Looking for information on the healthcare system

[7yearmd]

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Hi all I'm currently a high school student at one of the higher ranked high schools in America. I am a sophomore and currently, and hopefully will remain, valedictorian of my class and was considering applying to the 7 year BS/MD programs because it seems like something I might be interested in because the career seems like it would fit my interests and would make for a job that I would be happy doing. When I spoke with my adviser about this he recommended that I read up about the healthcare system and read up on some ethical dilemmas that doctors face before I apply to these programs. I'm not very familiar at all with the healthcare system or any of the 'ethical' dilemmas that he was referring to so I came across this website. Could you guys please provide me with some reading that can give me enough information to get a working knowledge and allow me to make an informed opinion about the health care system? Some topics about the system he recommended I look into are
-My thoughts on the healthcare system - which would require me to learn about it first
-How I would change it
-How I would pay for it
-Should everyone, including illegal immigrants get healthcare?
And some ethical issues he spoke about were
-abortion
-do patients have a right to die? and should a physician be allowed to assist them?

I figured this would be a good place to ask since most of you are prospective medical students so you guys probably have links to resources and articles where I can read up on this stuff. Looking for ward to hearing back from you all, thanks!

Edit: I realize the 7 year programs are very competitive but I would still like to know about this stuff regardless.

 

[Sergeant D]

May I suggest this?

http://www.amazon.com/You-Might-Nar...8742/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1331658474&sr=8-7

Seems fitting.

 

[kpcrew]

http://www.google.com

 

[typicalindian]

http://www.google.com

That's too much work... http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Google.com

 

[LizzyM]

Hi there,
Never mind the snarks... Get yourself a copy of MSAR and learn about medical education and the coursework needed to prepare for medical school. There is also a chapter about BS/MD programs.

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Schoo...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331659695&sr=1-1

For ethics, you might try something like Tough Decisions: Cases in Medical Ethics.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/019509042X/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

which is written in a very engaging way and not too technical from the medical side or the ethics side.

I think that Your Money or Your Life
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Medicine-Americas/dp/0195181328/ref=pd_sim_b_4 might make a good introduction to the way things have been and Paul Starr's latest book
http://www.amazon.com/Remedy-Reacti...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331660886&sr=1-1 could tell you where we might be going (anything can happen with the Supreme Court).

Finally, Paul Starr's Pulitzer Prize winning book
http://www.amazon.com/Social-Transf...-profession/dp/0465079350/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2 puts American health care in a historical perspective.

Your public library might have many of these books, or be able to get them for you through interlibrary loan. I used the amazon links because they are an easy way to get all the information to you.

 

[ppfizenm]

I wish you the best of luck. you already sound like prestige *****.

 

[7yearmd]

First off, Thank you LizzyM I'll definitely look into those.
Everyone else: I didn't put that information about my rank and school in my first post as a bragging point. I put it in there so I wouldn't get replies telling me how hard it is to get into these seven year programs and that I shouldnt get my hopes up because my credentials may not be on par with the standards and all that jazz...Ive looked at admissions criteria and I know it's very selective but I just didn want the thread to steer in that direction.

 

[ppfizenm]

First off, Thank you LizzyM I'll definitely look into those.
Everyone else: I didn't put that information about my rank and school in my first post as a bragging point. I put it in there so I wouldn't get replies telling me how hard it is to get into these seven year programs and that I shouldnt get my hopes up because my credentials may not be on par with the standards and all that jazz...Ive looked at admissions criteria and I know it's very selective but I just didn want the thread to steer in that direction.

I'll accept that.

LizzyM's suggestions are good. You can also try googling programs if you don't want to purchase the MSAR.

In addition you may want to think about whether you want to give up the extra year of college and jump right into medical school. You only get to do college once and if you are dedicated you shouldn't have too hard a time getting in anyway.

Here are some books you may like. They aren't too heavy on the ethics but they may help you decide whether or not you are really interested in medicine. They were really good and pretty informative as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Doctor-Harvard-Medical-Students/dp/156512507X

http://www.amazon.com/Every-Patient-Tells-Story-Sanders/dp/0767922468

 

[FTFY]

First off, Thank you LizzyM I'll definitely look into those.
Everyone else: I didn't put that information about my rank and school in my first post as a bragging point. I put it in there so I wouldn't get replies telling me how hard it is to get into these seven year programs and that I shouldnt get my hopes up because my credentials may not be on par with the standards and all that jazz...Ive looked at admissions criteria and I know it's very selective but I just didn want the thread to steer in that direction.

Don't get defensive. You can't take people on the internet too seriously. Any post opens itself up to criticism and snarky remarks.

Instead of worrying about it, run with it. Your post comes off a bit pretentious and you came in with no background work done. If you were in my study group, I wouldn't care what school you went to, I'd be recommend you do some of your own research first for preparation. Also, show us that you've done some.

I'm sure you have great intentions, but if you're seriously considering a fast track program, you might want to consider toughening up a bit.

----
That said, I'd recommend finding someone well versed in this topic to speak with. Do some of your own research and ask them questions. Do you have doctors you can speak with? Those who go a traditional route often shadow physicians while in undergraduate years, giving them opportunities to ask questions and gain first hand experience.

Good luck.

 

[TACMON]

the kaiser family foundation has good articles to get your feet wet

http://www.kff.org/

 

[LizzyM]

Don't get defensive. You can't take people on the internet too seriously. Any post opens itself up to criticism and snarky remarks.

Instead of worrying about it, run with it. Your post comes off a bit pretentious and you came in with no background work done. If you were in my study group, I wouldn't care what school you went to, I'd be recommend you do some of your own research first for preparation. Also, show us that you've done some.
I'm sure you have great intentions, but if you're seriously considering a fast track program, you might want to consider toughening up a bit.

----
That said, I'd recommend finding someone well versed in this topic to speak with. Do some of your own research and ask them questions. Do you have doctors you can speak with? Those who go a traditional route often shadow physicians while in undergraduate years, giving them opportunities to ask questions and gain first hand experience.

Good luck.

Nice. Do you know that this kid is 15-16 years old and he's reaching out to older more experienced folks who might be able to direct him to some reading material. That's his way of doing research. He can't read-up if he doesn't know where to begin. Next time, if you can't contribute, just move on.

 

[catzzz88]

Nice. Do you know that this kid is 15-16 years old and he's reaching out to older more experienced folks who might be able to direct him to some reading material. That's his way of doing research. He can't read-up if he doesn't know where to begin. Next time, if you can't contribute, just move on.

PROPS LizzyM! Tell it like it is.

See my signature 🙂

 

[spike55]

For medical ethics/ethical dilemmas... I think this website is a really great place to start:

http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/index.html

and if you click on the "resources" button at the bottom of the page, there are additional readings that would provide more in depth knowledge of areas that interest you or that you feel might be particularly important.

For an overview of the healthcare system/ some of the problems we are facing, if you have Netflix you could watch "Frontline: Sick Around America" and "Frontline: Sick Around the World." You could also probably find those at videos at the library. And you could also check out the "perspectives" articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, which are easy to read but very informative:

http://www.nejm.org/medical-articles/perspective

Good luck!

 

[ManBroDude]

For medical ethics/ethical dilemmas... I think this website is a really great place to start:

http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/index.html

and if you click on the "resources" button at the bottom of the page, there are additional readings that would provide more in depth knowledge of areas that interest you or that you feel might be particularly important.

For an overview of the healthcare system/ some of the problems we are facing, if you have Netflix you could watch "Frontline: Sick Around America" and "Frontline: Sick Around the World." You could also probably find those at videos at the library. And you could also check out the "perspectives" articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, which are easy to read but very informative:

http://www.nejm.org/medical-articles/perspective

Good luck!

👍 x over 9000
I used the UW bioethics site in preparation for my MMI interviews and the case presentations were really enlightening.

And the Frontline special wasn't half bad, either.

 

[vayntraubinator]

Thank you Spike55 & LizzyM!! 👍

 

[235788]

go to youtube!

 

[sweet d]

I'm a fan of Virtual Mentor (http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/)

It's a mix of case based articles, op-ed pieces, mini history lessons and law/politics. Relatively short articles that are light on medical jargon - easy read.

 

[plumhill]

This might be of help: it's not going to "teach" you anything, but it'll give you a sense of some of the ethical dilemmas faced, and also includes the types of questions you'll see come up often

http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/2008_09 MMI Cases.pdf

 

[7yearmd]

wow guys thank you all so much! I'll definitely be looking into everything you guys provided me with.