3 and a half years
The amount of time I've been working as a Physician Assistant in a broken health care system in the United States
What have I learned? Here are my main 5 takeaways...
The amount of time I've been working as a Physician Assistant in a broken health care system in the United States
What have I learned? Here are my main 5 takeaways...
1) The health care system isn't broken because of doctors, PAs, NPs, nurses, CRNAs, etc with bad intentions
The system is broken at a higher level
It has much more to do with the interplay between lobbying, big food, big pharma, and the insurance companies
The system is broken at a higher level
It has much more to do with the interplay between lobbying, big food, big pharma, and the insurance companies
Even with the most well-educated, passionate health care providers, the system is failing
It is a result of a system working against them
The curriculum is guided in a direction with the best interests of big organizations
It is a result of a system working against them
The curriculum is guided in a direction with the best interests of big organizations
It is no longer about healing or what is best for the patient
It is what is best for the bottom-line of pharmaceutical companies
Did you know the United States and New Zealand are the only two countries in the world that allow marketing on TV for pharmaceutical drugs?
It is what is best for the bottom-line of pharmaceutical companies
Did you know the United States and New Zealand are the only two countries in the world that allow marketing on TV for pharmaceutical drugs?
Did you know more is spent on the marketing of these drugs than is spent on research and dev?
The fact of the matter is we will never have free health care in this country because it won't be profitable
It's sad, but a country with healthy citizens is also not profitable
The fact of the matter is we will never have free health care in this country because it won't be profitable
It's sad, but a country with healthy citizens is also not profitable
2) Some patients simply don't want to get better
This was a really hard realization for me
I worked in a hospital setting in surgery for over 2 years
Yes that is blood all over my face in the picture
This was a really hard realization for me
I worked in a hospital setting in surgery for over 2 years
Yes that is blood all over my face in the picture
Some of these patients were the worst of the worst. Kidney failure, leg amputations due to end stage type 2 diabetes, endarterectomies from chronic smoking, etc
Yet they would be back 3 months later for another surgery because they simply would not change their lifestyles
Yet they would be back 3 months later for another surgery because they simply would not change their lifestyles
They simply had given up on their health and it was a sad thing to see
no matter how you try to help some of these people, you aren't going to change their bad habits
no matter how you try to help some of these people, you aren't going to change their bad habits
3) A scary amount of health care practitioners don't know much, if anything about basic principles of exercise or nutrition
Some of the recommendations I'd hear from attending Physicians to their patients were atrocious
The conversations with arrogant surgeons in the OR
Some of the recommendations I'd hear from attending Physicians to their patients were atrocious
The conversations with arrogant surgeons in the OR
Telling me "eggs raise cholesterol and cause heart disease"
"testosterone is a steroid and is dangerous"
Often times many of them are overweight and live very unhealthy lifestyles
Poor examples to their patients who need answers to PREVENT their problems
which leads me to...
"testosterone is a steroid and is dangerous"
Often times many of them are overweight and live very unhealthy lifestyles
Poor examples to their patients who need answers to PREVENT their problems
which leads me to...
4) There is almost no stress on the prevention of disease
It's almost as if the system has given up on this principle completely
Due to time constraints and the sheer numbers of unhealthy patients, a pill or surgery is much easier to recommend than lifestyle change
It's almost as if the system has given up on this principle completely
Due to time constraints and the sheer numbers of unhealthy patients, a pill or surgery is much easier to recommend than lifestyle change
The reasoning for this is because it starts with big ag
Corn, soy, and wheat are subsidized to make unhealthy, processed foods cheaper which leads to a sick population
Prevention goes out the window when the average person has no idea about nutrition
Corn, soy, and wheat are subsidized to make unhealthy, processed foods cheaper which leads to a sick population
Prevention goes out the window when the average person has no idea about nutrition
5) "Burn out" is prevalent
Working in a hospital sucked the soul out of me
White, sterile walls. Bright, unnatural lighting. No ventilation.
It's just a sad environment to be in, in general and being around sick people all the time makes it even harder
Working in a hospital sucked the soul out of me
White, sterile walls. Bright, unnatural lighting. No ventilation.
It's just a sad environment to be in, in general and being around sick people all the time makes it even harder
The current work force is overworked and to make matters worse, they are then forcing novel vaccines onto health care providers and making it about control rather than about helping the patients
Hospitals are very bureaucratic, unwelcoming environments
Hospitals are very bureaucratic, unwelcoming environments
Surgeons especially are overworked. Long hours in the OR, then being on a call. Sure they make a lot of money, but they get no time to live.
You can see it in their eyes that it wears on them.
You can see it in their eyes that it wears on them.
As you can see, there's a reason I switched out of the "conventional" sick-care medical sphere and moved into more of a preventative, health forward type of practice
I will do another thread about my journey as a PA and why I'm now thriving in a completely different role
I will do another thread about my journey as a PA and why I'm now thriving in a completely different role
If you work in the medical field, whether it's in a more conventional setting or in a functional/holistic setting, I'd like to hear your input and experiences
What do you think can be done to fix some of these shortcomings?
What do you think can be done to fix some of these shortcomings?
There's a lot of "esoteric" health gurus on twitter talking about eating meat and drinking raw milk, but few actually have clinical experience to backup the things that they are saying
I have a unique mix of a medical background as well as the health optimization and fitness
I have a unique mix of a medical background as well as the health optimization and fitness
If you would like to learn from someone who has been on both sides of it, give me a follow.
Also, please retweet the first tweet in this thread to get more people in on the discussion of these problems.
Also, please retweet the first tweet in this thread to get more people in on the discussion of these problems.
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