This NYT article regarding college students’ recruitment to Wall Street is compelling. The author highlights the financial incentives that direct students to financial careers – and away from graduate degrees like medicine.
Blog Archives
An Excellent Question
I recently read a NYT piece called, “Why Would Anyone Choose to Become a Doctor?” by Dr. Danielle Ofri. It’s a sweet essay written by a physician who describes being perplexed by the large number of medical school applicants yearly, considering her profession’s numerous annoyances.
As the author considers alternatives to her career, however, she comes to the conclusion that her clinical encounters make it all worthwhile. The essay is a nice pick-me-up.
A Daring Journey Into Medical Anthropology
A few weeks ago, I recommended reading This is a Soul: The Mission of Rick Hodes, and today I want to highlight another must-read for the physician or doctor-to-be. The Spirit Catches you and You Fall Down was published in 1997 and promptly won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, among other accolades.
The book chronicles the U.S. medical experience of a Hmong family, showcasing the twisted miscommunications between the two groups. It’s an excellent story and strong reminder to all medical caregivers as to how – although everyone may be aiming for the patient’s best – cultural differences can spoil the doctor-patient relationship.
This is a Soul
I wanted to put in a plug for a book I’m reading called, “This is a Soul: The Mission of Rick Hodes” by Marilyn Berger. The book chronicles the work of Dr. Hodes, an American doctor who has lived in Ethiopia for over three decades assisting children with horribly severe – oftentimes lethal – spinal problems (frequently tuberculosis-related). Dr. Hodes himself has adopted several sick Ethiopian children.
During his emergency medicine training, my husband worked with Dr. Hodes and was tremendously impressed with his dedication. Here is more information about Rick Hodes and the work he does.
Tags: Ethiopian Children, Hodes, Tuberculosis
Lacking a “Social Mission”
Here‘s a NYT article focusing on NYU’s new curriculum, but examining more closely criticisms of many medical schools – a lack of patient-centered coursework. NYU, Harvard, Florida State University and other institutions are reacting to critiques that students do not get in to see patients early enough in their medical school careers and that pathophysiology is emphasized over compassionate care.
Unfortunately, until incentives are aligned (= reimbursement), practicing physicians will be forced to continue to focus on disease, rather than patient well-being. Along those lines, I recommend Atul Gawande’s New Yorker article, “Letting Go” about end-of-life care.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
