Getting robbed in med school

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NEATOMD

NEATOMD

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So, it happened today...I was at a lecture today, while my house was being ransacked. Lost my laptop with medical files, what-not's, assignments, and pictures...stuff that just can't be replaced.

But, I really had to laugh about the fact that they took stuff as cheap as dvd's, while right there in plain sight was my medical equiptment. A $300 dollar littman, like new that could have gotten at least $100 on ebay, and a diagnostic set worth $700. I'm sure glad nobody realizes the value of that stuff. Huge hundred dollar medical text that could have brought $100 easy from the local medical text book store (but wouldn't have been too fun to carry out)...didn't get touched.

I'm not saying I expected these people to realize their value. I'm just saying I have truely come to realize that we live in another sort of world than most people. I've never felt so alienated from the people I serve, and yet so bonded to those I call colleagues.

I'm still trying to sort it all out in my head. I've got alot of emotions about it right now...it's pretty surreal (Some of that may have to do with lack of sleep though :eek: ).
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NEATOMD said:
So, it happened today...I was at a lecture today, while my house was being ransacked. Lost my laptop with medical files, what-not's, assignments, and pictures...stuff that just can't be replaced.

But, I really had to laugh about the fact that they took stuff as cheap as dvd's, while right there in plain sight was my medical equiptment. A $300 dollar littman, like new that could have gotten at least $100 on ebay, and a diagnostic set worth $700. I'm sure glad nobody realizes the value of that stuff. Huge hundred dollar medical text that could have brought $100 easy from the local medical text book store (but wouldn't have been too fun to carry out)...didn't get touched.

I'm not saying I expected these people to realize their value. I'm just saying I have truely come to realize that we live in another sort of world than most people. I've never felt so alienated from the people I serve, and yet so bonded to those I call colleagues.

I'm still trying to sort it all out in my head. I've got alot of emotions about it right now...it's pretty surreal (Some of that may have to do with lack of sleep though :eek: ).
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That totally sucks, sorry to hear about that. Thieves are definitely not the sharpest people in the world. My car got busted into 3 weeks after I started med school, they went through my glove compartment, trunk, center console, etc. There was nothing in there to take except some bootlegs CDs and so they got nothing. Of course they stupidly overlooked the $20 or so I keep near the stick shift for tolls and what-not. Geniuses.

Just be glad that they didn't take your expensive equipment and books, invest in some new locks, and everything will be fine in a few weeks.
 
ohh man that's terrible. At least you weren't home while it happened.
 
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Sorry to hear…

My friends apartment was robbed last year, they stole his entire DVD collection except for Harry Potter.
 
NEATOMD said:
So, it happened today...I was at a lecture today, while my house was being ransacked. Lost my laptop with medical files, what-not's, assignments, and pictures...stuff that just can't be replaced.

But, I really had to laugh about the fact that they took stuff as cheap as dvd's, while right there in plain sight was my medical equiptment. A $300 dollar littman, like new that could have gotten at least $100 on ebay, and a diagnostic set worth $700. I'm sure glad nobody realizes the value of that stuff. Huge hundred dollar medical text that could have brought $100 easy from the local medical text book store (but wouldn't have been too fun to carry out)...didn't get touched.

I'm not saying I expected these people to realize their value. I'm just saying I have truely come to realize that we live in another sort of world than most people. I've never felt so alienated from the people I serve, and yet so bonded to those I call colleagues.

I'm still trying to sort it all out in my head. I've got alot of emotions about it right now...it's pretty surreal (Some of that may have to do with lack of sleep though :eek: ).
Click to expand...

Wow, that really sucks, I'm sorry. I'm taking Chris Rock's advice and hiding my money in my books in case my apartment ever gets burglarized.
 
I'm sorry to hear that. :(

They sell very inexpensive magnetic alarms at any Wal-Mart or other big box store. You stick one piece on your door, and one piece on the door sill. When the door opens, it breaks the magnetic bond, and emits a loud alarm. It could get a bit annoying when you come in and out of the house, but may deter future thieves.

Or you could get a pet pit bull.
 
Wow that totally sucks. Interesting about the thief not realizing what other loot you had though.

I don't know what I'd do without my laptop, I would definitely be up a creek though. I only make back-up CDs once a semester (when I remember) but even though I'm sure my classmates would send me their powerpoints/notes, it wouldn't be the same. Luckily my laptop comes to class, so I guess it's not likely to go missing.

Good luck getting your info & other such things back. Maybe your friends also have copies of digital photos, or you uploaded them to Photobucket? Hope you had renter's insurance for the monetary stuff, but the irreplaceable things are probablly worse :(
 
Being robbed at some point is a right of passage for medical students.
 
Yeah, I can get copies of the powerpoints, they're mostly online. So, that's gonna be alright. Luckily, I've been printing copies of most lectures, so I'm good to go there too (Those that I didn't have with me in lecture, believe it or not, were not stolen ;) ) I'll probably scavenge Myspace and Facebook for some of the pictures. And, I'm looking into the insurance thing, so I'm hoping that will work out. The landlord has already come and put in a new Metal door to replace the old one. The window that was broken will be fixed sometime this weekend....I also was extatic to have found that they must have dropped my brand new Oakley's on the way out...HA! On the other hand, I also realized that I have quite alot of information such as my Soc, Birthday, etc...as my past two FAFSA and tax info were saved on it. I'm not sure what can be done about that except hope that they wipe the drive and sell it without getting that info off of the drive. One of my roomies had his debit card stolen and has cancelled all his cards. I have yet to do that, as even though my last few statements were sitting out, the appear to be untouched, but I'm considering it anyway.

Gotta love this...I've never heard that it was a right of passage before, but I'm glad its done now if it is. I hope to not have to go through this ordeal again.
 
kenmc3 said:
Sorry to hear…

My friends apartment was robbed last year, they stole his entire DVD collection except for Harry Potter.
Click to expand...

Same thing here, except it was Tombstone...who doesn't like Tombstone? I mean these people obviously have bad taste :smuggrin:
 
NEATOMD said:
So, it happened today...I was at a lecture today, while my house was being ransacked. Lost my laptop with medical files, what-not's, assignments, and pictures...stuff that just can't be replaced.

But, I really had to laugh about the fact that they took stuff as cheap as dvd's, while right there in plain sight was my medical equiptment. A $300 dollar littman, like new that could have gotten at least $100 on ebay, and a diagnostic set worth $700. I'm sure glad nobody realizes the value of that stuff. Huge hundred dollar medical text that could have brought $100 easy from the local medical text book store (but wouldn't have been too fun to carry out)...didn't get touched.

I'm not saying I expected these people to realize their value. I'm just saying I have truely come to realize that we live in another sort of world than most people. I've never felt so alienated from the people I serve, and yet so bonded to those I call colleagues.

I'm still trying to sort it all out in my head. I've got alot of emotions about it right now...it's pretty surreal (Some of that may have to do with lack of sleep though :eek: ).
Click to expand...


Oh man. I am really sorry this happened to you. I don't even know what else to say. I hope things turn out for the better somehow.

Again best of wishes,

C&C
 
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what type of lowlife scumbucket steals from a doctor/medical student. mandatory death sentence by stoning for such stupidity.

"you provide me free healthcare, so i'm going to rob your ass"
 
That sucks....sorry to hear you lost your laptop, but hey, at least they didn't completely clean you out..easy to scope out a med students apt and pretend to be movers and take everything you own!!!

I came into this thread thinking it would be about tuition....Since I came to med school, we have had a 5+ %, 18.5%, and 5.6% increase, each year....I guess the Board of Governors feels they need a raise (again?), or the president of the university needs to go on one of his "abroad trips" to party and sight-see, I mean, gather interest in our university overseas...lol....we are giving the UC schools a run for the % of foreign students attending!!! lol.... j/k
 
Hey guys/gals! Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts, they are really appreciated. It really has made me feel quite a bit better.:)
 
I'm sorry, too. Someone broke into my apartment one morning when I was in class several years ago and took off with my laptop. It sucked because it made me feel really insecure in my own apartment -- there were a few nights afterwards where I really couldn't sleep. I hope you're not feeling like that, and it's definitely good that you have roommates.
 
NEATOMD said:
But, I really had to laugh about the fact that they took stuff as cheap as dvd's, while right there in plain sight was my medical equiptment. A $300 dollar littman, like new that could have gotten at least $100 on ebay, and a diagnostic set worth $700. I'm sure glad nobody realizes the value of that stuff. Huge hundred dollar medical text that could have brought $100 easy from the local medical text book store (but wouldn't have been too fun to carry out)...didn't get touched.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your losses, med school is enough of a hassle without having to worry about garbage like this. The crooks in my neck of the woods are street (as in drugs) savy, so leaving your white coat/stethoscope in plain view in your car is enough to send crackheads breaking into your car for medicine and trying to sell your stethoscope at the pawn shop. It's just the society we live in. Don't feel alienated from your patients as a whole. I know its hard reconciling your feelings and all, but remember, don't let the bad seeds out there change your feelings about the general population.
 
Some guys broke into my brothers autoshop when he was in there doing the books. Now he has two trained attack dogs just hang around at all times.lol He said it was the best investment he made with the dogs. Don't have the trouble of training them yourself, and they are just awesome in general. Downside is that they are expensive and well...all commands are in german (if that is a downside). Another guy broke into my friend's apartment and recieved a bullet to the leg...by the neighbor.lol Worst part was that he got blood on the floor. It does suck though. Was your computer at least password protected? While it wouldn't stop me...most people that break into apartments probably don't have enough intelligence to figure that out.
 
Hey Neato... with any luck, your renters/homeowners insurance should replace the replaceable, and the rest, well, that sucks and I hope karma's a b**ch when she catches whoever did that :)
 
any financial information on your laptop is worth more than your "expensive" medical equip.
 
EC3 said:
what type of lowlife scumbucket steals from a doctor/medical student. mandatory death sentence by stoning for such stupidity.

"you provide me free healthcare, so i'm going to rob your ass"
Click to expand...

...A smart lowlife scumbucket. Med students are spoiled rich kids, on average. Med students have brand new laptops, brand new ipods, TVs, credit cards, car keys to the lexus, and other crap you can sell easily in the streets.

Stealing from anyone sucks ass but don't act like med students are notoriously poor. Some are on budgets but most are sons and daughters of doctors and come from a long line of money.
 
indo said:
...A smart lowlife scumbucket. Med students are spoiled rich kids, on average. Med students have brand new laptops, brand new ipods, TVs, credit cards, car keys to the lexus, and other crap you can sell easily in the streets.

Stealing from anyone sucks ass but don't act like med students are notoriously poor. Some are on budgets but most are sons and daughters of doctors and come from a long line of money.
Click to expand...


no, most guys are on fat loans. so they borrowed that money and splurged it on those gizmos. that fool driving the lex is making monthly payments with his financial aid :thumbup:
 
indo said:
...A smart lowlife scumbucket. Med students are spoiled rich kids, on average. Med students have brand new laptops, brand new ipods, TVs, credit cards, car keys to the lexus, and other crap you can sell easily in the streets.

Stealing from anyone sucks ass but don't act like med students are notoriously poor. Some are on budgets but most are sons and daughters of doctors and come from a long line of money.
Click to expand...
the irony is that this lowlife probably doesn't even pay for his/her medical care and it's only out the decency of physician kindness that he/she is provided with medical care. it's not a matter of money, it's the fact that medical students are some of the only people that advocate for these leeches of society yet these same leeches are more than happy to destroy these medical students lives.
 
What if I robbed medical students in order to pay my monthly health insurance premium?
 
Aww man, that sucks. If it makes you feel any better, my wallet was stolen recently when I was already too poor to eat or buy all of my books, so then I was really poor and sad. :( But, hey, life goes on. It'll all work out. :)
 
EC3 said:
the irony is that this lowlife probably doesn't even pay for his/her medical care and it's only out the decency of physician kindness that he/she is provided with medical care. it's not a matter of money, it's the fact that medical students are some of the only people that advocate for these leeches of society yet these same leeches are more than happy to destroy these medical students lives.
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right....however, (correct me if Im wrong) most physicians who DO serve those who aren't insured, do so because of the enforcing government, not because the physician wants to execute an act of kindness......Physicians stay longer hours and care better for those who ARE insured in almost every capacity from emergency services to cardiac services. In reality, medical students (and ultimately physicians) are one of the LAST to advocate for these leeches, and hence explains why the medical field has been so unwelcoming to those students (or should I say people) from lower "leeching" classes.....Just my thoughts...Take note: I said MOST physicians (some dedicate their lives to serving these citizens)

But All in All, to the OP, that sh%t was wrong and I hope his/her ass gets whats they deserve!:mad:
 
YouDontKnowJack said:
no, most guys are on fat loans. so they borrowed that money and splurged it on those gizmos. that fool driving the lex is making monthly payments with his financial aid :thumbup:
Click to expand...

But you know whats wild is that at some institutions (and I mean big Ivey and other expensive private schools), there is only 60% of the student population who qualifies for financial aid (and neither becasue they are international or because they got scholarships which BTW they consider having to go through FinAid).....many students come decked! whether it be parents or some other source.....what ever the case, many med-students are the richy typed that someone above explained...atleast in america.


Its all good though!:cool: ....We'll all be paid soon, be it self-gained or inherited
 
To the OP: It would be very wise to put a fraud alert on your credit files with the major credit reporting agencies. Your information (ssn, bdate) can be used in the most incredibly creative ways by many criminals who are far brighter than the one who swiped your laptop - there are some real geniuses out there who will buy that information. Here is a link to the Experian fraud alert site: https://www.experian.com/consumer/cac/InvalidateSession.do?code=SECURITYALERT

The other two main agencies are TransUnion and Equifax. I would strongly encourage you to report this theft to the agencies, because you cannot imagine what a pain in the rear identity theft can be, how long it might take for you to figure out that it happened, and how interminable its effects may be.

To those wearing the "Snob" perfume/cologne in this thread: Maybe, just maybe, the thief has a chronic illness and he stole the laptop in the hopes of getting caught and ending up behind bars, because the ONLY segment of the US population enjoying GUARANTEED health care (by the constitution) are the incarcerated criminals. And if US docs were so caring and were advocating for all patients, I seriously doubt we'd have more than 45 MILLION (nearly 10 million of whom are children under 18) people without access to care in this country .
 
ExtremeUnderdog said:
To the OP: It would be very wise to put a fraud alert on your credit files with the major credit reporting agencies. Your information (ssn, bdate) can be used in the most incredibly creative ways by many criminals who are far brighter than the one who swiped your laptop - there are some real geniuses out there who will buy that information. Here is a link to the Experian fraud alert site: https://www.experian.com/consumer/cac/InvalidateSession.do?code=SECURITYALERT

The other two main agencies are TransUnion and Equifax. I would strongly encourage you to report this theft to the agencies, because you cannot imagine what a pain in the rear identity theft can be, how long it might take for you to figure out that it happened, and how interminable its effects may be.

To those wearing the "Snob" perfume/cologne in this thread: Maybe, just maybe, the thief has a chronic illness and he stole the laptop in the hopes of getting caught and ending up behind bars, because the ONLY segment of the US population enjoying GUARANTEED health care (by the constitution) are the incarcerated criminals. And if US docs were so caring and were advocating for all patients, I seriously doubt we'd have more than 45 MILLION (nearly 10 million of whom are children under 18) people without access to care in this country .
Click to expand...

Wow! Extremeunderdog!, I didnt realize it was so bad (although I am fond of the extreme defect of america's healthcare system)....that was a great, and thoughtful post....


Hey, did anyone know that in some developing (and developed) countries, the health care systems are so well organized that virtually everyone has access to the same care (they also spend 10 times less than america)...weird huh?....How would this Country be if a poor kid could walk into One of the best children's hospitals in the world (i.e. Boston's Childrens) and recieve a hemispherectomy like another well-off kid could? We all know that in reality, it never works that way, and either the kid gets the worst treatment (or surgeon....just a joke) possible, or his parents are told to arrange quality of life before imminent death. That is really something to think about when considering a career in medicine...scary to me:(


To the OP, find that sucker and kick his ass!....lol
 
ExtremeUnderdog said:
To the OP: It would be very wise to put a fraud alert on your credit files with the major credit reporting agencies. Your information (ssn, bdate) can be used in the most incredibly creative ways by many criminals who are far brighter than the one who swiped your laptop - there are some real geniuses out there who will buy that information. Here is a link to the Experian fraud alert site: https://www.experian.com/consumer/cac/InvalidateSession.do?code=SECURITYALERT

The other two main agencies are TransUnion and Equifax. I would strongly encourage you to report this theft to the agencies, because you cannot imagine what a pain in the rear identity theft can be, how long it might take for you to figure out that it happened, and how interminable its effects may be.

To those wearing the "Snob" perfume/cologne in this thread: Maybe, just maybe, the thief has a chronic illness and he stole the laptop in the hopes of getting caught and ending up behind bars, because the ONLY segment of the US population enjoying GUARANTEED health care (by the constitution) are the incarcerated criminals. And if US docs were so caring and were advocating for all patients, I seriously doubt we'd have more than 45 MILLION (nearly 10 million of whom are children under 18) people without access to care in this country .
Click to expand...



Or maybe the ass just wanted to put spinners on his '84 cadillac.
 
The fact that the thief is a scumbag is unquestionable... whether he is a scumbag with diabetes or with an '84 Cadillac (or both :laugh: ) is anybody's guess.

The point is... flagrant, crass, insensitive, sweeping generalizations regarding entire segments of the population, i.e. strongly implying that those whom the good doctors treat at great detrement to themselves going above and far beyond the call of duty :)rolleyes:), are all ingrates, criminals, etc., are far beneath a future physician. We all make silly statements, so I'm not saying anyone here is anything less than a wonderful, decent, dedicated, altruistic person... I just wanted to point out that generalizations are like a monkey's rear end - obvious, obnoxious, and irrelevant at least 99% of the time.
 
NEATOMD said:
So, it happened today...I was at a lecture today, while my house was being ransacked. Lost my laptop with medical files, what-not's, assignments, and pictures...stuff that just can't be replaced.

But, I really had to laugh about the fact that they took stuff as cheap as dvd's, while right there in plain sight was my medical equiptment. A $300 dollar littman, like new that could have gotten at least $100 on ebay, and a diagnostic set worth $700. I'm sure glad nobody realizes the value of that stuff. Huge hundred dollar medical text that could have brought $100 easy from the local medical text book store (but wouldn't have been too fun to carry out)...didn't get touched.

I'm not saying I expected these people to realize their value. I'm just saying I have truely come to realize that we live in another sort of world than most people. I've never felt so alienated from the people I serve, and yet so bonded to those I call colleagues.

I'm still trying to sort it all out in my head. I've got alot of emotions about it right now...it's pretty surreal (Some of that may have to do with lack of sleep though :eek: ).
Click to expand...


hey, i didn't read the whole thread, but a similar thing happened to me last year... except it was my laptop, pda, usb memory stick, and a few other misc computer stuff that was stolen out of my locker at school during a gross anatomy exam. It was all replaced because I have renter's insurance... so if you have this, definately file a police report and then file a report with your insurance company!!!!!! good luck!
 
Also, technically, you were burglarized, not robbed. Crimes fall into two categories: confrontational and non-confrontational. Assault, robbery, murder, etc. all involve direct confrontation of the victim. Burglary, forgery, fraud, etc. are non-confrontational crimes. The non-confrontational crimes are considered less serious, because it is assumed that the perpetrator would not have violated the victim's rights were the victim present, implying a respect for others although not for the law. In contrast, a crime involving confrontation of the victim implies a serious disregard for others as well as a disregard of the law.

And by the way, I was also burglarized in med school. Twice, in fact. Once when I was on overnight call on my medicine rotation, and once while I was away on rotations in another city. The first time they didn't take much, but the second time they cleaned me out, except for the furniture.
 
First time ever anything like this has happened to me...today/yesterday (after 30 hrs in the hospital it all starts to run together) someone took my credit/debit card out of my white coat pocket hanging on the back of a chair...and while I was working, charged over $300 on it, more than was even in my account! So I've been running around post-call trying to sort out what I can...but it just makes me mad...it seems likely that it was a hospital employee (other people saw him hanging around)...and it bothers me to think that someone like that is wandering the halls in a uniform...

The fraud people had better track him down...I don't know how much effort they put into it, but it couldn't be too hard in this case, with charges at gas stations and places with security cameras...I don't care so much about the money since it will get replaced...I just want him to realize you're not always going to get away with stupid stuff like this...

(And seriously, if you're going to steal a credit card, just take the whole freaking wallet...don't just take the card out and replace the rest...that's just insulting! :p )
 
I was once robbed out on the street by a gang of teenagers. Lost $10, a dvd, and two front teeth... and I didn't even resist, sheesh!
 
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