Relevant health care issues for interviews

[DrPharaohX]

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I've been reading up on the malpractice and health care insurance crises and formulating my own opinions on these matters, as well as trying to garner some solid information so I may be able to explain the relevant problems. Current issues may be the medicare drug benefits change and the Bush abortion issue from a few months back.

Is there a third health care problem that can be discussed for interviews? ("name three current problems with healthcare")

For those who interviewed (I'm still waiting) and have talked about these issues in your interviews, how in depth did you go/feel you should go into the topics?

Do you merely give an opinion and try to clarify why? If you explain the problem do you go in depth or give a generalized explanation?

Finally, any particular sources that have helped you with this? Did you actually write down your opinions on these matters or just formulated opinions based on many readings?

Thanks!

 

[ATPase]

As far as a third healthcare problem (which is arguably THE healthcare problem), I would say the large numbers of people who are uninsured or underinsured. Another problem is racial disparities in healthcare delivery. Another is managed care and loss of physician autonomy. Etc. etc.

When preparing for interviews, your best bet is to make an outline for each healthcare problem you've identified. Come up with three main points for each issue. (i.e. the problems surrounding this issue, solutions that are being debated right now, and your opinion on a possible solution(s).) Then when you're asked in an interview, you can easily think back to this outline in your head and address the points briefly. Don't expound for ten minutes on an issue. Give an overview, and often the interviewer will interject with his/her own questions or challenges regarding your position.

By far the best resource for me while preparing for interviews was a book called Understanding Health Policy. Can't remember the author, but you can find it on Amazon. Keeping up with current events like the Medicare policy changes was also helpful.

Good luck.

 

[jlee9531]

as for the popular how would solve the uninsured problem?

make sure you have somewhat of a viable answer and can back it up with some stats and background information...and know how your solution has the potential to help insure the uninsured.

 

[No Egrets]

yo... some more problemos for you:

+ rising costs of Rx drugs (& the "reimportation" phenomenon of sr's going by busloads to canada to get them cheap)... this ties in w/ Medicare reform --> boring yet timely/relevant

+ nurse shortage - US is hiring en masse from other countries

+ rising cost of med school apps // wait, maybe you don't want to bring this one up (although i'm sure we'd all agree it is quite a major problemo)

 

[darkcity998]

More problems to talk about:

Obesity and smoking

 

[DrPharaohX]

^ Yea I think I touched up on that from my readings. Still need to do more. Thanks for the replies guys 😀

 

[Chrisobean]

there was an article in the ny times a while back, i think i may have even posted it up here, or someone did... about the nurse shortage. theres a hospital using robots!!! to deliver meds and do other not-so-important things which gives nurses more time with the patients. they also are trying to attract moms who may have left the profession by having mommy shifts, ie from 8 to 3 while the kids are in school. and they are also making the shift schedule more flexible, allowing nurses to bid e-bay style on shifts they want, with each bid lowering the amount paid per hour (but the amount starts well above their normal pay).

i thought this was dam interesting.


as for all the other problems... so what do you all propose to fix them?