The Common "Wealth" of Massachusetts: Health Reform

Massachusetts was the first state to provide "affordable, quality, accountable health care" to all its citizens (1). Provided that a similar bill (one that hopefully does a better job at cost-control) eventually passes at the national-level, there's an infinitesimal chance that a majority of Americans will actually be satisfied with their health care options.

The American economist Tsung-Mei Cheng formulated three "Universal Laws of Health Care Systems" (2):
1) No matter how good the health care in a particular country, people will complain about it.
2) No matter how much money is spent on health care, the doctors and hospitals will argue that it is not enough.
3) The last reform always failed.

Laws 1 and 2 are unfortunate pillars of reality: the patient complaints may never cease and the funds allocated towards health care may never meet the standards of medical practitioners and management. But, for the common wealth and health of the nation, here's to doing more and doing better - after reform passes - so that Law 3 no longer holds true (3).

"Get your scrubs ready... It's about to go down!"

Facts in news articles & books speak louder than facts on blogs:
1. NPR: Massachusetts Makes Health Insurance Mandatory
2. T.R. Reid: The Healing of America
3. Paul Krugman: "After Reform Passes." NY Times.

An island made of mud (and med students).

Better late than never: An Update from Fall Break

Memphis (a.k.a., my escape from the monotony that ATL has morphed into as of late) - was exactly what I needed: a chance to get away, relax, and recuperate with good food and an even better friend. Not to mention, I was unusually productive during the four days that I spent there.

UT Memphis Medical School

Aside from spending quality time on Mud Island with my friend on the week of her birthday, a few other highlights from my fall beak trip include visiting the UT Health Sciences Center and Medical School (and sitting in on a 2-hour anatomy GI lecture!), meeting some genuinely engaging UT med students, having an amazing meal at Papa Pia's downtown, and dining out at Pei Wei for my first time.

The "Cinderella" carriage

True, I didn't partake in the usual "tourist" activities, aside from my drive-by tour of St. Jude Children's Hospital, my brief encounters with the Memphis trolley line, and a couple glimpses of the Cinderella-like horse-drawn carriages downtown. But I'd trade the comfortable company of an old college friend for all that Memphis jazz any day.

(Techincally, Memphis is the birthplace of rock 'n roll and the "home of the Blues", but I was just using a euphemism to prove a slightly belabored point.)

Oh, and something cool to amaze your friends with your current political and pop knowledge: If you haven't heard, Kalpen Modi (a.k.a. the "Kal Penn" of Harold & Kumar, The Namesake, and the TV Show "House") recently started working at the White House as an associate director in the Office of Public Engagement, formerly known as the Office of Liaison.
And Penn Masala even performed at President Obama's Diwali celebration this week! If you've never heard them sing live or listened to a recording of them, prepare to be blown away by their unique synthesis of Eastern and Western musical elements.

Lemons can make more than lemonade.

A quick update since it's been so long:

I've been unusually busy with grad school and the work-study position I recently started, but somehow, I've found a way to strike a balance between academics, work, and a semi-existent social life (at least when my schedule permits). Currently, I'm also reading T.R. Reid's newest book, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, which is a perfect complement to the Frontline documentary that PBS featured a little over a year ago. You can watch the full program, Sick Around the World, on their website.

Points of note during the past week or so include going to hear my grad school department chair, Kenneth Thorpe, present a brief in which he discussed the most latest amendments to the health care reform bill (click here for a pdf of the briefing); and partaking in a few Emory Homecoming activities during the past week (e.g., the entertaining styling of comedian, and now actor, Aziz Ansari).

Given some recent discussions I've had with colleagues and my desire to further develop my ongoing interests in public health, health care, and research, I've begun to seriously consider the merits of a future in science writing. I think handling unforeseen changes in professional aspirations and overcoming never-before encountered adversity is part of growing up, whether you actually have a handle on any of it or not. It's part of recognizing that adulthood, despite its much sought-after privileges and supposedly lessened limitations, also comes with the rude awakenings of reality: that pursuing what you love calls not only for a resilient resolve but commitment, responsibility, and practicality.

As the saying goes, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." But if lemons are opportunities in disguise, who's to say you can't set your sights on the best of the best? I'd rather shoot for something that might bring more fulfillment in the long run, and my experiences this year are starting to show me that you can do a lot more with the lemons you're dealt if you're willing to think outside the box (or the cutting board, in the case of this analogy).
Correction appended (10/3/2009): When I first made this post a few days ago, I incorrectly stated that I was interested in science journalism and not science writing. While the two professions are similar, there is a distinction: all journalists are writers, but all writers are not journalists. To quote Michael Kenward, a previous editor of New Scientist, "Science writing is about explaining complex ideas that nobody wants to keep secret; science journalism is about explaining things that everyone can understand but that some might prefer to keep buried."

*Information on science writing from "So You Want To Be A Science Writer?" by Natasha Loder, Science and Technology Correspondent for The Economist (Spring 2002). You can download the full text (pdf) on the Association of British Science Writers' website.

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