Pay That Man His Money

In the past week I got letters from one of the state medical societies that I belong to, a national medical society that I belong to that is also affiliated with a different state medical society, and another national medical society that I belong to.  So three letters in total.  All three were requesting money for membership "dues" totaling about $700.  It would've been closer to $1,000 but I think one of the societies still thinks I'm a resident because they gave me a discount on this year's dues and they recently gave me a discount on a conference I signed up for that they run.  I'll keep that info to myself for now.  At any rate, the point of sharing this information is just to say that I think it is ridiculous how many societies there are and how you more or less don't have an option but to be a part of them (if you want to be board certified, which you basically have to be to get paid by insurance companies, you have to be a member of some of them).  I shouldn't complain too much because the hospital covers these fees for me but regardless it is a lot of money to have to spend each year to be able to do your job.