Island Med Student

I recently got a chance to watch Michael Moore’s latest film, “Sicko.” I’m not going to launch into a critique of the movie, but I’ll say a few things. I think that in general, it was a wonderful film. While I don’t necessarily agree that socializing the American healthcare system is the panacea for our healthcare problems, Moore did an exceptional job of bringing the issue of our healthcare system woes to the forefront. Honestly, I cried during a good portion of the film, because I take the problems with healthcare quite seriously, and I couldn’t help but empathize with the stories of all the people who had lost so much because of our fragmented system.

When I decided to enter medical school to become a physician, one of the issues on my mind was the current status of the American healthcare system. As someone who has worked in both hospitals and for a healthcare association (not to mention being a patient), I’ve seen the healthcare equation from many different angles. And none of the angles look very promising. The American system is broken. I don’t believe it’s hobbling along, or having difficulty, or needs a “fixer-upper.”No, it’s really broken beyond repair. It simply doesn’t work. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor or black, white or purple, you will have to come in contact with the healthcare system at some point. And chances are, it won’t be a pleasant experience.

So, deciding to be an employee of a system that is failing just about everyone was a very difficult decision to make. In fact, it was one of the reasons that I hesitated even taking on this monumental task. But I eventually decided that crippled system or not, I was going to be a part of it. Honestly, I think it was the dreamer in me that decided to go for it. I wanted to believe that if I did everything I could possibly do, I might be able to navigate the system and still help everyone who needs help. Of course, every day that goes by I see the realities of the system (and I’m not even in my clinical years yet), and the dreamer in me is beginning to lose sight of my dreams.

I don’t know what the solution is to our broken healthcare system, and I don’t know if anyone really does. But at least most of us do agree that it is broken. I guess that is an important first step. Perhaps within my lifetime, I’ll see the next step. Hopefully, someone will find a way to cure the sick system, and do it with the same sense of urgency that they would to cure a sick patient.

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