The Audacity To Charge
The Audacity To Charge Over 20 years ago, I moved to another state to attend paramedic school. While there, one of the many jobs I had was working for a psychiatrist in a group home for troubled adolescents. I was over 800 miles from home, flat broke and uninsured for the first time in my young life. Having worked as an EMT in North Jersey for several years, I had grown accustomed to occasionally asking a Dr. friend if they could write me a prescription for an antibiotic (for example), to deal with what was ailing me at the time. Some would oblige. One time I had gotten a pretty mean sinusitis and upper respiratory infection and was unable to pay for a full medical exam etc..., I tried to call in what appeared to be an innocuous favor from my boss. I asked if he could whip out a script for me. He seemed upset, or more so let down with my query and instead, like a good psychiatrist would, offered me a lecture. He explained that my request, ...