board" is no fun either. Extra stress, and, if you are a specialist, you will probably be quite clueless about what to do. And I've never been invited up to the first class cabin after dealing with a situation (I have gotten a bag full of little airplane liquor bottles).

Furthermore, you may find yourself burning extra money to buy refundable tickets. I don't like the stress about worrying about making a flight and having to work late to deal with something (or being called to get back early; or missing the trip altogether).

And no corporate rates for business/first seats. Indeed, very few perks, unless you sell out to a pharmaceutical or device company (I recommend you think about doing that, if you can stomach it.).

Even if you get to be professor and chief of your department at an Ivy League institution, develop an international reputation in your field, and get invited to be a visiting professor or honored guest at a conference, expect to be reimbursed for coach travel. You can try to upgrade with your miles or pay out your own pocket.

If you develop a lucrative practice, you may be able to justify buying business class yourself (for long, overnight flights) if it gets you back in the office working (read: doing surgery or other procedures) a day earlier. Most office expenses are fixed costs, so that extra day of productivity at the margin may make it worthwhile.

yeah....i figured it wouldn't do anything...dang, i knew i should have been an investment banker. oh well, thanks for the replies.

I'll take my next trip in scrubs and let you know what happens.

Paul Farmer, M.D. flies with the pigs and chickens ^

M8

Lol... at least you might be comfortable.

For the more experienced docs working at bigger academic places- have you tried to get anything about travel (airline preference/class/mileage etc.) put into your contract? I know most places have travel policies, but is there room for negotiation?

-If you work on straight salary, it is likely that you will have a travel budget (standard for the institution) of $10,000 or maybe $15,000/year. For your first job I find it doubtful that this will be negotiable, and, even, if it is, there will be other negotiating points that are far more important.

-If you work on an "accounts received minus expenses minus deans' tax" basis, you will be paying for your own travel (before taxes, of course, since you submit your receipts). You can fly however you want, since it is part of your expenses.

-If you're invited to speak at another institution, paid for by that institution (won't happen until you have a national reputation in your field), expect to be reimbursed for coach travel.

-If a pharmaceutical or drug company is paying to send you to a sponsored meeting or conference, they may send you business/first class. These trips may be totally valid (e.g., you're developing a new device with them) or may be because they're simply shmoozing you for business. I've never obseved one that was truly quid-pro-quo. If they don't get what they want in return, these trips will, however, be few and far-between. And getting rarer because of potential bad press.

Medical Doctors seem to expect special treatment and most always run around calling themselves "doctor....." Persons with Ph. D's and Sc. D's do not in general tend to do that, and do not expect special treatment, even though their requirements to a much higher standard.

In Italy, Russia, and france, I find my degree buys me a bit, but I am always embarrased at being called professor.

LOL... not.

I speak at various academic programs throughout the year and I find that the larger/more reputable the program is, the worse the reimbursement seems to be (while I'm not a physician, I get the same per diems and a better "day rate" as a consultant in the physician realm). The "best" programs can have their pick of folks who want to have that on their CV and therefore can twist more when it comes to squeezing dollars from dimes.

Many of them actually send over their policy before we book and I've turned down engagements before because the terms were too ridiculous. One world-renowned institution requires the LOWEST airfare regardless of connection time or carrier - even if it means arriving at midnight for a 7 am grand rounds the next am.

Another will not reimburse for rental cars - instead leaving you at the mercy of staff for rides to and from the airport thirty minutes away. I"ve spoken twice there and once basically starved because they dropped me at the hotel and told me I could order room service... and I then discovered the kitchen was closed for renovations. The second time, I missed my return flight because my contact had to "take care of a few things" before she would have time to take me to the airport after presenting.

Many of the specialty societies require you to book travel through them directly if you are speaking - it amazes me that one was willing to put me up in a $400 night hotel room and pay for lavish group meals but balked at getting me a ticket that wasn't on a consolidator fare (a whole $25 more).

My assistant has gotten into haggling matches with staff about home airport parking (because the $16 a day at DFW was more than at their local airport) and which airline I flew even when all fares were the same (they thought I should have flown Southwest when American was a nonstop AND cheaper).

Private/community hospitals are much more reasonable in my experience... much of that having to do with the independent professional vs. employeed relationship that most of their staff enjoy.

While often not well paid and without many benefits, if you are writing for film and television and belong to the Writers Guild, you must travel first class. It's a union requirement.