The Rural Medicine Barter System

How much does a rural medicine doctor get paid?

[@victorwagner2423]

The worst part of practicing rural medicine is when you get a bag of wheat, a chicken and a fox and you need to figure out how to get all of those things to your house

[@AP-nj1mr]

You mean across the river to your house?

[@doodle606]

Ok, i hv heard this puzzle somewhere? 😂

[@lyaneris]

@@AP-nj1mr Chicken first, empty back, fox, chicken back, seeds, empty back, chicken XD (I'm not sure if chickens eat wheat though lol)

[@lyaneris]

@@doodle606 a goat lettuce and a wolf ;)

[@bobbyabraham2097]

First eat the chicken … Then probably it gets easier…

[@captobvious696]

Being from a rural area, "It needed doin'" made me laugh something fierce

[@jamesburton1050]

Yep, it's what keeps those people going! If something didn't need doing, they probably wouldn't still be here!

[@woodysmith2681]

"I mean, I got the time, I got the crane and the welding gear, and I have plenty of extra siding from when I tore down that warehouse outside town...I'll be back in a couple of days to throw on a coat of paint." That's half my family tree.

[@rosiepone]

hey sometimes it just needs doin

[@WildflowersCreations]

And it is so true, just so true, that whole part of the skit.

[@barrygeistwhite3474]

This and "It ain't gonna do itself!" are pretty much the bedrock of rural communities.

[@carolynv8979]

The rural barter system is how Texico Mike ended up with an MRI

[@AaronGeller]

Best comment 👌

[@CrankyGrandma]

😂

[@HisameArtwork]

@@AaronGeller totally!

[@michaelvnuk]

It all started with one of those reflex hammer things

[@waterunderthebridge7950]

Just imagine some random farmer finding a MRI in their bushes to trade away for rash medicine

[@savvaspapadopoulos7214]

Greek doctor here. One of our health system peculiarities is that upon finishing medical school (and usually before residency, but it varies), you are required to do a year of "rural service" in a village or a group of villages as the local state-paid GP. My posting was OK, but the everyday immersion in such close knit communities was priceless. Within a month, I knew all the gossip in the village (old folks love to talk). I frequently received "gifts" for services rendered in the form of eggs, fresh vegetables, pies, etc. Initially, i tried to decline them because I was still wet behind the ears, until my nurse advised me that it would be considered an insult to not accept them. Long story short, my mother was very sad when I finished my year, because she got used to fresh village eggs!

[@LenaPatsa]

Τα πιο ζουμερά κουτσομπολιά και τις πιο ζουμερές κότες τις έχει πάντα το χωριό.

[@rffs07]

I'm from India and we have one year compulsory rural service as well, it was awesome!

[@siraksleepmastersiraksleep9814]

We peruvian doctors have the same system. It's called the SERUMS and we laso have to go to the countryside or very poor areas to work for a year. I loved the apples the old folks brought as a gift or the cheese ! The cheese was excelent paired with the bread they made!

[@DimT670]

My mother is a physiotherapist and we don't even live in a rural area and her patients literally bring her meat and stuff as gifts. One time a patient of her literally have her halg a goat. It was quite tasty This is also from Greece

[@desasterlord7108]

So they fix the lack of medical professionals in rural areas by having students do it?

[@theredhead1900]

Rural is quite possibly one of my favourite characters

[@jamesburton1050]

Same!

[@sharpfang]

Second only to Jonathan!

[@victorwagner2423]

It's about 50-50 between him and infectious disease.

[@khalilahd.]

Lmfaoo definitely 😂

[@lipov7083]

He just does what needs doin'.

[@dr.z1657]

I casually told one of my patients (ag farmer) that I loved sweet corn. One month later, there was a 45lb box filled to the brim with hand-picked sweet corn from his field dropped off at the front desk of my office. Also the call schedule bit is 100% accurate.

[@a_grape_in_space1016]

Aww that's so sweet

[@violenceislife1987]

Sweet

[@Hessed3712]

😁That is hilarious and sweet.

[@margotrosendorn6371]

LOL my grandpa was a rural veterinarian and sometimes farmers would gift huge 50 pound sacks of tasty Iowa corn when the knew the family was visiting.

[@unpapelcascaron7463]

like the corn

[@TheDemosMirak]

Filing taxes is going to be a nightmare

[@Bonglibear]

You still owe the IRS 2eggs and 1chicken and a handful of sunflower seeds

[@pascalausensi9592]

Jokes aside, usually payments in kind are indeed considered to be a form of taxable income (by the IRS, for example). Iirc the tax is calculated taking the 'fair market value' of the goods or services received.

[@stephaniehowe0973]

No taxes on Chickens, Goats or Pie

[@abyss3757]

Tax fraud!

[@ludwigvonmiseswasright4380]

@@pascalausensi9592 They're gifts of gratitude for the doctor's charity work. I'd say the doctor should be writing off all these patients as charity to offset any income paid in cash.

[@copyrightdragon7244]

This just makes me want a "small town girl goes to the big city" type crossover where rural medicine works in a big city hospital. He's terrified at the poor quality food the patients get, is drowning in the whirlwind of constantly changing staff he's unfamiliar with, gets lost bc the building is so big, and goes out to drinks with family medicine at the end of the day, the one he most closely relates to.

[@Monika-mb6jh]

Why does this sound like a cute illustrated children’s book??

[@boosterh1113]

They made that show about 20 years ago. It was just called "Doc," and it starred Billy Ray Cyrus (i.e. the guy who sang Achy-Breaky Heart, and who is Miley Cyrus's dad).

[@ffwast]

At some point Texaco Mike shows up on the airboat to bring a farmer to see him on the basis that the farmer stopped working to see the doctor. How Texaco Mike navigated the airboat through a city to get there is unclear but the farmer who was declared legally dead by the big city doctors half an hour ago jumpstarts himself with cables from the airboat and grumbles that he has a crop to harvest. Rural convinces him to let the big city doctors put in a pacemaker because it's already happened three times and he doesn't have time for any more dirt naps this time of year. The farmer asks Rural how the livestock he gifted the last time is doing, much to the chagrin of the other doctors operating in his chest cavity at the time. Later in the film a crisis that will require many doctors occurs but when they arrive Rural has already resolved it by himself because "it needed doing" and he had all this free time from having all the other doctors around to swing over there on the airboat. Again how Texaco Mike navigated an airboat there is unclear but it's much faster than everyone else, and they airboat off into the sunset to go back home.

[@christawarrington3795]

I need Glaucomfleckin fanfic. 💯/💯

[@darcieclements4880]

And the nerologist goes to rural...

[@anna-maymoon1001]

Honestly being a rural doctor just sounds like you got absorbed by a really cool side quest

[@TheScamr]

Quest giver maybe.

[@litsci1877]

That sounds about right

[@Reeeetard]

That’s the secret: urban life is actually just grinding for unnecessary XP and achievement trophies that don’t give any real benefits or buffs. It’s paying $20 for a skin that offers no change aside from aesthetics. The real story? Thats in the hills. Thats where survival mode, hardcore, all skulls on is played.

[@yaarcticboi7421]

@@Reeeetard Troof. I went from Toronto to Nunavut, and frankly I never looked back. Rural nursing is the dopest shit.

[@trikstari7687]

@@Reeeetard I think that's about the most accurate modern description of modern urban dwelling vs rural living. I say "modern urban dwelling" because that ain't really living.

[@xionmemoria]

Yep. Once saw someone being 4 huge cases of eggs to a physical therapist. I once paid a veterinarian by baking enough cupcakes for an entire fundraiser, and one of our local doctors ended up a beekeeper because a beekeeper patient paid him in honey for gallbladder removal and then gifted him a whole hive after a bout of kidney stones that required surgery.

[@Alex-vl1mk]

Love the Byleth pfp

[@encartech]

As a son of a doctor, I can assure you can't buy those foods that quality anywhere else. They are specially selected or made for the beloved doctor

[@lilbatz]

We had a neurosurgeon who was gifted a half side of beef from a rural rancher. This was in the 1980s. Of course everyone laughed like hell. That was until he told us it was the best meat he ever had in his life. Said the sausages were phenomenal. You know the best calf was selected and fed primo stuff for that guy.

[@thomasmitchell4128]

@@lilbatz I've raised cattle and grew crops my entire life. A little known trick that us smarter farmers keep in our back pocket is to plan ahead and designate certain animals and certain vegetables to be apart of the "gift" pile. I usually plan ahead and specifically put my best looking vegetables aside to give as gifts but I also keep an eye out on my heard for which animals I think would make the best cuts with. I'll steadily feed a handful of my cows the "good stuff" that way when I have an opportunity to give someone a gift of beef I know they'll be getting the best of what I have to offer. A person's generosity really is a true measurement of the quality of that person, especially in rural areas. Plus... I know that people I gift some of my meats and crops to will be talking to everyone in town about how good it all was, which is a bonus feature to my generosity. It really helps me keep the other farmers in line around here. I might be the best farmer this world has EVER SEEN. I am the pinnacle of mankind's ingenuity and efficiency and I genuinely might be the most powerful farmer this world has ever known, sincerely.

[@PedroGuilhermeSchneider]

@@thomasmitchell4128 is it me or the surgeon just became a farmer? 😂

[@TheNylter]

@@PedroGuilhermeSchneider Gentleman farmer, probably. Not a working farm. Not that gentleman farming is not work. It is.

[@KingKong11730]

@@thomasmitchell4128 Ah of course, Mr. Mitchell - What an honor, your exploits have been legendary. I have heard tales of your superior livestock and supreme produce halfway across the world. I would offer you my life's savings in exchange for a single ear of corn from your next harvest.

[@eacalvert]

I grew up in a small town surrounded by rural area... According to my mom who was a home health and hospice nurse this about 110% accurate

[@BT-ex7ko]

I still live in one, and being the only child of my mom local, we'll both combine errands and go for the day together. She still does this, so much lol. Recently we both got our cars done at the local shop, and she told him she'd bring down muffins later as a tip. She did.

[@Annemoontje]

"he said it needed doing" that was so true :'D

[@johnflores148]

Unless you are a psychiatrist and have to constantly say no and just be financially poor but happy to see all 3 generations doing well

[@johnruppe1699]

I did home health in Vegas. Goodfellas appreciate getting good service for their family members. Always dropping envelopes in my bag.

[@jenniferharris1280]

@@BT-ex7ko I offered my pharmacist who went WAY Above and Beyond this week cookies, any G-rated favors. He saved us, and it wasn't the first time. I love all our care providers.

[@alexandradavidson6132]

I am a medical student at a rural regional health center. Just wanted you to know our nephrologist was given a goat by one of his patients. 😂

[@ugiboogy1111]

is this in the US? which school?

[@SatumainenOlento]

😆🤣🤣🤣

[@conniemckenney]

... did it eat all the pies?

[@xerk2945]

Was it to eat, or milk?

[@vladislav3]

The heart attack bit got me laughing. My dairy farmer grandfather was scooping snow years ago, had a minor heart attack so he sat down on the step for a while till he felt better, then got up and kept going. They discovered it months later.

[@iamsneakyfoxx1284]

Man people of that age/generation were just built different. My grandfather was a longshoreman and he had several heart attacks over the course of his life. never got any treatment for them and he ended up being fine.

[@janedoex1398]

A woman that lived next to my grandmother, never saw a doctor in her life until ~ 83 when she needed 2 hip replacements. She did gardening, had some chickens, bunnies and earkier some goats , she killed and cooked herself. She ate the fattest meat, intestines and all and did garden work for other people 15 years younger , cutting down trees way up until in her 70 ies , riding her bike with a skirt and no long underwear , leggings etc in - 5 degrees, rain or 40 degrees sunshine, she even rode her bike on a highway for 20 miles to get to a job - once we saw her passing by car and my jaw almost hit the floor... After her double hip replacement , she was on her bike 5 weeks after I swear ! Good bless her. She was quite a character , no husband, alcoholic son who built his house on half her ground , but never cared for her. SHE OUTLIVED HIM 30 YEARS ! These people don't exist anymore. My grandmother lost her mother aged 15 , she was watching as they were pressing down on something, cutting up something and her arm was caught.... maybe 1930 ? Well she went to be a maid as soon as she could and married the first good looking soldier she met. Big mistake . Lost an arm , became a violent alcoholic, four generations of unspoken trauma later I was born and decided to blow the lid off by starving to death age 14 . Still here decades later , but don't ask what it costed. I still don't know if it was worth it. And that is why mankind is doomed. Look at all the generations of trauma we created in 91 , 2001, 1995, 1997, and still now in Africa, Europe , EVERYWHERE !

[@Tser]

So familiar. My mom had a heart attack while we we were working together out at the barn. She sat down for a while, taking a break from moving livestock. I tried to get her to go to the hospital because a farmer taking a break is a *BAD SIGN*. I knew it was serious because she never stopped -- but she insisted it was just gas or something and would pass, and there was nothing I could do to convince her. We found out months later, also, during a stress test.

[@thegoldenatlas753]

@@iamsneakyfoxx1284 probably survivor ship bias, we only see the ones alive today or dead recently. Plenty never made it that far.

[@hannahgroves243]

@@iamsneakyfoxx1284 my grandfather chopped a piece of his finger off when he was young, dipped it in kerosene, took it into town, and had it stitched back on. Still has it. The same man went on hospice due to congestive heart failure with no more than six months to live. That was 3 years ago. They took him off hospice after half a year, and he's still going.

[@16poetisa]

I once asked my dad why there were so many old chairs in odd places around my grandparents' house. He explained that when you are the only lawyer around in the rural south during the Great Depression and WWII, you often get paid in kind. Some of those payments were handmade chairs, apparently.

[@LedHabel]

Back when I was in dental school(literally months ago, not as ancient as it sounds), I was in my native country, and the public sector where we practiced had a lot of patients from rural communities. Most had insurance, but they and even those who paid would give us rural gifts like this because they were so grateful, particularly if you were generous to them. This one patient brought me dates from a different state on our last appointment. I gave most of them away but stuck some in the fridge since I felt guilty about giving away a gift. They were there for months(dates last a long time) since I didn't really eat dates, then one day during a vacation I had some out of a mixture of boredom and feeling peckish. Best things I had had in a long time

[@khalilahd.]

Wow 😭

[@ChangedNames]

Same here I live in the city but dad receives all sorts of gifts from his patients

[@uimdawg2321]

Love seeing another OSRS enjoyer

[@kooferkoo4969]

dates are delicious mate, you missed out giving them away haha.

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

+

[@deanmilos4909]

Damm , reminds me of when our family decided to gift one our whole carving hams ( mind you it weighted around 5-6 kg ) to our family medicine doctor because he truly went above and beyond trying to fight the system to get my grandpa to a neurosurgeon to get atleast some of his multiple brain tumors removed and then even after the surgery he went beyond his way tending to him , truly one of the best doc's I've ever met

[@deanmilos4909]

@@Amy-oh8qb it didn't really do that much sadly but the surgery did give him around 1 month of mostly self-sufficient life which we all used to the fullest

[@francescafrancesca3554]

@@deanmilos4909 I am glad that he got to enjoy time with you and you with him. I'm sorry for your loss. I believe his love is still with you, and I wish you and your family nothing but the best.

[@deanmilos4909]

@@francescafrancesca3554 thank you for the kind words !

[@Omnial12]

Not sure where to say this but I recently changed majors with an intent to pursue psychiatry down the line. This was a decision influenced by a great many things over my life, but I did want to say you inspired me to go after the medical degree for it. I just wanted to say thanks!

[@DGlaucomflecken]

Good luck, future feelings bro!

[@Pyx3ll]

@@DGlaucomflecken A good luck that is well needed. Im a psychology major and want to do anything but clinical psychology! ha ha *cri*

[@Pyx3ll]

@@DGlaucomflecken Can you make a psychology side character pls uwu

[@monoko1992]

@@DGlaucomflecken feelings bro 😭😭😭

[@TheDiabloMadness]

@@Pyx3ll good luck! I'm doing clin psych myself. Tons of ups and downs over the past year or so

[@efestea822]

My dad was one of the first few doctors in a rural area here in the Philippines. I remember we were being paid with fishes, chicken, eggs, vegetables, meat and even lobsters and crabs. One time, a patient was from an indigenous group here went to our home with a live wild boar! We had to return it because it was an endangered species, plus illegal lol. It goes beyond to just that though, when my dad was still alive, someone always gave us christmas ham or cakes every year! When I was still a baby, my mom said a patient gave them a fish so huge, it gave us 2 weeks worth of meals!

[@MS-zh6yf]

Damn, that’s some good eating y’all were doing.

[@misstopkick]

Philippines 💕

[@millergrrrl]

Ma sarap!

[@margotrosendorn6371]

LOL I'm still cracking up at the wild boar. Imagine being gifted a very large and angry pig. XD

[@harrytheprince6951]

Being from one of these rural communities I can say that the barter system is real. Not just for doctors.... My dad has a restaurant and needed some special plastic pieces to fix the terrace chairs. An acquaintance of his got them for him wholesale and my dad didn't have to pay. What my dad did do though was visit him a month after with a beer crate, a bottle of good Schnaps and some bacon. My dad also once received ~10kg fresh veal from one of our local farmers, because he let the farmer store the freshly butchered cuts in the restaurant's coold storage room. One hand washes the other out here.

[@ashurean]

This is what is called a "gift economy" and is how communities worked for most of human history. Communities give each other what they can because they're reliant on each other, and if one falls that deprives the rest of those resources.

[@camillamerighi6833]

Hey Harry, where are you from? I'd love to visit the US again and I'd like to see some of the rural areas. A place where community is still a thing!

[@admiralcapn]

When I needed to see a specialist in high school (my dad was self-employed and we had no insurance), the doc was kind enough to knock a very significant percentage of the cost off for us to be able to afford it. My mom legit baked him bread as thanks and he never shut up about that bread at every single appointment I had.

[@christinaheagy4602]

He wanted more bread.

[@dreaming-of-spots6805]

"I dunno, he just said it needed doing" killed me. While I'm not in medicine, I did grow up in a farming community and that's so, so accurate. Also, I wanna see Rural meet everyone else someday ngl.

[@BREEZEMAYES]

5 decades ago I worked for the big city doctor but everything around was rural. He got 3 feeder pigs for a delivery. A brick wall at his home layed( he bought the bricks) the walls painted, carpet layed, plus country hams vegetables etc. His father had been a country doc & he understood sometimes that was all people had. He would tell them pay the hospitals what they could( back before for profit & private equity) The farmers,laborers would show up on Sunday afternoons or when they finished their work to see if anything needed to be done. A machinist made a steel table out of scrap metal. He always said thank you.

[@KM-oy2dw]

I was doing rotations in a RM "hospital" (tiny house in the middle of literal nowhere), and in the time I spent there, the angel I called Dr received as payment: -A bag full of avocados -Another bag full of mangoes -A whole bunch of platains -Handmade cheese -Handmade Dulce de leche ("Sweet of milk" sounds so wrong 😭) -Handmade coffee The Dr always had this thankful expression and you can see she was extremely grateful. She's one of the best Drs I've ever met.

[@lady_sir_knight3713]

Dulche de leche is still called dulche de leche in English bc it doesn't sound right to us either :P

[@thefutureisnowoldman7653]

I'm Mexican and the common used translation is sweet milk while milk of sweet is a direct translation its not commonly the used used in

[@MS-zh6yf]

Handmade coffee?!? Ngl, all of that sounds great.

[@buckstop]

Sweets of milk or just milk candy is more accurate

[@markarca6360]

🥑🥭🍌🍮🧀☕

[@LordKhuzdul]

I am not American, but this is how it works for the rest of the world too. Even if single payer healthcare is available so people don't have to worry about paying the doctors, they tend to feel they need to give something, especially in rural areas.

[@lucienschlut]

Nah, not everywhere. In France since the gvt pay 100% of the bill, the doctors are well paid... except in hospitals. Strangely enough, family medicine is the highest earner, my doctor had a lamborghini... but had to much work to use it.

[@arminkuburas1696]

@@lucienschlut I'll make sure that when I visit France and ever get sick to give your doctor's a box of chocolates

[@JackDespero]

Very true, very true. So many boxes of top quality tomatoes.

[@jacobbeard8960]

Yeah, NHS we may get a box of chocolate once a month... but goes along with the territory of 100% paid health care along with higher health care expectations... even if per capita the population pays alot less than even most western european nations.

[@janedoex1398]

I brought high quality chocolate, nuts, sesame sticks, blue salt and pepper chips aka salty stuff - so they wouldn't get bored of the chocolate - because you can only eat so many " merci" - etc to my dentist every single time in the last two years I was there . Haven't been in a hospital lately but usually my visitiors would bring at least coffee and some money even though it's not allowed to give , since I wasn't having much money on me, or wasn't allowed to have food in the room or leave the bed because of the HR and monitor. Fun times..

[@Tyler-ex3gx]

This is unironically motivational, "in the end, I'm all these people got, so we just make it work." It's statements like these that shines a light on the HCW's who put their heart into caring for people regardless of the situation. It also shines a brighter light on the problems of healthcare in the States. Also this **** is hilarious. Thanks Dr. G, from a HCW.

[@fidelisesosa1110]

This is so accurate. I ve practiced rural medicine for 4 years now. I do everything from surgery to taking deliveries, splinting fracture, preterm care and even control anaesthesia at surgery. Recently I was paid with palmwine and towels😄😀

[@jaylakeane1720]

For some it might not seem as glamorous as the big city doctors but as a 20+year ER/ICU nurse in big teaching hospitals, I honestly think about going back to a rural setting. It seems care in large urban settings is so fractured,everyone is stressed out, and the money never seems enough for being overwhelmed by the profit driven system. I admire you for what you are doing. God Bless you

[@nfeht2]

My grandfather had a patient who replaced his roof as payment for some procedure he did years ago.

[@Kalenz1234]

That kind of payment could actually stack up fast in terms of $

[@ferretyluv]

Considering how much that usually costs, that procedure must have been something like an appendectomy.

[@KristenRowenPliske]

Roofs are expensive! Good trade.

[@brodiemacleod69]

Texaco Mike might be the best-named character I’ve ever heard of omg. I have never had such a vivid image pop into my head.

[@MS-zh6yf]

We had a man who was called bumblebee and another was called Popeye. Not sure why either had the name.

[@AP-nj1mr]

Can we get a glimpse of Texaco Mike? The guy is haunting my dreams.

[@snsnplpl]

I dunno..... never seeing Maris means she could be anything you made up in your head. Endless possibilities.

[@AP-nj1mr]

@@snsnplpl 😂 We have a good idea what she looked like. Niles brought a greyhound to Frasier's . Fraserburgh teased Niles that he had picked a dog that looked just like his wife. Niles was offended. Frasier put a ladies hat on the dog's head and Niles was shocked when he realised it was true.

[@litsci1877]

Pretty sure it's best not to see Texaco Mike till you need that MRI. And even then.

[@babababad]

The greatest adversary of a country doctor is not overwork, poor facilities or a lack of supplies; the greatest adversary of a country doctor is the goat.

[@Phroggster]

The greatest of all time barter goat adversary is the one that sneaks into the filing room. Hope rural doc uses actual filling cabinets and not open sliding shelves.

[@sabine8419]

🤣🤣🤣

[@lady_sir_knight3713]

He even tried to take the mayoral position

[@mothbott9461]

That last part is so true, lol. My middle of nowhere living grandpa showed up to his city doctor, saw that his tire was flat, and ended up changing the oil in the time it took to wait simply because "i know he ain't got time to do it"

[@hiltonian_1260]

I still have a hand forged and stamped carpenter’s square that a patient of my grandfather’s made for him. The guy was a blacksmith and carpenter and his wife was chronically ill. Grampy hired him to build a camp up on the mountain and got some furniture as well. He also let a lot of bills just slide. This was in upstate NY in the 1930s-1950s.

[@ParkerFaith12]

That’s beautiful 😍.

[@mixiearmadillo7452]

"He ate all the pies" had me 😅😅😅

[@penguinresearcher5236]

This can apply to veterinarians, too! My parents didn't have much money back in the day but they were avid hunters. When their collie got sick, they went to the new vet in town before he was even officially open, traded him deer meat for patient care, and 30 years later, that veterinarian is still a family friend!

[@geckoman1011]

My dad is a vet in a rural community. I remember as a kid he was once paid with a 5 gallon bucket of honey.

[@geckoman1011]

Also, this Christmas I came home to find that a client had given him a boiled peanuts.

[@penguinresearcher5236]

@@geckoman1011 That's amazing! I really appreciate any vet who's open to trading or payment plans in exchange for service. Especially when any other option either means that someone would have to go into debt to treat their pet or just not get treatment. Huge props to your dad for being so flexible with his clients!

[@ebunni5862]

I love how odd rural medicine is but they all look happier than any of the city doctors.

[@deadrose23]

Except for the severe lack of sleep.

[@Civ33]

lived in both the country and big city. Trust me, they are

[@deadrose23]

@@Civ33 In the city the docs don't usually have to take call every single night and holiday. In the rural areas, they do.

[@jgw9990]

@@deadrose23 City doctors will likely see more patients overall though.

[@deadrose23]

@@jgw9990 Not sure how you figure that. The rural doctors I've known were booked solid every day, before the urgent care squeeze-ins and actual emergencies. Add in the after-hours calls, too. You can't just send them to the local Doc-in-a-Box or ER when they don't exist.

[@HansLemurson]

My Great Grandfather was the town dentist (in partnership with his best friend. they married each other's sisters, but that's another story...) for a small town in northern Minnesota during the Great Depression, and many of their patients paid in eggs and chickens. My grandmother said that growing up that even when money was tight, they always had a chicken dinner on Sundays.

[@nilada2311]

Story time

[@cindyhammond5573]

As a daughter of a family medicine doc back in the day this is 100% true. These payments stand out in my mind- 3 bushels of apples one fall from the old guy with the orchard, 2 dressed frozen rabbits & a quart of honey with comb, and lastly half a cows worth of frozen butchered meat for pregnancy, labor & delivery. As one of 5 kids the food was greatly appreciated!

[@lisaturner2175]

My great grandfather was a doctor in a small town in eastern Kentucky years ago and this is absolutely how he was paid.

[@kevingroover]

Perry County ky

[@jerrykinnin7941]

@@kevingroover ah Hazard wish we still could mine COAL. I've been up Yellow creek to KY May about 1998 for Oliver in Winchester.

[@TheKidnappedOne]

My great grandfather was one of the last Dr's in my area that would still barter with people who couldn't pay, but he was also one of the last to make house calls. He came from a long line of Docs and I'm the first in three generations to go into thr medical field, granted I'm a nurse, but I like to think the spirit still gets to live on.

[@psinclairjr]

When I worked as a paramedic in small towns, we were given food as appreciation. The best homemade pies, cobblers, farm fresh foods ever. Theyd also invite you over to house and cook big meals, I LOVED IT

[@jobobminer8843]

Literally laughed out loud. This is what life should actually be like. People helping eachother out because it "needed doin"

[@bomt697]

I’m not gonna lie this type of lifestyle actually really speaks to me. I’ve been in hospital medicine for about 7 to 8 years now and this seems like a very refreshing change of pace. I think I might look into move somewhere in Vermont.

[@donnaleeah5075]

Please come to Maine. We have the ocean too. Good Drs are so hard to find. If you're in it though for mostly the money Vermont is fine.

[@mrsdin3739]

In Malaysia, some rural area parents give gratitude to their children's teachers almost same way. Especially fruit season, they will be overwhelmed by king of fruit : Durian.

[@WarriorKalia]

From what I've heard of durian, that is a blessing and a curse.

[@mrsdin3739]

@@WarriorKalia depends on what side you are no, it is a bless for the lover and curse for the not lover (I wouldn't say haters it just someone cannot compromise the smell which make they can't eat it) .

[@catherinegraybarnes]

@@mrsdin3739 I think I need to start teaching in rural Malaysia...I love durian!

[@ps.6023]

so they give them poo poo fruit?

[@ps.6023]

@@catherinegraybarnes so you like poo poo? lol

[@forgetfuldullahan5468]

"He just had a heart attack three days ago!" "He said it needed doin." As a country gal, yeah, yeah that's 100% accurate.

[@kellyburds2991]

Fixing siding sounds less boring than sitting around in the waiting room

[@GinArenas]

My grandfather was a rural doctor in Mexico back in the 50's and 60's (ortho specialist) and this is so very true. My mom and my grandmother used to tell me how people would pay him with animals, fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk and everything. Sometimes they did not even had to go buy stuff for the week.

[@Aut0mati0n]

We had a guy back in the day pay for his yearly eye exam in fresh venison.

[@cathylutz7288]

We got a gallon of pure, unfiltered, raw honey. Best tasting honey I have ever had.

[@NorthernShinigami]

hell yeah. You know how much meat costs where I live? Gimme that venison.

[@rachelny5209]

For about a year we had a leaky roof over one room. When a family friend came to 'visit', he installed a new roof himself. because it needed doin'.

[@oh8wingman]

I used to have a doctor who did some things for his patients that some might consider to be questionable. In both of his examining rooms he had large metal cabinets. They were about 6' high, 4' wide, and 2' deep. Both of them had locks on them and they were always locked unless the Doc was in the room. Now I have always been fortunate and always had prescription insurance of one kind or another so I never needed any help with that. But one day he forgot that and after examining me he opened up the cabinet in front of me to get me something from inside. I was amazed. He had a damn pharmacy in there. Literally dozens of different drugs and plenty of each type. I asked how he acquired all those pills and potions and did he pay for them out of pocket. He told me no, he did not pay for them. Instead, whenever a Pharma salesman came to his offices he would hit them for lots of free samples of everything they had. The salesmen knew he was giving those samples out to people who could not afford medications but they also knew the more samples he received the more he would prescribe their products to those who insurance or Government coverage like I did. Later, in conversation with one of his nurses, I found out he also had two refrigerators in a backroom to store more samples that required refrigeration. She also told me that pensioners would not likely ever get those samples nor would people on social assistance since their pharma bills were covered by the Government. People who had coverage through work never received any either. So who got those samples? Well, it was the working poor. People who struggled everyday at low paying jobs where a $20.00 prescription might break the bank for them. She also told me that most Pharma companies have programs to assist those who cannot afford their long term medications like insulin. Some of those companies would literally hand out their products for as little as 10% of their over the counter pricing from a pharmacist in a drug store. There were also Government programs that did much the same thing. If this was the case, the Doc had all the forms required to apply and would have his nurses help his patients fill those forms out after their visit to see him. Dr. Mike became one of my everyday heroes that day. He did his very best for his patients and tried to make sure, even if he bent the rules a little, that each and everyone of them got the meds they needed to help with their ailments. Mike finally retired when he was 72 but his Grandson and Granddaughter took over the practice and they continue to do things as he had. Mike a practiced medicine in the most compassionate way the could and his legacy carries on today. Wouldn't it be great if some other Doctors were to emulate this everyday hero instead of just chasing the buck?

[@Chahlie]

Many years ago I was the working poor who benefited from exactly those kind of samples at the docs. In Canada health care was available and free but drugs were so expensive.

[@seeyouchump]

I once went to a rural medicine doctor. I told him I have a cold... He and his assistants laughed at me...and his dogs

[@angrydragonslayer]

Last time one of my friends went to the doc, he was unsure if he'd be a double amputee (luckily, both limbs were saved) Aside from not being able to say you don't need it and stuff where a rag and the extra wide ducttape isnt enough, people in pretty much any rural area don't visit a doctor. i'm talking as an european on this, the hospital stay and sewing 2 limbs back on cost my buddy a whole $850, $400 of which was from upgrading the material of the bone-holding metal thingies.

[@nursewithanosering]

They all laughed at his dogs too? That just sounds mean. 😉

[@mermaidmama7880]

Grew up in Northern Wyoming and this is spot on. My dad would get paid in cords of wood, horses, and cattle. My bother is a GP in Montana, the tradition is still alive. It may be a bit unconventional but it’s how true rural, remote communities survive. No one is left behind, and in the end it all balances out. A pure, rewarding way of life.

[@ngocanhhoang2620]

I grew up in the countryside where my mom used to work in a cottage hospital, this is true! Patients used to give us fresh vegetables or chicken eggs. Even to these days, even tho we’ve moved to the city and my mother works elsewhere, we still get visits from ex-patients and yup, our house never runs out of eggs!

[@billbill6050]

Texaco Mike is almost like a Jonathan on holiday in rural areas

[@AP-nj1mr]

"It needed doing". Excellent farmer mentality! Everyone should be a bit more like that.

[@noshhhh]

I was just thinking this. I should definitely adopt this mentality.

[@pipetman4645]

This is some comedy gold Can we get some rural pharmacist?

[@esztereszter9137]

I am sure Texaco Mike is involved in it.

[@falconerd343]

As a semi-rural pharmacist, I say amen to this one!

[@cathylutz7288]

Isn’t the Vet the pharmacist? I think he said the town couldn’t support a Vet and a Pharmacist. Lol

[@falconerd343]

@@cathylutz7288 Actually it was the dentist. And the med student asked if he was a pharmacist for people or animals, and Rural asked if he thought they had 2 pharmacists. =) (I love this series!)

[@cathylutz7288]

@@falconerd343 this is probably my favorite. Possibilities are endless.

[@erikpaullive]

I was a rural doc for 3 years...this is spot on and I absolutely miss it.

[@drsushil9007]

Protect the Rural Doctor from Private Equity at all cost!!!

[@user-chemistpharmacist]

I think Jasper would run him out of town. Rural Docter is safe.

[@kath5201]

That happened here. We have a Clinic now....and NO DOCTORS!!!!!! the place is staffed by techs and nurses. That's it. And now, you can't go to the hospital just 7 miles away across the State Line....no, You have to go to the Big City Hospital 50+ MILES away!!! Nope nope nope!!

[@IntegralKing]

Rural Medicine doesn't need protection vs Private Equity: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKS0lZ6oeb-MhZI

[@joshuagrahm3607]

Is it weird that this sounds like a better system than what we've got now?

[@raysullenberger5626]

No, not at all. Unless making sense of something is weird. : )

[@andiward7068]

I've got plenty of gumption, learn quick and can handle tools. I'll build the coop if Dr.Rural will treat my sinusitis.

[@angrydragonslayer]

There's a reason it exists after all

[@travisgardner8339]

@@raysullenberger5626 I don't know, we are on you tube

[@jrbedford]

Far, far better

[@onetwothree9]

Is the goat that ate the pies the same one that's running for mayor?

[@howlrichard1028]

This is the most important question.

[@semja]

Rural Medicine is my favorite saga

[@talhajubaerkhankaif1354]

We see this form of payment as an honour back in our country, where economy is poor enough that patients in rural zone aren't able to pay in cash [health insurance is out of question]. Doctors feel really happy with this sort of payment, just from the smile on their face after they get cured and live a healthy life 💜

[@2-minutephysiatry506]

So true. It's so heartening to see the rural folk giving value for the services you've provided, in their own way. My own grandfather was a General Practioner in a small town in India, and very often, people would bring him their fresh produce, confectioneries or something special from their suburb / village to show their appreciation, many times over and above the modest fees for consultation.

[@arillusine]

Rural’s attitude towards providing healthcare and taking what comes is so down to earth. Love it!

[@cininnc]

I had a heart surgeon take a whole processed pig in trade. The value of the processed pig was the same as his fee. And I was in a midsized city. But he was from the same small town as the pig farmer. It worked great for the OR heart team. He gave us most of the pig.

[@UncleBaconMan]

I actually find this very wholesome. This rual doc sounds like a genuine guy wanting to help the people of this rual town. Hes not asking people to empty their bank accounts or to scram when they cant afford the care. And with that kind act he is given the love of the town and the community.

[@aidanstenson7063]

Rural doctors do potentially some of the most important work. Great work on the videos!

[@AmoralSupport]

One of my PA friends reminisces about how she used to work maxillofacial surgery out on the east coast of the USA, and they'd do surgery on fishermen with bad teeth and they'd get paid in the freshest lobster and fish from every catch. Cannot imagine how delicious that would be. Completely worthwhile, in my opinion.

[@EchosTackyTiki]

"He said _'It needed doin'.'_ " We should all be so lucky to be a man like Jasper.

[@kapoyani3498]

Phils. Whenni was a kid, We were from a more rural area and we go to the "big" city for our family doctor. If it was just a small thing, he wouldnt even charge us coz he had so many patients from far towns. A friend brought up that we would end up spending more sometimes coz we felt we had to give our doc something in goods like fruit during harvest for the kindness. The cost wasnt the point. It was gratitude and responding with kindness. It felt comforting to have that level of community with our doctor. Even when i got older, and id had other regular doctors... i sometimes went to him even though he mainly deals with younger patients.

[@CrankyGrandma]

😂😂😂. Oh my. “It needed doing”. Or better yet: “needs done”

[@michaelchen2792]

Call Schedule for the Next Year: “Me” Had me literally laughing out loud. You do such a great job with visual humor. Thanks- nice to see medical humor so well done.

[@muneeb-khan]

This is the first time I’ve seen a video that said no views. Wild.

[@Lillithina]

I laughed hard at this, but it’s incredibly accurate. Worked for a general surgeon (ol country boy type) that worked a clinic out in the sticks (rural south Georgia). People trusted him so much that they would come in for general practitioner sorts of things also. They would bring in homemade baked goods, stuff from their gardens, etc. Good people, but it’s sad. There were quite a few times we all reached in our own wallets to help pay for needed medications.

[@MS-zh6yf]

I can attest to this. My grandfather was a rural lawyer and back in the day, he was paid in a similar manner. My mom said they always had fresh produce.

[@just_turt6546]

this video makes me genuinely happy. its so wholesome. I would love to live in a community like this where everyone just helps out. as long as there were ways to help people who were not able to work or make as much to barter. sounds like a utopia

[@FayeVert]

If you're a medical provider I can point you toward a community in need.

[@nursewithanosering]

@@FayeVert Any info for interested RNs?

[@sciranger6703]

@@nursewithanosering If you're willing to mesh with the community, rural upstate NY always needs medics. Particularly Western NY & the ADK mountains.

[@brillopower1492]

Love this! I once bartered a paint sprayer and some .22 ammo for a beat up farm truck. Thing was awesome. Lasted 9 months. Literally drove it into the ground.

[@lindaspins]

I love how Dr. G gets people. Funny but factual and sometimes a little heartbreaking on the side. An astute and empathetic observer.

[@caz_tech2229]

It needs doin'. Seriously, rural clinicians and their communities are the richest people in the country - thanks to their social spirit.

[@alliseuss1555]

I love the rural medicine skits. So wholesome! Can't wait to see more of these characters.

[@ninjason57]

I love the response, "He said it needed doin'". There isn't enough of that in society anymore

[@daveb5488]

I love everything about this series of rural medicine videos

[@shalinijha294]

So wholesome. People bringing what they can with all their heart.

[@lunava5489]

Yup that's about right. My hubby used to receive a lot of chickens... I hated them, they ate my garden 😭

[@truebluekit]

You should've made pies.

[@lunava5489]

@@truebluekit well the garden herbs did give them a great flavor 🙃

[@jennifergraceh]

@@lunava5489 the chickens or the pies? 🫠

[@lunava5489]

@@jennifergraceh the chickens ate the garden so...

[@nilada2311]

@@lunava5489 😂😂🤣

[@jamesyamamoto5155]

I went to med school in Arkansas. This is 100% accurate. I lived off of the food brought by patients. Lots of delicious deer steak, eggs, and fresh produce.

[@mrtophat12]

You, your story, my medical director, and several MD friends made me want to go from being a paramedic to a doc. Been through a lot, man, as I'm a veteran, too... Thank you. I've had a really hard life, but being with intelligent people around the suffering and dying is what I'm made for. I'll suffer so I can ease theirs. I need to save myself a bit, as I'm bleeding out, currently, and most of my friends and family have either killed themselves, changed completely, or have died, and I never saw my potential before, but people like you and your kindness/humor/intellect have given me what I never had before: self assurance. I wish I had started out with that kind of confidence and parental support, but you helped me. That sounds like some hyperbolic, wrist cutting, emo garbage, I know, but it's what I realize it's all I'm good for after my fiance tried to kill herself and came back... Different. I'm older now. We're likely the same age.. so I could have been a better ED doc, had I stuck with medicine instead of throwing my life away to go BACK into the army to go SF, which I didn't make after getting hurt in the Q course... Wanted that sweet, sweet, 18D action, and almost made it... I failed me, my fiance, and my loved ones. ..but man, I'm really good with the hurt and dying. That's about all I'm good for, but it's a role I fill well. You won't see this comment, and I get that this is some weird parasocial bullshit, but I really just wanted to say: Thank you. Your shit is funny. Cardio bro and Ed bro are my bros, bro. ..this was me screaming into the void, but having at least one person hear this kinda helps. I'm going to fix this, and Liz.. I'm sorry. Where we are, I don't know where we are, but it will be ok. Any paramedic that can tell me the difference between SVTw/aberrancy and VTach on a sight read, but also cares for the pts family and the feelings of the pt, i'll give you dirty, dirty, x-rated fun stuff... Good medical providers are so fucking rare. I'm glad you're ok after your arrest, and I hope you're not suffering because of the trauma of it. I've worked, and ran SO MANY DEATHS, and it's fucking brutal. You seem to be coping extremely well, and your story is an inspiration to me.

[@Amanda1234558]

Thanks for sharing your story man, hope things are working out for you bro

[@mrtophat12]

@@Amanda1234558 nah. Thank you. I just needed to vent, so thanks for reading

[@rainorshine1048]

Good luck, homie. More power to ya for making it this far and I hope your journey leads to better things

[@Legorreta.M.D]

@@mrtophat12 You’ll do great. Medicine isn’t about intelligence, being gifted or anything. It’s all about adapting (studying medicine is way different and counterintuitive) and putting in the hours. You’ll surprise yourself, it is very rare that you end up in the specialty you start out wanting when you discover all there is. Look after your mental health and your sleep. You’ll need both to succeed in medicine. The rest is willpower

[@mrtophat12]

@@rainorshine1048 thanks brother. Your dog looks like a good dog, lol.

[@BugMed]

"It just needed doin'" is one of the most accurate lines I've heard used in all of these vids.

[@richajain233]

Awesome, as always. And spot on. Please post some surgery videos soon. My husband is a surgeon, and we love watching your surgery videos together..

[@zippity61]

Absolutely love these videos. Beautiful - 'it needed doin' is exactly how chores work rurally haha. I wonder, will we ever see the opposite of rural family medicine? The sub-sub-sub-specialized academic surgeon scientist md phd phd, who actually gets paid in prestige instead of money or chickens?

[@falconerd343]

You just described the neurosurgeon. ;)

[@dyld921]

You're just describing a regular PhD lol

[@Djme2]

lol

[@ladyofthemasque]

Isn't that Neurology?

[@korpelakaisla2334]

It's so nice, I've got a bag of pears today as a thank-you gift, perks of being an ophtalmology resident in a partly rural area I guess:)

[@christinecortese9973]

I live rural and I approve of this message.

[@medstudentmama1422]

"It needed doin'" is a quintessential rural phrase. Just hearing this brought me back home. Thank you.

[@maryblakley3590]

This makes me miss my old job. After I graduated from university I was a nanny for a rural GP. We're Canadian, so no bartering, but he would bring home THE BEST baked good and jams from his patients, plus things like veggies (soooo many tomatoes!) and farm fresh eggs.

[@thejudgmentalcat]

I'm from the country and can 100% verify this is what some people did. It's a good plan to have differing crops and farm animals than your neighbors so you always have something to barter that they don't 👍

[@finnmcool2]

When someone who has darned near nothing offers you some of it, you take it gratefully.

[@christianolsson2898]

Youre acting has been steadily improving. Kudos on the effort; I'm really appreciating it! I hope you're all doing well over there behind the camera too.

[@0xymoRonZzZ]

Loving the rural skits man ...it's true mostly we don't have insurance but we do have moonshine and if ya don't respond soon enough when we reach out "we will say to hell wit it"😆

[@Bugg...0_o]

I love these rural sketches, they are my favorite!

[@2Bad4YOUuu]

I frikken ❤️ this bit. There is apparently a doctor who does this in a rougher part of town near me who will do this to demonstrate that while he will always take care of his patients, it's with the understanding that his time isn't free even if it's just a can of beans 🤗 Whatta guy. 💕

[@The_Bookser]

My mom, who's an RN, says this is pretty much spot on with rural communities. And she loves your content.