There are no buffers like health insurance to blur the true nature of the business being done. If the lawyer needs some more time, you will have to give her some more money. Thanks to medicare, citizens retain an idealized view of doctors. With their lawyer, it's all there in black and white on the invoice. If the average person knew how much their brief consultation with their doctor cost in government dollars, let alone in actual dollars out of their actual wallets and purses, their respect for the medical profession would begin to tilt inexorably toward dread.
Public opinion is the tip of a giant iceberg consisting of many more opinions.
Lurking just below the surface of the placid water, waiting to tear a gaping hole in the hull of your ship as you sail through your professional career, is a frozen mass of long-deferred dissatisfaction, annoyance and loathing. In medicine, as in all professions, perceptions cannot be ignored indefinitely. Let me illustrate with a brief personal anecdote. I was deeply touched by the recorded message. It almost felt like a house call.