The under-appreciation of general practice is a popular topic over on the human side of the medical profession. Disgruntled GPs—including pediatricians, family doctors, and sometimes OB/GyNs and internists—respectfully bemoan the lack of pay and respect afforded their population.
Anyone specifically interested in general medicine is commonly regarded as second-rate due to the less-competitive qualification requirements. It's often believed that GPs assume their practice roles not out of choice but because they couldn't qualify for more competitive, higher-paid internships and residencies.
In some cases, that is undeniably true. Where else would a wanna-be orthopod, plastic surgeon, dermatologist, or interventional radiologist end up? Among the family doctors who could not hack the competition for these most sought-after specialty groups, though, are plenty of ambitious, hard-driving individuals who could care less about making top dollar if it means they will be stuck doing the same procedures day after day on patients they never get a chance to get to know.
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