Tips for learning more about healthcare for possible interview qs?

[kaymellow]

Hey guys!
Any tips for someone applying this cycle that wants to become more educated about politics? More specifically healthcare. Apps? Websites?

-Trying to prepare for possible interview questions.
-Watching CNN daily is NOT my thing.

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[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Watching CNN daily is NOT my thing.

Probably smart if you want facts.

@Lawper put a great post together in this thread. I think it's the third one down:

Healthcare policy reading?

 

[Master_of_Savage]

Hey guys!
Any tips for someone applying this cycle that wants to become more educated about politics? More specifically healthcare. Apps? Websites?

-Trying to prepare for possible interview questions.
-Watching CNN daily is NOT my thing.

Are you starting with absolutely no knowledge of what the ACA does? If so, just googling "how does the ACA work" might help. Once you have a general grasp of what it is, go to the New York Times Health section. You get 10 free articles a month and with all the activity regarding healthcare policy the past few months, there are a lot of recent articles that will bring you up to speed.

 

[PatchA]

Read "The Healing of America"- great book that definitely increased my knowledge about US healthcare and how it compares to other countries, recommended to me by one of my interviewers

 

[greenturtle22]

I used (and like) the Kaiser Family Foundation's website on the ACA! It also compares the proposed AHCA to what we currently have.

 

[Stumpyman]

I like to listen to podcasts. For healthcare, "Straight Talk, MD" is a good podcast with a lot of nuanced (and in-depth) perspective about the current state (and future) of our healthcare system. "Pulse Check" is another great one featuring interviews with prominent people involved in healthcare. "The Weeds" is an in-depth policy discussion podcast but bear in mind, they tend to favor the heavy government involvement (i.e. - single payer).

 

[walkerson242]

In my free time, I like to watch ZDoggMD on YouTube. He talks a lot about healthcare issues

 

[wanderingorion]

I read the healthcare handbook. It's a pretty short and useful primer on the healthcare system. I'd highly recommend it if you need to discuss topics/issues with healthcare.

 

[SuaveCardigans]

I used (and like) the Kaiser Family Foundation's website on the ACA! It also compares the proposed AHCA to what we currently have.

I have their hompage bookmarked and check it occassionaly. It seems to be one of the best online sources for objective and in depth coverage.

 

[djtallahassee]

Call me an oddball, but try asking some hospital staff what they think. They are the front lines and deal with it. I would be wary of resources as they can be biased either way. The damn things like 1000s of pages.


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[Karabo]

For a very simple overview (to get you started) check out: No Excuses: Healthcare — theSkimm

Khan Academy has some videos from a few years ago with a brief overview of the US healthcare system: Introduction to the U.S. health care system

If you like podcasts, Congressional Dish has some about the ACA and AHCA (but it is liberally biased and sometimes gets a bit ranty): CD048: The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
CD151: AHCA – The House Version (American Health Care Act)
CD146: Repeal & Replace

I also liked the book America's Bitter Pill by Steven Brill

I also agree the Kaiser Family Foundation has great resources

 

[aldol16]

All the good newspapers have good Health sections that are a combination of recent events in healthcare news as well as op-eds about the current state of healthcare in America. You shouldn't be reading just to figure out what things like the ACA, individual mandate, or HMOs are - you should be thinking about your feelings about these things.

 

[Whyamionhere]

Read "The Healing of America"- great book that definitely increased my knowledge about US healthcare and how it compares to other countries, recommended to me by one of my interviewers

I second this! I actually read it on the plane to one of my interviews and felt like a baller when I got to drop some knowledge from it during my interview

 

[Shirafune]

How often have people been asked for their opinion about the US healthcare system?

Nobody ever asked me anything about how the healthcare system works.

 

[Whyamionhere]

How often have people been asked for their opinion about the US healthcare system?

Nobody ever asked me anything about how the healthcare system works.

I had to pretend I was calling Paul Ryan and convincing him not to repeal the ACA, and they pushed back a lot on me with follow up questions ("rebuttals" from Paul Ryan) so I would have been screwed if I hadn't brushed up on things. This was only at one school though, although another asked a brief question about it like pro/con.

 

[neekzg]

Health Care Triage on YouTube is a pretty valuable, high-production resource if you're not into reading. They cover a wide range of health topics from recent clinical research to implications of current policies on healthcare in the US.

Healthcare Triage

The American Health Care Paradox is a pretty good book that goes into why we have worse health outcomes in the US despite spending more money on the health sector than other similarly developed countries. I'd also second "The Healing of America" for another comparative perspective of healthcare structures outside the US.

Understanding Health Policy is a great primer as well.

I used most of the above resources as well as Kaiser Family Foundation and NyTimes Health section (especially the Money & Policy sub-section) to stay on top of health care topics these past couple years; to be honest I would probably focus on understanding some of the pros/cons of the ACA and what the implications might be for repealing it.

to comment on one of the posts above-- surprisingly enough it's probably low yield to be asked about your opinions on healthcare. I interviewed at most of the CA programs during the '15-'16 year and I don't think it explicitly came up once.

 

[Shirafune]

I had to pretend I was calling Paul Ryan and convincing him not to repeal the ACA, and they pushed back a lot on me with follow up questions ("rebuttals" from Paul Ryan) so I would have been screwed if I hadn't brushed up on things. This was only at one school though, although another asked a brief question about it like pro/con.

Interesting. I don't know what I would have said if that conversation droned on. I probably would have looked like an idiot.

I think applicants this cycle may want to compare and contrast the ACA and the AHCA and consider how the healthcare system (access, cost, coverage, etc) may respond during this hypothetical transition.

 

[Whyamionhere]

Interesting. I don't know what I would have said if that conversation droned on. I probably would have looked like an idiot.

I think applicants this cycle may want to compare and contrast the ACA and the AHCA and consider how the healthcare system (access, cost, coverage, etc) may respond during this hypothetical transition.

Yeah I was sweating bullets the entire time until they finally ended it and moved onto the next question.

 

[halobi]

The New England Journal of Medicine releases perspective pieces on current issues in healthcare all the time. If you have access to the journal through your college, like I did, I would suggest that you look through their recent perspective pieces, find some that you think are important and interest you, and then read them. I brought up various articles I had read in my interviews and it always seemed to go well. You appear to be both informed and interested in healthcare. This may give you more of a specialized knowledge than a broad overview of the major issues but you do get the opinions of doctors and leaders in healthcare, usually backed up by fact, and each article is a quick read.

 

[aldol16]

How often have people been asked for their opinion about the US healthcare system?

Nobody ever asked me anything about how the healthcare system works.

Nobody ever asks you, "What do you think about the U.S. healthcare system?" Usually, it'll be more isolated to a specific aspect of the system like the ACA.

I had to pretend I was calling Paul Ryan and convincing him not to repeal the ACA, and they pushed back a lot on me with follow up questions ("rebuttals" from Paul Ryan) so I would have been screwed if I hadn't brushed up on things. This was only at one school though, although another asked a brief question about it like pro/con.

I wonder what they would say if I told them I would tell him to repeal it and ask him to replace it with my thought-out version of a comprehensive health bill.

 

[unicornshadow888]

Hey guys!
Any tips for someone applying this cycle that wants to become more educated about politics? More specifically healthcare. Apps? Websites?

-Trying to prepare for possible interview questions.
-Watching CNN daily is NOT my thing.

This is where taking a health policy class in undergrad can come in handy (I know I learned more about our healthcare system and it's issues/current events in one semester than in my entire life). If you don't have access to a health policy class this summer or in the fall, I would just stick to reading The New York Times or subscribe to a health policy journal. Good to know that you want to learn more about health policy! It's needed in the medical field.

 

[unicornshadow888]

Nobody ever asks you, "What do you think about the U.S. healthcare system?" Usually, it'll be more isolated to a specific aspect of the system like the ACA.



I wonder what they would say if I told them I would tell him to repeal it and ask him to replace it with my thought-out version of a comprehensive health bill.

Here's something they might challenge you on: what would be the benefits of repealing and replacing it vs. leaving it and then amending it to fit your ideas? And how would you convince people to get your ideas passed? FYI, they most likely aren't going to ask you anything exactly like that (this is medicine and you're not running for Congress). But, I would prepare for any challenges to your ideas to test your collaboration and persuasion skills. Also, you don't want to sound like you're way over your head, so challenging yourself like that may help. IMO, it's better to overprepare than underprepare.

 

[Shirafune]

Nobody ever asks you, "What do you think about the U.S. healthcare system?" Usually, it'll be more isolated to a specific aspect of the system like the ACA.

I wasn't asked anything at all about any aspect of any system/proposed system.

 

[unicornshadow888]

I wasn't asked anything at all about any aspect of any system/proposed system.

Never say never. Some schools may ask a question like that and other schools might not. It's probably more likely to come up if the person applying is really into health policy and/or the interviewee brings it up themselves. Sometimes admissions committees use questions on your interests for you to show that you know what you're talking about.

 

[Shirafune]

Never say never. Some schools may ask a question like that and other schools might not. It's probably more likely to come up if the person applying is really into health policy and/or the interviewee brings it up themselves. Sometimes admissions committees use questions on your interests for you to show that you know what you're talking about.

I'm not saying people are never getting these questions. I'm saying I personally never got anything related to that. All my interviews were extremely conversational. Never went beyond the general "Why this school?" or "Why medicine?" They wanted to know about my club activities and personal interests, but never what I thought about health policy.

 

[unicornshadow888]

I'm not saying people are never getting these questions. I'm saying I personally never got anything related to that. All my interviews were extremely conversational. Never went beyond the general "Why this school?" or "Why medicine?" They wanted to know about my club activities and personal interests, but never what I thought about health policy.

I get what you're saying. I guess my point was that by saying that your experience wasn't like that, you imply that the OP shouldn't anticipate that kind of question (regardless of whether you meant it that way or not); when in actuality, if this person has a huge interest in health policy and their activities or interests reflect that, then it could come up. The way you phrased it made it seem like your interview experience spoke for what the OP could experience. OP could get very different questions depending on the school.

 

[Shirafune]

I get what you're saying. I guess my point was that by saying that your experience wasn't like that, you imply that the OP shouldn't anticipate that kind of question (regardless of whether you meant it that way or not); when in actuality, if this person has a huge interest in health policy and their activities or interests reflect that, then it could come up.

Not my intention at all to mislead OP which should be pretty clear given the overwhelming response by others...

My initial post was directed to everybody else, since my experience was so vastly different from others'. Wanted to see if there were others who were not asked these questions, though evidently not.

 

[unicornshadow888]

Not my intention at all to mislead OP which should be pretty clear given the overwhelming response by others...

My initial post was directed to everybody else, since my experience was so vastly different from others'. Wanted to see if there were others who were not asked these questions, though evidently not.

Gotcha. Anyway, I hope that interview went well (especially since it was very conversational,which I appreciate). Situational interviews scare the crap out of me.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

In my free time, I like to watch ZDoggMD on YouTube. He talks a lot about healthcare issues

I like him too, but he is a little too "on" for me. I get annoyed with his over-the-top response to everything. Just seems like he's trying too hard. Also, he is obsessed with nurses, probably because they represent the majority of his fan base. Nurses can be awesome. My wife is an awesome nurse. But he seems to be actively trying to minimize the importance of the physician. I'm all for a team atmosphere, which has been shown to improve outcomes, but let's not pretend that a nurse and a physician are equal (in education and responsibility, I mean--not as people).

 

[aldol16]

Here's something they might challenge you on: what would be the benefits of repealing and replacing it vs. leaving it and then amending it to fit your ideas? And how would you convince people to get your ideas passed? FYI, they most likely aren't going to ask you anything exactly like that (this is medicine and you're not running for Congress). But, I would prepare for any challenges to your ideas to test your collaboration and persuasion skills. Also, you don't want to sound like you're way over your head, so challenging yourself like that may help. IMO, it's better to overprepare than underprepare.

Lol, thank God I won't have to do high-stakes interviews again until residency. But for others who do, I would recommend thinking through your viewpoints and making sure you know what you believe and why you believe it. It doesn't really matter what that belief is as long as you can make a really good case for it (although I'd stay away from very extreme viewpoints just because impressions do matter).

 

[aldol16]

I wasn't asked anything at all about any aspect of any system/proposed system.

I had one interviewer who wouldn't let up on the ethical/policy questions. I ended up withdrawing from that school so it didn't end up mattering.