Why did Dean leave medicine?

Being a primary care physician myself, I have my theories...

But I want to know from the the Dean supporters why Dean
left medicine.

Thanks.

That position is a full time job. He had no choice but to leave his practice.

Fit your theories?

in the first place.
He was motivated to plant the seeds of a second career at some point. I don't really know why but someone else can explain it--

shortly after he moved to VT.

He also worked on Carter and Gephardt's presidential campaign.

Wasn't he an investment banker or something before med school?

You guys are right--he hasn't figured out what he wants to do when he grows up.

as LT gov. He had been recruited to run for gov and turned them down. Had the gov not died he would still be a practicing doctor.

he didn't just "stumble" into being lt. gov....

I would expect a more thoughtful response.

maybe it was something he'd thought about doing before he even got into medicine.

He has explained how, as a doctor, he was able to help one person
at a time. As Governor of Vermont, he was able to help hundreds of
thousands at a time. As President, he will be able to help
billions of people.

Does this explanation suit your expectations?

Atlant

He was still able to practice medicine as a member of the legislature and as Lt. Gov. IIRC, he was with a patient when he found out that the governor had died. I don't know if he would have eventually run for governor if he hadn't inherited the job.

He had already spoken to some consultants about working with him on his first gubernatorial.

I suspect that he had a desire to help people, and thought he could do *more* of it by entering the political arena. I don't know how things are everywhere in the US, but out here in 'the sticks' we have doctors that serve on school boards, community-college boards, on city councils and county boards, in the State Legislature and we even have one emergency-room physician running for Congress (http://www.davidgillforcongress.com).

Again, I don't *know* that this is his reason, but I suspect it probably is, or something close, familydoctor. :)

unless you are accusing him of having murdered his predecessor.

Most of us wish he stay'd in his old profession.

LOL

Maybe sick people made him to up-set. Who knows.

Or perhaps he originally got into politics as an avocation, and simply decided that he preferred public office to medicine.

I keep re-checking this thread to see the expected sinister reason the originator will unveil.

doesn't that indicate pretty strongly that he has no intention of practicing again? I'm guessing that it would be very difficult for anyone that long out of med school to pass the exams required to acquire a license after letting the old one expire. And perhaps he would have to take courses, as well. That's the case for teachers who let a license expire.

Also, when he rushes to help people (recently, a man who apparently had a seizure), is he putting himself in danger of being sued for practicing medicine without a license? I know M.D.s with current licenses don't all believe in being good Samaritans because of the potential legal consequences.

I'll have to find a link - but no, he's in no danger of being sued - he filled out the paperwork to make sure he can still render assistance. I remember reading about it in the story about him rendering assistance to a campaign contributer who fell to the ground having a seizure.

Conflicting sources. :shrug:

I must have read it before the incident of the man having a seizure because I wondered at the time what his legal situation was.

I have never seen this so I want a link.

last. This is a non-issue.

I sincerely doubt it is any of your business why he left medicine. Some people like to change careers. Apparently VT has not yet made a law against that.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=17116&mesg_id=17183&page=

Atlant

It's weird -- nobody except poetntial employers and family members asks why someone leaves accounting, or food service, or plumbing. Transition into or out of those fields are seen as normal career changes, or are automatically assumed to be because of boredom, pay, manual labor, etc.

But teaching? (Or medicine.) The only excuse a woman has for leaving is child-rearing. Men have no excuse. Instead, they get: What HAPPENED? Wasn't that your CALLING? Couldn't CUT IT? (I'm not suggesting you're accusing Dean of that, but people do.)

In my case, I got laid off late in the summer. I would have quit eventually. It wasn't worth it. I got a desk thrown at me once. I had veteran staff members turning me in to the administration for asking too many questions. Parents threatening me, the union not backing me at all (it was a weak, crap union), the city against us because we dared to ask for more than a 1% raise for people at the top of the scale. You get the idea. I get a lot more questions for leaving teaching -- for hating it, no less -- than I would if I left my current career (trade-magazine editor).

They say Gen Xers will have something like 14 jobs in 5-7 different fields during their adult life. I woner what the number is for boomers (like Dean).