Doctors in Our Society: Life Savers or Businessmen?

Doctors in Our Society: Life Savers or Businessmen?
by Neal R. Karski

Thus we arrive at the subjects of health care, medicine, doctors, health insurance, etc. In the United States, at current times, the above stated are very significant issues, politically and socially. With the continuing health care debate and political quarrels regarding who should get what in a justified manner, contemporary doctors are now pressured into making important choices. And not only will the health care professional ponder about the income he or she makes, but the moral and ethical decisions that are carried out.

The medical field, which requires a lot of schooling, experience and responsibility, is now much more competitive and the room for error is even smaller. Many more college students are taking on the challenge of extensive curriculums to “become doctors, obtain Ph.D.’s and acquire pre-fixes”. This said, plenty of doctors are forced to take measures they’re not accustomed to, to develop relationships with their patients (think customer loyalty) or simply seek excessive treatments and repetitive office appointments to culminate as much revenue as possible. Just take a second to think about it yourself… sounds familiar?

I will now attempt to distinguish between the two of types of doctors, briefly and to the best of my mental abilities.

The Life Savers

I’ve once had my doctor cook up a three month prescription for one of my medications to prevent re-occurring charges for trivial 15-minute “maintenance” appointments. This showed me that instead of re-scheduling me monthly and adding on the bill, the doctor was rather more concerned about my well being, not the cash outflow from my pocket. I’ve had many experiences with doctors, both positive and negative, and I was able to pinpoint the differences between the ones who truly cared about fulfilling the rightful duties of their professions, and those who were solely after their self-interest. The Life Savers are doctors who know and understand the pain their patients go through… and are inspired by their ethics and goals to cure and treat the illnesses that those patients are faced with. They are the heroes of our society, who regardless of patients possessing low or high quality insurance; strive to help out of satisfaction for making others’ lives better. The money comes in regardless, from a plethora of sources, when the number of patients is consistent and the doctors retain high ratings and positive review scores. The Life Savers are doctors that can be characterized as trustworthy, reliable and communicate intently to foster a healthy relationship with their patients.

The Businessmen

Doctors… or money-making, money-hungry machines? Take your pick. The competitive industry, as I said before, has forced the doctors to look more closely at their financial pools and expunge more costs out of their patients. But not all of the doctors did so, just the Businessmen who decided their revenues from the medical profession are the top priority over their patients’ complex cases of illnesses, diseases and injuries. The Businessmen will use trickery and persistence to ensure the patient returns to their office as frequent as possible, on the pretense that the follow-up appointments are necessary regardless of the patient’s condition. They are at times entangled in the corporate scandals, bureaucratic conspiracies and may be involved in contingent agreements with hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers, who pay them “commission”. These Businessmen are not doctors; they’re vultures that are waiting for patients and illnesses to arrive at their doorstep and bring them yet another treasure chest of material value, not a human being’s joy of being healthy.

My advice: Next time that one should pick a doctor or continue to see one, there is much room for prior analysis and research to pick the right one.

God Bless Friends

Doctors in America – Honorable Healers or Harbingers of Hoaxes?
by George A. Miu

There is no grandiose secretive veil surrounding the fact that an “MD” suffix is equivalent to a comfortable financial life in the United States, where a six-figure salary is all-but-guaranteed. Nowadays, it seems like all of the obstacles that an aspiring doctor must overcome are mere necessary sacrifices in the hunt for riches and prestige. This mindset is tearing our nation apart and has the potential to cause harm to a great deal of people.

Nevertheless, there are many devoted health professionals out there, whose career choice had nothing to do with money, and who ought to be praised by the rest of us. Sadly, the practice of putting on a humane face, declaring an undying love for medicine, and laughing all the way to the bank, is an increasingly common one. At least this is how masses of “pre-med” undergrads, situated in colleges all over creation, regard the status quo.

This is folly! Besides the obvious risks involved in terms of medical competency, we are gradually inching towards ushering in a generation of doctors who lack the devotion and selflessness that their forefathers took for granted, even if the expertise is intact.

Suppose that ObamaCare, the insurance “overhaul” that has just been passed in congress, saves the government money, as we are being led to believe; this necessarily entails that medical professionals pocket less. In that case, I smell an exodus, which will result in shortages of doctors the likes of which have never been seen in first world countries.

On the other hand, suppose that Obama et comp are wrong, and that the new system will actually bankrupt America. Consequently, doctors will be rolling around in money, but the profession will lose the luster that attracts so many honest people towards it. This will, of course, result in shortages of doctors the likes which have never been seen … well you get the point.

I am certain that there are scores of fine doctors out there, who are being overworked and under-appreciated. By making the process of education so mercenary, we are opening the door for opportunists, glory-seekers and greedy-types, who have no business being in the industry, and who go against the philosophy instilled by the honest individuals I have just praised. The harbingers of hoaxes are well on their way to overrunning the honest healers, and transforming one of the most crucial professions in society into a financial game. No civilized society must allow this to come to pass.

So, I encourage all of us to take action and plead with one another so that we may stop propagating megalomaniacal doctor-stereotypes, in which we fantasize of easy money in exchange for little work and much glory. I ask medical schools to reduce the classroom requirements (but not too drastically) in favor of extended volunteer time in clinical settings, and not laboratories. Finally, I ask all who are involved in the process of guiding individuals towards medical school to be more discerning in their assessments of who is truly enamored with the profession, and who is doing it for ulterior motives. The signs will always be there for those who seek them out. Drop the algorithm, and bring back the human elements in the admissions processes. Then, maybe we’ll even be healthy enough to give ourselves a pat on the back when we’re older.

Stepping into Unknown

Stepping into Unknown… Part 1
by Neal R. Karski

As I’m sitting here and indulging in music on this beautiful Wednesday morning, I can’t help but to reminisce about many memories I’ve had, especially pertaining to this particular matter. Stepping into Unknown can be widely defined as coming into contact with something or someone that we are unfamiliar with or have not had the chance to explore. But to take a closer look at one’s life, millions of people can truly say that their experiences with new and undiscovered range far beyond. For many years now, I’ve inherently believed that taking that step [or steps] is essential to inner growth, shaping of character and accumulation of diverse knowledge.

Following, I will share some thoughts about Stepping into Unknown and relate it back to some of my own experiences.

Emi and immigration

Whenever one leaves a native country, he or she commits to a significant change and this decision translates into a leap… a leap into Unknown. It’s a decision to leave one place, one’s comfort, and to become part of another. This, at times, becomes strenuous, not only physically but also mentally and socially, as one strives to fit in and adapt to the new environment. It’s extremely difficult to leave things behind, yet it is even harder to let them go especially where the forecast for the future is not clear. But we’re faced with difficulties on a daily basis and life challenges us to take a look around and not cling to the days that have passed, even when nostalgia and memories reappear frequently. Every breath, every look, every touch, every taste, every sound, is a step into another dimension, into something new. Emigration and immigration just define it more particularly in regard to people, places and external conditions. Moving from one location to another was quite the trend for me and family; our constant re-locating from the U.S. to Europe and back became a part of my life. I was forced to, by my circumstances, to play the system and recover from the loss of consistency and settlement by establishing a fresh life wherever I had gone. I’ve seen a lot and I have learned a lot. And at this point of time, when I have realized that everything in my life has happened for a reason, I began to understand that my will to reach out and to build upon new grounds has taught me how to be strong and expand my capabilities.

Faith

Concept of faith has always interested me immensely. A few years ago, I began observing the responsiveness of people to the supernatural or divine. I’ve found that many people were on the edge; they were hesitant about picking sides. Their beliefs were hanging and undefined, just waiting to be realized into bigger commitments or be diminished by the lack of desire to step into Unknown. In the bottom line, faith is purely just that. It is a huge step into Unknown – a dedication to one’s moral and ethical beliefs that helps that person lead his or her life in a manner freely chosen. Faith is not easy. It does not come with a warranty. But it does bring results and fulfillment of the soul. Faith calls for believing in the state of uncertainty [imagine knowing what truly occurred or is occurring, faith would not exist as faith anymore, it would purely stand as a factual component of one’s knowledge].With many obstacles, injuries and sorrows in my life I’ve found this step to be one of the most amazing ones I’ve ever taken.

And remember… Every day, we come across a plethora of people that we influence, directly or indirectly. Today, learn and know how you can influence those people in a positive way!

God Bless.

Facing the Unknown. Taking the Plunge.

by George A. Miu

Throughout the course of any given lifetime, there comes a moment in which no amount of reasoned decision-making spares the necessity of undergoing some experience that involves many unknown factors. In order to work with these terms handily, I have to define my concept of the “unknown”: namely, that of an event or series of occurrences whose internal mechanisms are not well-understood, or impossible to consider, by the subject therein.

All people must confront the unknown. Whether this is in the form of moving to a different country, or a new school district, it almost always constitutes a stressful experience and has the power to elicit personal traits that lay dormant in the person. Nevertheless, one should never associate novel occurrences with negativity or fear. In fact, they can catalyze a great deal of internal development and ultimately serve to bring about an increased maturity and perspective on life.

Ultimately, the only certainty that exists in the universe is that of death – one of the greatest unknowns conceivable. However, in today’s complex society, an ever-increasing proportion of the general population is forced to grapple with decisions that may result in the genesis of an unknown, or hitherto unknowable, experience. It is in these instances that we look to familiar sources for solace; Today’s Realities intends to provide these for all who care to read. So, yours truly, an immigrant across three continents and lifelong nomad, attempts to distill the difficulties of facing the unknown:

1. Recall, always, that the unknown is finite. Contrary to popular belief and immediate perception, no individual situation is perpetually unfamiliar. As humans, our capacity to adapt will kick in, at some point, and we will eventually acclimatize ourselves to the new surrounding state-of-affairs.

2. All knowledge is rooted directly in having been a part of unfamiliar environments. As newborns, we have no intrinsic understanding of the world around us; we merely acquire it through continued experimentation and a willingness to “explore”. Indeed, as our desire to investigate the most minuscule aspects of life diminishes, so too do our learning faculties, in terms of rate of acquisition of information.

3. Personal development cannot occur without interactions in a medium that is on the periphery, if not totally outside, of our comfort zone. Personality traits that we use on a daily basis were, at one time, unknowns, which would have been rendered permanently unknowable had we had an aversion to the experience that brought them forth. Many would claim that there can be no maturity without the unknown playing a part in its formation.

While these comments are mere generalities, they are designed to encourage our esteemed readers to look inside of themselves and recognize that taking the plunge is not only necessary, but downright beneficial in the long-run. So take a chance. Your reward will be the rest of your life to reflect upon it.