Can a hot, gay URM get in to Harvard with a 20 MCAT and 2.75 GPA?

[LadyJubilee8_18]

Just kidding, I wanted people to pay attention to my current events thread. Here are some good topics for discussion:

1. A new article is out on msnbc about how rising health care costs are effecting non-profit organizations. Traditionally these organizations pay their employees very little because they give stellar health benefits. With the rising cost of health care, many non profits are being forced to either lay off some employees or cut back the benefits that their existing employees receive. When many small organizations lay off employees, they have a hard time attracting companies who will provide insurance for so few people. It seems to be a vicious cycle. Of course, you all know that there has been a huge problem with providing health care to much of the US population (especially to those in the lower socioeconomic bracket). How do you guys think the US can lower the cost of health care?
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7869060/

I think that a lot of the cost of health care has to do with (of course) malpractice insurance and the rising costs of drugs. I think malpractice insurance should be socialized (offered by the state, not the fed gov) and that pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to market their drugs on television. Since drug companies have to balance their budgets (including marketing costs) and maintain a certain profit margin, cutting out commercials will lower their expenses. Besides, if you ask your doctor for a certain drug, isn’t he just your dealer?


2. Just a cool article about new cancer research. Interesting to read:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/05/11/cancer.leipzig/index.html

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[liverotcod]

I choose not to read your current events thread because it contains far too many words, but I will answer the topic:

No, but Yale will welcome you with open arms.

 

[Fenrezz]

Well if the guy giving the interviews is also gay, then mr. 20 MCAT may have a good chance, though he'll have to work up a sweat during the interview.

 

[LadyBulldog]

:

No, but Yale will welcome you with open arms.

HEY! what's with the yale bashing?



~and I appreciated the current events, though i'm not sure i like the idea of banning commercials--i think they are a major way of advertisement for the companies and really increase the number of people who ask for those particular drugs

 

[AxlxA]

If advertisements are no longer used, how else are the drug companies to sell their product?

They would have to approach the doctors, treat them like royalty and then sell them the drugs. Now this might end up causing doctors to be bias on different drugs and hence ruin health care as we know it. Too bad same arguement could be used for advertisements made by drug companies. There is no unbias decisions here. I say, fed gov pays for the drugs and have to set a standard on drug companies' pricing.

Some drugs out there are RIDICULOUSLY high priced. What is up with that

 

[liverotcod]

HEY! what's with the yale bashing?

Oops! It's just force of habit: I was Harvard undergrad many years ago.

Besides, perhaps I'm not bashing! You're making the value judgment, not I

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

If advertisements are no longer used, how else are the drug companies to sell their product?

They would have to approach the doctors, treat them like royalty and then sell them the drugs. Now this might end up causing doctors to be bias on different drugs and hence ruin health care as we know it. Too bad same arguement could be used for advertisements made by drug companies. There is no unbias decisions here. I say, fed gov pays for the drugs and have to set a standard on drug companies' pricing.

Some drugs out there are RIDICULOUSLY high priced. What is up with that

I don't think that drug companies had problems selling their drugs before TV ads were used since people will get sick and have to use drugs. I think people should not have to ask their doctors for any sort of drug, doctors are supposed to prescribe drugs. Besides, the drugs on the ads are those that are supposed to help with some sort of psychological disorder or what I like to call luxury drugs: drugs that are supposed to cause 80 year old men to have erections for 6 hours (or other such medications). These are the ones that sell because of advertisements. No one's life is going to be saved because of luxury drugs and if you need psych drugs, then you should see a doctor to know what’s best for you. Ads aren’t really needed.

 

[Fed Meat]

HEY! what's with the yale bashing?

Banning commericals is for the best.

So is bashing Yale.

 

[CarleneM]

They would have to approach the doctors, treat them like royalty and then sell them the drugs. Now this might end up causing doctors to be bias on different drugs and hence ruin health care as we know it. Too bad same arguement could be used for advertisements made by drug companies. There is no unbias decisions here. I say, fed gov pays for the drugs and have to set a standard on drug companies' pricing.

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or what. Are you not aware that drug reps do meet with doctors on a regular basis and "push" certain drugs by giving free samples, pens, pads of paper, etc. Drug reps are around all the time meeting with everyone from residents to department chiefs, pushing the latest drug they still have on patent for the latest indication.

I think some drug advertising (yes for psych indications) can be useful. For example, there is an ad campaign for strattera for adult adhd. Many adults don't think they could have ADHD and get treated for it, thinking its a diagnosis for school age children. I think an ad like that can get some folks to talk with their doctor about issues they might not otherwise bring up. I think that is a much better use of drug company money than, say, giving me yet another free lunch and pen emblazoned with the strattera logo. "Oh just what I needed, a lexapro coathanger! A prozac clock and matching mug!!"

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or what. Are you not aware that drug reps do meet with doctors on a regular basis and "push" certain drugs by giving free samples, pens, pads of paper, etc. Drug reps are around all the time meeting with everyone from residents to department chiefs, pushing the latest drug they still have on patent for the latest indication.

I think some drug advertising (yes for psych indications) can be useful. For example, there is an ad campaign for strattera for adult adhd. Many adults don't think they could have ADHD and get treated for it, thinking its a diagnosis for school age children. I think an ad like that can get some folks to talk with their doctor about issues they might not otherwise bring up. I think that is a much better use of drug company money than, say, giving me yet another free lunch and pen emblazoned with the strattera logo. "Oh just what I needed, a lexapro coathanger! A prozac clock and matching mug!!"

I think ADD and ADHD are WAY over diagnosed. Sometimes its hard for me to focus on things and I could be considered "hyper active" but its not impossible to overcome without drugs. This disorder is too loosely defined, how do you distinguish ADHD from simple lack of discipline?

 

[Braveheart]

Troll ALERT. THIS THREAD IS MESS UP!!!!

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

Troll ALERT. THIS THREAD IS MESS UP!!!!

Did you actually read the first post, because its not at all about what the title suggests, I just assumed (correctly) that people would be drawn to a very controversial thread topic since no one really seemed to care about current events before.

 

[CarleneM]

I think ADD and ADHD are WAY over diagnosed. Sometimes its hard for me to focus on things and I could be considered "hyper active" but its not impossible to overcome without drugs. This disorder is too loosely defined, how do you distinguish ADHD from simple lack of discipline?

A lot of people say that and yes, there are some kids, particularly from mid to upper class families, who may not have full blown adhd and get a prescription for ritalin. However, for every one of those, I guarantee there are more kids with limited access to healthcare who are doing very poorly in school because of severe ADHD that is untreated. When you work with kids everyday with ADHD, like I do, you see kids with severe adhd symptoms and see how real and how impairing it can be. These kids can't get their homework done, can't sit in their seat at school and if they have the hyperactive variety, often climb and run throughout the clinic making it very hard to interview them and their parents. There are also a number of computerized attention tasks (called CPT) that can assess the attention span and help in making accurate diagnoses. What I was talking about was Adult ADHD, though, and since this a relatively new concept, many adults do not think of seeking treatment for themselves.

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

A lot of people say that and yes, there are some kids, particularly from mid to upper class families, who may not have full blown adhd and get a prescription for ritalin. However, for every one of those, I guarantee there are more kids with limited access to healthcare who are doing very poorly in school because of severe ADHD that is untreated. When you work with kids everyday with ADHD, like I do, you see kids with severe adhd symptoms and see how real and how impairing it can be. These kids can't get their homework done, can't sit in their seat at school and if they have the hyperactive variety, often climb and run throughout the clinic making it very hard to interview them and their parents. There are also a number of computerized attention tasks (called CPT) that can assess the attention span and help in making accurate diagnoses. What I was talking about was Adult ADHD, though, and since this a relatively new concept, many adults do not think of seeking treatment for themselves.

How are adults diagnosed with ADHD? And what causes it? I guess I don’t really know a lot about the disorder except that its diagnosis is quite controversial. Are there certain populations of people in which the incidence of ADHD is higher?

 

[LADoc00]

No, but Yale will welcome you with open arms.

Reminds of that movie American Pyscho

Patrick Bateman: He was into that whole Yale thing.
Donald Kimball: Yale thing?
Patrick Bateman: Yeah, Yale thing.
Donald Kimball: What whole Yale thing?
Patrick Bateman: Well, he was probably a closet homosexual who did a lot of cocaine. That whole Yale thing.

 

[CarleneM]

How are adults diagnosed with ADHD? And what causes it? I guess I don’t really know a lot about the disorder except that its diagnosis is quite controversial. Are there certain populations of people in which the incidence of ADHD is higher?

In children, doctors would normally want to talk with teachers and maybe have the teachers fill out rating forms but this is obviously harder to do for adults. Some adults will have a boss weigh in but that's not the norm. Instead, a doctor would try and talk with spouse, parents (if living) etc to get a better idea. This is in addition to interviewing the patient and really looking for signs the disorder is functionally impairing to the person in a couple of different settings (ie proscrastinating at a boring job isn't enough. it has to be pretty pervasive). They could also use those computerized tests but there isn't a blood test or anything that precise. They would also want to know family history since ADHD runs in families and ask questions about the person's childhood to see if ADHD symptoms were present back then.

ADHD is diagnosed more frequently in boys than girls and people from low education families are at higher risk and this makes sense given that it runs in families. Its very common in people with underlying neurological issues or damage, such as epilepsy, which is the population I work with. Some estimates put the prevalence of ADHD in patients with epilepsy as high as 80%!

 

[LadyBulldog]

Oops! It's just force of habit: I was Harvard undergrad many years ago.

well, that's a good excuse I suppose

 

[LadyBulldog]

Banning commericals is for the best.

So is bashing Yale.

 

[tacrum43]

Troll ALERT. THIS THREAD IS MESS UP!!!!

No, the OP isn't a troll. You need to spend more time on SDN before you go sounding off a troll alert.

 

[Braveheart]

Troll ALERT. THIS THREAD IS MESS UP!!!!

Sorry, I just wanted to say that. I got kinda 'troll' happy.

 

[taddpole]

If advertisements are no longer used, how else are the drug companies to sell their product?

They would have to approach the doctors, treat them like royalty and then sell them the drugs. Now this might end up causing doctors to be bias on different drugs and hence ruin health care as we know it. Too bad same arguement could be used for advertisements made by drug companies. There is no unbias decisions here. I say, fed gov pays for the drugs and have to set a standard on drug companies' pricing.

Some drugs out there are RIDICULOUSLY high priced. What is up with that

If I'm not mistaken, the main way that drug companies get their products on the market is door-to-door sales at doctors offices. The advertisements are pretty much just an extra for them because they are able to make a killing. Advertisement time on tv, while expensive, is made up by the fact that drugs cost SO much money yet they are extremely inexpensive to produce. If a company's tv ad gets 10 patients to their doctors saying "hey, how about I try viagra" than the company has made their money from the advertisement back.....food for thought

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

If I'm not mistaken, the main way that drug companies get their products on the market is door-to-door sales at doctors offices. The advertisements are pretty much just an extra for them because they are able to make a killing. Advertisement time on tv, while expensive, is made up by the fact that drugs cost SO much money yet they are extremely inexpensive to produce. If a company's tv ad gets 10 patients to their doctors saying "hey, how about I try viagra" than the company has made their money from the advertisement back.....food for thought

Maybe we need foreign competition to lower the cost of drugs because really there is no need for the expense. The next best thing to socializing health care is to make our privatized system compete with other nations' socialized systems.

What do you guys think about socializing malpractice insurance? If the state offers malpractice insurance, they don’t have to have the 30% profit margin that the private companies have to have. As long as the state breaks even they will benefit from the positive social outcome. Sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[ajt2003]

I choose not to read your current events thread because it contains far too many words, but I will answer the topic:

No, but Yale will welcome you with open arms.

Ha! That's awesome. And probably true.

Yale loves the gay kids. I should know. I'm one of them. Liberal, liberal, liberal!!

 

[Nma]

LMAAAAAAO @ the silliest topic ever!!!!!!

 

[LadyJubilee8_18]

LMAAAAAAO @ the silliest topic ever!!!!!!

Its about current events guys, not about the silly title! Wow, people should really read further...

 

[DubZteR]

Well if the guy giving the interviews is also gay, then mr. 20 MCAT may have a good chance, though he'll have to work up a sweat during the interview.

 

[liverotcod]

Its about current events guys, not about the silly title! Wow, people should really read further...

I must say that I find it in questionable taste to use a deceptive thread title.

 

[Nma]

Its about current events guys, not about the silly title! Wow, people should really read further...

The point "miss-thang' is that i don't care to read further!
The title interested me morethan anything else u had or have to say. sawwy.

 

[Nma]

I must say that I find it in questionable taste to use a deceptive thread title. No real harm done here, of course, but in general this is a bad thing. I believe.

as a doctor to be too miss jubilee; ur motivation technique is questionable!