A Firm Declaration

Thankfully, I can now declare with absolute certainty that I have passed my first module of medical school. Do I know what my final grade will be? No. That can still change depending on how the retake test goes on Friday. (We take each test twice. Two exams, Same material. Highest score stays). But I do know that I will be continuing onward and that's a nice feeling to have. (Let me be real- I'd be continuing forward regardless, but I know that I won't be making up this module in the summer).

When I try to proverbially step back and examine my situation and what the module has been like, it's an interesting picture. Simultaneously it seems as though we've just started and yet been here forever. I can't believe we're already done with EIGHT WEEKS, but then again, it feels like we've covered 8 months worth of material. Who knows the best way to describe it? I sure don't.

The only thing I know is that this tricky thing called medical school is starting to feel more and more like normal for me, and I think that's a good thing. Will I feel this way in 2 weeks, when we're half way through our Genetics and Neoplasia (Gen/Neo) module? Probably not. In fact, I can almost guarantee you that I won't, but that's okay. I know that 2 weeks after that, post Gen/Neo and pre-I2 (Inflammation and Immunity), things will probably be alright.

Until next time.

Team Moral Victory?

The battle has been fought. The victors revealed.

For the women: The M1s reign supreme. Although the much-hyped M2 team (previously undefeated) fought hard (and by that I mean they were NOT happy about losing), the M1 Ladies pulled ahead and won by two touchdowns.

For the men: This is where Team Moral Victory comes into play. By and large, it was really a draw. Final score: 6-7, with the win going to the M2s.

Overall, I'd say we did pretty well for ourselves.

Am I Ready For Some Football?

One of the most rewarding aspects of my life as a medical student thus far (aside from the known wonders that are my wife, family and current friends) has to be the relationships and friendships that have begun to flourish. Proximity and shared evils (or struggles if you want a synonym) will inevitably cause the fellows of my class to bond and gain an understanding of one another that typically never develops in daily life. On top of even this, occasionally something will come along to unite a population to a new level. Such a circumstance has presented itself to us. That event?

Football.

A.k.a., the gridiron where the 1st year students (M1s) will boldly triumph over their second year oppressors (M2s).

In a few hours, the two classes will meet on the grass battlefield for two games of "flag" football: one men's game, one women's game. Throughout the day, via email and with the cunning use of YouTube videos, trash has been electronically talked and the School of Medicine now has 350 very rowdy and excited students on their hands.

While the outcome of the game technically remains unknown (come on, the M1s will dominate), the fun of anticipation has likely made it worthwhile for all those involved. Having this game to look forward to helps remind all the students that we can still have fun and not study every waking hour. Plus, a bunch of money is being raised for Harversters through ticket sales.

I leave you with one image and two links to better summarize the coming clash.

M2 Trash Talk

M1 Honesty

A taste of what's to come:
Until next time.

Health Care Reform: My Thoughts on "The Speech"

This evening (as most people know), President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Health Care, specifically:

• the current state of it in the U.S.
  
• his thoughts on why reform is needed
• what reform should accomplish
• what is/is not true about the rumors that have circulated about the proposed reform "bill."
  
  (I put "bill" in quotations because no official bill has yet been agreed upon. Four submitted, one more on the way)
  

A number of things stand out with this address, both in regard to his speech, and the nature of the event. While the President often addresses the nation, be it on prime time TV or otherwise, presidential speeches to joint sessions of Congress come few and far between. The last one given, to my knowledge (and excluding State of the Union/Inaugural Addresses), was given by President Bush after 9/11. I personally think this scarcity is because of how much time is spent applauding (if you're the party in power) and attempting to look as-defiant-as-one-can-while-sitting-during-a-joint-session-of-Congress (the minority party). The fact that Obama chose to hold such an address on health care stands as a testament its importance.

So, enough about the actual event, what about the speech? Overall, I found myself pleased with the speech. The President seemed to approach the entire debate head-on and systematically work through some problem issues. Could there have been more discussed? Of course. More details given? Without a doubt. From a practical stance, however, he seemed to cover the most important things as best as he could for the time being (it was only a 45 min speech, after all). I was specifically glad to hear Obama address the few following things (among many others, because my opinion obviously weighs heavily on both him and Congress):

• The current outrageous costs of health care when compared to nations similar to the U.S. Health care accounts for ~18% of our GDP , while the next closest country slides in at ~9% (That link is also just a good website to checkout for general health care facts).
  
  When compared, health rankings between the US and similar nations have no real statistical difference (measures include infant mortality, life span, cancer survival rates, etc). If there's no real different in that, and in patients' satisfaction with their physician, why does our cost so much more? For more information, this article summarizes things pretty well and pulls statistics from the CIA World Fact Book.
  
  
• The idea that an extreme change, to either the right (complete individual privatization) or the left (national single payer), can not be viewed as a feasible option right now. The health care system ties too tightly into the entirety of our economy and way-of-life that any major overhaul would simply be too detrimental .
  
  One of the most frustrating things to hear others talk about is how the US will have "socialized medicine." It's just not going to happen, and really, socialized medicine wouldn't actually be the end of the world (surprised, no?), we as a country just make terrible connections when we hear the world "Socialism" (You can thank the National Socialist German Workers Party for that, along with the Cold War. Oddly enough neither are true examples of socialism).
  
  I'm also glad he addressed other silly things like the idea of death panels and the fact that many in the GOP (and some on the left) are actively choosing to not work because it's a better political move. I'm sorry, I like to think that you were elected to work. I wish all in Congress would work so hard that there was no one the people could NOT reelect them rather than sitting-bored because you'd rather not make waves.
  
  
• His inclusion of Ted Kennedy's well-touted view that the health care debate should not be a political or partisan debate, but a moral debate. It's not often that I would prefer our Congress to debate moral issues, however the issue of health care strikes a different chord with me.
  
  I've always thought a person's ability to easily access adequate medical care when needed as something that just makes sense. I cannot understand why people are more than okay with protecting citizens and their safety by having military/police/firefighters/clean water/etc but then run scared when prompted to protect a persons general well being.
  
  It just does not compute for me. I think when people get sick they should be able to focus on getting well rather than even entertaining the idea that they might not go see the doctor because of access/cost.
  

I could go on for pages explaining all of my thoughts and comments about the speech and debate, but I'm not sure how many people have made it this far. If you really want to read more of my rambling ideas: click here.

If you missed the speech, NPR has a pretty good summary , or you can read the entire text here (it's a few clicks down, past an initial summary).

For a good website that just has interesting health care facts, check out the NCHC (National Coalition on Health Care- they were linked above too). I find the "Facts" tab at the top to be most interesting.

Sidenote: I wish my time stamp was accurate. Anyone know how to change that?

Lastly, what did you all think of the speech? Or how do you feel about the debate/reform? I'm happy to discuss or just see what other people think. Until next time.