If you’re in the US: you can safely say, “hahaha, that’s funny.”
If you’re in Canada: the response is more likely, “well, if you get cancer, you might live if you get the chemo in time. still better off than the dude down south with no health insurance who will be saying, ‘hahaha, that’s funny.’”
Anyway, at some point, I am highly likely to write something about my own views on and experiences in the medical systems in both locations, with regard to administrative function, philosophy and relationship to “alternative” therapies. (I think by now it’s become obvious that quotation marks == chanda’s sarcasm marks. Why isn’t allopathic medicine considered an alternative to acunpuncture, which can actually treat irritable bowel syndrome? Okay okay, for another time.)
But the day for that essay has not come, so instead I would like to direct everyone to have a look at Shusli’s entry over at Of Death and Conscience. Shusli is a nurse in Portland, Oregon, so she knows the gruesome details that none of us, not even the doctors probably, fully understand. She’s also a woman of Native American descent who has maintained a relationship with the stories and knowledge of her people(s). (not sure how many tribes** you are a member of Shusli! [by your definition, not Uncle Sam's])
Drawing on her experience, expertise, and background, she has written a thoughtful piece about gender and attitudes toward health care in the US. I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about seeing a system that is not only intended to be about caring for people but actually attends to its mission. It is a travesty that we underpay the people who do exactly what Shusli did today: save a life when others might not even bother to notice it needs saving.
**EDIT:
I always look over my entries after I publish them just to see if everything looks the way I want it to (shut up Lucy), and I stopped at the word “tribe.” Anyway, I don’t want to detract from the message of this post by going on about racism, colonialism, and belittling people. But I wanted to note the word I had used and say that I should have used the word “nations.” Part of the excuse for colonist’s (ongoing) mistreatment of the native peoples of this continent is to say that they are not nations. I object to that and support efforts to gain recognition by the United Nations. This means that I should do my part and speak the language that reflects my beliefs!
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I think my medical school class was more than half female. At worst, it was 50-50. And with so much affirmative action bringing Black, Hispanic, etc. doctors into the system (there were almost zero East Asian men in my class as a result of this favoritism), the conception of Western medicine as dominated by white males is getting really outdated.
Why is allopathic medicine the favored way? Because we value scientific proof for why things work.
On my ENT rotation we worked with a few highly educated nurses who were very proactive, and I respected and listened to them. On other things, they deferred to me. Nurses and doctors have different expertise and ours is a collaborative enterprise. Just because your friend encountered one rude jerk doesn’t reflect on all MDs.
Fair enough. I’m glad you see things changing. It’s unfortunate that Shusli’s experience resonates very strongly with my own as a patient (a position I have spent a lot of time in, thanks to a car-bike collision when I was 19). Whatever the make-up of the classes, it continues to be true that the dominant philosophy and approach to medical treatment is one that was developed in the West by white men, and it is a system that has traditionally made very little room for other perspectives.
On the other hand, I find in Canada that this isn’t as true. The medical professionals I have dealt with seem happy when something works and less interested in being critical because they don’t know how. Extended health insurance also covers a lot of things that are hard to get in the US: physical therapy (without a major accident), massage therapy, chiropractics, etc.
I’ll probably write something more detailed later. But it’s worth adding that I know a lot of nurses, and I’ve heard a lot of these stories. I’ve also been told that these stories relate to systematic issues. I don’t think its fair to say this is an isolated incident. On the other hand, I don’t think anyone intended to imply that all MDs are jerks.
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