What role do politics play in medicine

[big_smiles]

The only thing I could think of for this one was the allocation of funding. Any advice people?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[medicalbound]

The only thing I could think of for this one was the allocation of funding. Any advice people?

Unfortunately, politics plays a great deal in many aspects of medicine. Consider special interest groups and then think about federal and state programs (Medicare, Medicaid, EMTALA, tort reform, prescription costs/care plans, on and on and on). I'm not saying that that these issues are bad, only that many are politicized, which can often degrade the services provided to the patients. Universal healthcare efforts have been stopped numerous times due to political pull from both sides of the aisle. A more concise question might be to ask what parts of medicine are not influenced by politics.

 

[big_smiles]

Interesting response, and I didn't think of it that way, thanks!

 

[DrBowtie]

It's everywhere.

 

[jbone]

It's everywhere.

unfortunately this is true. Probably the biggest problem that faces us as future physicians; and that is to keep the way we work and practice seperate from our political views...if possible. Hard for me to do though.

 

[Zymogen]

Medicine is a BIG issue in politics. Just crack open Newsweek every once in a while.

 

[dynx]

The only thing I could think of for this one was the allocation of funding. Any advice people?

Think HARDER...

 

[Law2Doc]

The only thing I could think of for this one was the allocation of funding. Any advice people?

Depends also if you mean politics as in government versus politics as in "office politics". There are a TON of the latter, and if you expect to move through the hierarchy of the medical world you'd better know how to play.

 

[Shredder]

The only thing I could think of for this one was the allocation of funding. Any advice people?

ive finally found the real reasons behind diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance, and pluralism. these are all politics, and all modern medicine. read it and the mysteries vanish. brett, if you want to understand everything in politics and society today you should give it a look. its that enlightening

 

[DrMom]

moving to the topics in healthcare forum...

 

[spot the cat]

How about abortion/reprouctive rights, end-of-life, mental health parity, medicare/medicaid... politics is pervasive in health care.

 

[big_smiles]

Thank you everyone for your responses, especially you - Shredder. I have taken a few courses that cover contemporary health topics, but need to definitely brush up on political and legal aspects. You all are right, and I was ignorant to only think that politics affect funding (as I was thinking of Medicare/Medicaid,NIH funding, etc). Thanks everyone

 

[Shredder]

they affect medical school itself a lot. admissions and criteria, aff action, curricula...many of the same things that are changing in american universities as well these days. also speech codes/restrictions, organizations, "sensitivity training", bilingualism. its more insidious than things like medicare, medicaid and NIH. therefore its more troubling to me, as its easy for people to fall victim to brainwashing in the ivory tower of academia. im waiting for the day when clamor arises to do away with the MCAT, the same way it did for the SAT in UC colleges a few years ago. thankfully it wasnt heeded; still a disturbing sign. you know how SAT verbal was altered and writing was added? political. politics are everywhere.

i read an article somewhere from a few years ago expressing concern that in the future, grades and test scores in premeds may be used only to set a lower bound on applicants, and after interviews everyone is on level footing. it seems that prediction has manifested. academic prowess doesnt seem to count for as much as it once did. social awareness and activism has really been hiked up though as a criterion. there are good books and websites on it--things are definitely not the same for med school or college applicants today as they were in the past. its just hard to notice gradual, subtle changes that accumulate over time. the book above is just a speculative theory of how much of it came about. its convincing though.