No, I haven't quit the program.
What I did do though, was walk out of a class today. In disgust.
Of course you're wondering why, and fully aware that I plan to tell you. What you are probably wondering is why I don't just get to the point. No reason.
So here goes.
I have class called Intro to Professional Nursing. It's really a blow off class, and the instructor has purposely set the bar low to allow us to focus on the hard science type classes. Everyone gets an A.
I have enjoyed the class mostly. It's a nice low stress break in the week.
Today was movie day. The instructor brought in a film related to health care, told us to watch it and explained that it would be discussed during class next week.
Why would I walk out on a movie? What could be so bad?
It was Michael Moore's "Sicko".
Whether or not you agree with the film, I hope you'll agree that it's an editorial, not a documentary. If you really think it's an unbiased work then you will likely not agree with anything that follows.
In my opinion the film was full of half truths. Like the guy who cut off his fingers on the table saw and could only afford to have one reattached. The last time I walked into an Emergency Room with an injury I was not offered a menu with prices. Why was one finger 5 times the cost of the second? Something about that smells wrong.
How about the golfer who went home for treatment in Canada instead of staying in the U.S.? U.S. Insurance usually travels. And when I do things like go SCUBA diving (which isn't covered by most insurers) I have a supplemental plan that will pay for anything I need, including being flown here from anywhere if treatment in the US is necessary. That costs me $99 a year. Canadians aren't covered by their government outside Canada. Atena covers me if I'm over there.
There are a whole bunch of other problems I have.
The thing that finally made me leave was the whole house call thing in France. The guy who talked about the service starting because a doctor with a plumbing problem decided that since he could get a plumber to come out in less than an hour, then anyone should be able to get a doctor to come to their own house that quickly too.
Yeah, plumbers are pretty much like doctors right? That's fair. Maybe if I need a neurologist one day I can just have my neighbor, the electrician, check me out. Holy shit.
It was then that I walked out.
Do I have opinions about whether or not US Healthcare sucks and how to fix it? Yes.
Am I going to share them? No.
Instead I am going to bitch about being subjected to a highly biased film in a program that is is not about opinion or or art. Nursing is and should be about fact. There are different kinds of heart attacks, and there are different treatments sometimes. But those treatments are all based on researched science. New ideas are tested rigorously. No responsible clinician passes off opinion as fact.
Blogs are the place for opinion. Classrooms should be places of fact, at least in a science based curriculum. I resent being subjected to that film. It's more than an hour of my time gone and who knows how many tuition dollars.
For the record, while I may have been less incensed, had the instructor played a 2 hours segment of something done by Rush Limbaugh I would have disapproved as well. I don't care for people with axes to grind or agendas to advance.
I am so annoyed that I can't even tie this together very coherently.
I think I'll just take a quick nap and then do some homework.
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5 comments:
I probably would have walked out at seeing the name "Michael Moore". Ugh!
I question the intent of the instructor. What purpose is gained by forcing this on you? I too, would have been incenced.
Well, hang on a second. I don't know the context in which the instructor presented the film, but was the intent of the instructor to provide discussion about how some people view the US health system? In that instance, it is valid to show such a film. It is important to know how patients view healthcare because their view affects their wellness and their choices (and not to out myself, but I have 2 published studies about medical literature that demonstrates this, so I am not speaking from a position of total ignorance).
I sympathize though. I am on the opposite side of the political fence, but I know how much Ann Coulter, for instance, makes me want to poke myself in the eye with a fork.
To be fair, I think the movie was shown with the intent of stirring debate in the classroom. And in that sense it's probably legitimate.
If she had selected a few scenes to show that totaled maybe 30 minutes with breaks for disucssion in between I would have had less of a problem with it.
Watching the whole two hours of what I felt was commie propaganda was just too much for me.
And now that I know just how upsetting that film was I fear I will not be able to participate rationally in the discussion next week. I'll just get all wound up and turn in to Sean Hannity. And no one, including me, wants that.
But if anyone out there can arrange it so that I can punch Michael Moore in the face as hard as I can just once with absolutely no consequences I will gladly offer one years salary for the opportunity.
The problem is that all of you folks that watched this movie HAVE insurance - probably offered by your employers. It's when you have to go out and purchase your insurance yourself that you have to cherry pick your coverage..that usually doesn't include coverage outside the country, or full re-attachment, etc. I've been in the insurance industry for 20 years. You'd be surprised to know what ISN'T covered. I myself have good insurance, yet still paid over $4,000 to fix a broken bone. You need to watch these films to see how folks less advantaged than you have to deal with life. Especially if you're going to be treating them as a clinician. get your head out of the sand!
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