Standing Up and Learning

Freed from the lab bench, I started looking into policy research this semester. Right now, I am looking at writing a paper for Roosevelt's ten ideas about healthcare reform or more specifically, how to reduce costs, fraud, and waste in the healthcare system.

On Tuesday, I talked to someone about my interest in working to provide better, quality healthcare to those who need it the most--people who are poor and sometimes uninsured. This person said something about how the new healthcare bill does not do much to solve these problems, just provides money... or something along those lines about it being ineffective at addressing root problems with the system. I knew, from what I had read, that the healthcare reform act definitely does more than just hand out money to the poor. But, I didn't know what to say to him. I didn't feel confident enough to stand up for what I had learned and what I believed in. Needless to say, that was really frustrating.

So, now I'm digging deeper into learning about health policy. Here are some things I've learned about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the official name of the bill, which is not Obamacare). I thought I would share.

1. 1. Insurance companies are required to write out where money they receive is spent.

2. 2. Insurance companies cannot turn away a child under 19 for “pre-existing conditions.”

3. 3. Nutritional labeling is required on all food packages and restaurants.

4. 4. More money towards research, preventative care, and new medical treatments.

5. 5. No more lifetime caps, which means there is not a limit on the amount of money a person who needs it can use for treatment.

6. 6. Everyone is required to have medical insurance. If they choose not to buy it, they must pay a tax.

7. 7. Small companies (under 50 employees) that cover health insurance for at least 50% of their employees will get a subsidy from the government.

8. 8. Companies with more than 50 people who do not cover health insurance will have to pay a tax if their employees get insurance in the Exchange.

9. 9. An Exchange will be set up where insurance companies can compete to get business, and federal insurance will be an option.

10. People with pre-existing conditions will enter a high-risk pool to get insurance that is regulated by the government.

11. Act sets up a fraud team to detect misuse of Medicare money and medical waste.

12. Re-vamp the ‘fee-for-service’ which pays doctors by procedure to a bundle service.

Obviously, in life people disagree on things, but what is important is that we are educated in what we believe and stand up for it when it comes time to. I know the next time someone asks me about this act, I will have a much better idea of what to say and I will say it.

P.S. Here's a video about it for more info: http://healthreform.kff.org/the-animation.aspx

O

New Leaf

With the blink of an eye, we are already juniors in college. It's nice knowing the ropes and feeling comfortable in my skin and in who I am and what I am doing. It's Tuesday, and I've already had 4 exams. But, I think I handled it pretty well: not too much freaking out and keeping the complaints to a minimum. =)

So... I love looking at blogs such as Craft Gawker (http://craftgawker.com/). I think in the future, I will post more things about cute crafts or what I'm learning or interesting pieces of news. Today I leave you all with the above site and this http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15149257. It inspired me so much last night when studying for the immunology exam. It's just amazing to see the community involved in science and medicine, and I am really excited to be a part of that someday!

First Global Health Experience

It has been such a long time since I last wrote in this blog. Since that time, I think I have forgotten how to write. After two years of solid chemistry lab reports, it would be shocking if this update does not end up in passive voice. So, here it goes.

Working on Medlife this past year finally culminated into the mobile brigade in June. I've always fantasized about global health. What would it be like working in the field? Traveling a country to administer vaccines and save a child dying from malaria? I had a romantic, almost superhero-like view of everything from living in tents to slowly but steadily picking up the local language. So with this picturesque image of healthcare in my mind, I flew to Lima for two weeks of patient care in Pamplona, an impoverished community build on rocky mountains just beyond Miraflores. What I saw was a combination of my hopes and dreams and reality. Shadowing doctors, I realized many of the illnesses we encountered were common: chicken pox, anemia, Hepatitis. But what was amazing was that whereas in the United States, these diseases come and go. Scratchy children pick up oatmeal at the nearest drug store, take acetaminophen, drink O.J. and are ready to go. But there, in Pamplona, without such easy access to care, small problems such as anemia become chronic without access to iron pills. It was nice being a part of this group that provides these basic, necessary reliefs. Something that really stood out to me as an argument against NGO work that a Medlife staff pointed out is that these arguments against NGOs' ability to be sustainable belittles the current problems the poor are facing. Just because it's not sustainable a women who has chronic back pain shouldn't get medication if only for temporary relief? One of the biggest challenges in global health is finding that balance between immediate, temporary relief and permanent healing for the long term. Both are just as important.

Another thing that hit me hard while working with Medlife: personal health. During the first week of work, a couple of friends got sick. They had symptoms of a typical cold: fever, headache, tiredness. Since we were living and working together so closely, the bug spread through our group really fast, and by Thursday, I was feeling it. After almost passing out while watching a dentist pull a child's teeth (not fun, pre-dents I admire you), I dragged myself to the bus to sweat out the fever and dizziness. I realized that global health is hard. Obviously this is true. But from my romantic ideals, I never included down time or defeat. Though sometimes, even with these things, you find yourself getting tired, going through the motions, and lacking that enthusiasm which sparked your interest in medicine in the first place. Especially when sick. It makes me appreciate so much more the healthcare I have at home and how important it is for everyone to have this important resource. Somehow, in the context of it all, getting sick in Lima feels way worse than getting sick here without that security.

After Peru, this summer has still been really awesome. (There it is, that darned passive voice.) I not only got to explore a new part of the world but also feel like I know so much more about life. Not just what is going on at the national and global level of politics and news, which I've done such a better job keeping up with, but finding balance within myself and learning to accept chaos and try not to be such a schedule control freak.

Tuberculosis

I've been trying to get a Tuberculosis test result for the past 3 weeks. I can't believe how long this is taking.

So, let's start from the beginning. This summer, I am shadowing a pediatrician at a hospital and to work in a hospital, we need confirmation that we do not have TB. So, I get the usual TST or tuberculin skin test that pumps TB antigens under your skin that react if TB antibodies are present. And needless to say, the skin test turned out positive. Why does this happen? When I was little, I got a BCG vaccine in China (TB vaccine), which causes the body to produce TB antibodies. All international babies get the vaccine, and as a result, they produce the antibody such that even adults who were born in China have positive TSTs. Anyway, I get this checked at the pediatrician's (embarassed) office, and they say I have latent TB. Why is that? Because the U.S. protocol does not recognize the BCG vaccine as a valid vaccine for producing TB antibodies and providing immunity against TB. So what? Just because the U.S. doesn't recognize the vaccine in it's protocol, when actually it is quite legit since it is reacting with the tuberculin, means that all aliens have latent TB? Anyway, my doctor said I needed to go on TB medication and get a blood liver test once a month (because the medication is damaging to the liver) without even checking if the positive reaction was due to BCG or to actual latent TB. She never even told me the second blood test option that does not result in false positives until 10 minutes after telling me I needed to go on medication and ordered the liver sample test.

After a lot of waiting and difficulties contacting my doctor over the phone, she finally scheduled a TB IGRAS blood test for me that tests both latent and active TB without worry of false-positive results as in the TST. I went to get my blood taken Tuesday, and the result came back today: liver blood sample test.

I am so fed up with this. First of all, TB is one of the most serious, basic infectious diseases. If you are going to be a primary care provider, you should know what is going on with the disease and all of the options a patient has if they possibly have TB. And if you don't know, look into it first before putting your patient on potentially harmful and completely unnecessary drugs. Second, the U.S. protocol does not make any sense. Just because the U.S. does not recognize a certain vaccine does not mean it is invalid. This results in excess false-positives and patients being treated for diseases they don't have. Waste of resources and harmful.

One positive thing about all of this: I learned what kind of doctoring is ineffective and causes a patient distress. All I can do is be a better doctor in the future and try to make some changes to certain policies.

Something Learned

Today has been an interesting experience. I saw a childhood friend at work, which was nice and not very surprising I suppose since we all live in the same area. Then my mom and I went to Whole Foods for lunch. When leaving after lunch, we were hit on the side by a person backing out. The whole experience was a little shocking because really, it was hard to believe we just got hit in the parking lot. Despite being very annoyed, I learned something from that person which is to remain calm and make sure you take down all of the right information and make sure the other people are okay. I know this sounds silly, but it's easy to panic during times like those.

The story of my life

Emily:
junki...

Junki:
?

Emily:
你看的懂吗？

Junki:
なにいってるかわかんない

Nerves

It has been so long since I wrote my last blog post that I think I have forgotten how to think deep thoughts. Also, I feel like I have a lot of pent up emotions and ideas that just need to be written down and released.

This past semester, I've been trying to find a balance--between doing things I enjoy and things I dislike and learning when to work and when to relax. Excuse the cliche, but it feels like I'm rolling down a hill in a snowball, gathering momentum and rolling faster and faster with each turn. I feel like with every new responsibility I take on or with every challenge I overcome, things go faster in both a good and a bad way. The good thing about all this energy is the new opportunities they bring. For example, in Medlife, we are planning multiple fundraisers including a 5K and a percentage day at the local frozen yogurt place. We are working on expansion, talking to local newspapers for publicity and working on hosting the Southeastern Medlife Conference in August. At the same time, we are training new officers and transitioning the board. This is all really awesome and has opened so many doors for everyone involved. On the other hand, this crazy snowball burns. Sometimes, I get lost in the logistics and feel jaded about the future. I want to focus my efforts on global health and service, but all of the details and planning that goes into every event almost makes me yearn for the systematic consistency of wet lab research. I know my passion is not in the laboratory, but sometimes, I wonder if being in global health is any different. Yes, we are more directly working on improving people's health, but we can never get away from some basic evils (fundraising and the like).

To tell the truth, I feel like I have never truly worked hard in college until this semester. Math3500 was definitely a difficult class that I spent hours on, but the way I worked at it does not even come close to how I work at Biochemistry and Genetics now. For the first time, I feel eager to learn, not just to get it over with and add a credit to my records but to truly get something from the experience. The more I study about how our bodies metabolize nutrients or how gene function is studied using E. Coli organisms the more interesting it all is and the more worthwhile learning becomes. It's crazy that I've never felt this way about learning, but it's a good thing. In the end, I still have to work on that time management stuff...

About the title of this post: I am planning a trip to Peru by myself, so I feel rather nervous. I don't really feel like elaborating right now, but I hope it all works out.

a little challenge for us all

I dropped my dad off at the airport today after spending a week with him when he came home for the holidays. As usual, he asked me to help him write some emails and check his grammar as well as other little favors that, really, I feel like I should be doing automatically without him having to ask.

At the beginning of every year, everyone is busy making resolutions, picturing themselves thinner, more diligent, or in love. All of these ambitions are great and definitely worth pursuing, but what about taking the time this new year to help improve someone else's life? Throughout my life, my parents have done so many things for me, and they never asked for anything back. Now that I am older and understand life a little better, I think it is time to stop thinking so much about myself and my own future and focus on making my parents' lives a little easier, a little less stressful, and a little more peaceful.

So here is my challenge to all of you (whoever reads this) and to myself: think of a couple of things that you can do to help your parents or someone else you care about and make their lives a little better. Maybe starting with our loved ones, we can truly learn what it means to be altruistic and to love life and expand this optimism and spirit to others around us.

Happy 2011!

First post of the year! ^.^ I hope everyone had a great winter holidays and an awesome start to the new year. They still aren't over yet! One more week for us college students in Georgia. Let's make the most of it.

Following the fashion/zen/etc etc blogs I check daily, here are my 2011 Resolutions:

*Be more outfit savvy. No more t-shirts and jeans (hey, at least I got over the hoodie stage of my life :P) and wearing the same jacket/layers combo over and over again. From now on, I will try to look semi put together for class. I'll just call it a challenge.

*Make time for the small (yet important) things. Aka don't get so caught up in school work and running around from meeting to meeting to forget to call mom and dad once in a while. Also, I will make room for personal reading (gotta work on that stack of books I bought over break, heh), going to the gym, and chilling out or going to parties. Sounds like too many goals in one.

*Tune in to the world. Sounds like wishful thinking right? All I mean for this one is to read the NY Times every day. Even if for just 5 minutes.

*Not sweat the small stuff. Taken from a blog I read quite often, this one is my number one. So basically, if I fail all of these resolutions, return to the procrastinating student that I am, and forget to do my laundry, life will be okay. In the end, we're all going to make it just fine. =)

So here's to a new year and a new attitude. Happy New Year!