The Healthcare Debt Debacle

Obviously, the United States' healthcare expenditures and rising debt are one of the most talked about topics regarding the financial health of the country. I thought I would share this picture story that I came across that does a nice job of outlining the reasons of "Why It Costs An Arm And A Leg To Treat An Arm And A Leg." :) 

http://www.upworthy.com/why-health-care-costs-an-arm-and-a-leg-to-treat-an-arm-and-a-leg

Some of the main reasons addressed include:

• New Medical Technology
• Provider Price Inflation
• Low Primary Care Use/ Inadequate Patient Steerage
• High Spend on Care and Specialists
• Increased Life Expectancy
• Increased incidence of chronic disease
• Fraud

Practicing in a healthcare environment like this will definitely warrant me to think about how I can do my part to practice SMART and contribute to better overall care for the patient. 

"T" is for Timeout and Temecula

This weekend was a true testament to the importance of taking time out for yourself, enjoying the ones you love and the simple things in life. My one and only, Yusuf, and I headed out Saturday morning at about 4am to grab a cup of Joe and to hit the road to southern California's wine country, Temecula.

With only about an hour's drive away, we hit Temecula at about 5:15am, awaiting sunrise and our hot air balloon launch. We were greeted at Monte De Oro Winery with a light fare and the most important item of all, Mimosas! :) The air was crisp and the sunrise soon bestowed its beauty upon us. We set off to the launch site with the wind heading slightly due north west. With a little hot air, the balloon hovered above the ground and then lifted us high into the sky. At a maximum height of over 4,000 feet, the air was so still and calm and we just floated across the sky, enjoying panoramic views of Lake Skinner and the marine layer sitting over the ocean.  I highly recommend this tour of the city - we did our tour through Sunrise Balloons and a LivingSocial deal, which got us a photo shoot and all the hors d'oeuvres (http://www.sunriseballoons.com).

Next Stop: The Gambling Cowboy. In line with a ton of cute little towny restaurants and antique shops, we landed here by personal recommendation. And let me tell ya, they had the best steak ever! And I am not a big steak eater, either. Yusuf got the country fried steak and I got the breakfast steak burrito. They almost had to roll us out of that place because we ate so much. We then pressed on to our hotel, South Coast Winery Resort and Spa, for a little wine tasting and relaxation. We stayed in a little villa that sat right in the middle of the vineyards -- Amazingly beautiful!

This was just overall a really great weekend for quality time together and to enjoy the stillness of life. We ended it with a stunning sunset in La Jolla. What could be better than that? 

"Why do YOU want to become a doctor?"

This is the most frequently asked question of those who choose to go into medicine. WHY? Although it is important and satisfying to understand peoples' motivations, most people generally tend to have the same answer: For Chicks, Money, Power, and Chicks. Right? Well Doctor Perry Cox from Scrubs says so...

Click on the link below:
Why did you want to become a Doctor, Perry? - Scrubs

But, Wrong! Haha. It is because they want to help people.  In my mind, that is the easiest way to sum up the net output of every neuron that is firing in my brain, speaking one over the other on all the reasons why I want to be a doctor. Yes, it is really like that! I don't really hear voices, but you get the point. There is an altruistic drive that steers people in this direction because let's be honest here, for the time, the money and the emotional & physical investment, the return is no where near the investment from that perspective alone. It is about a group of people that have the desire, the ability, and the opportunity to do MORE in this specific capacity. And what's cooler than the physiological and pathological intricacies of the human body!?

It is about being with people in a very intimate setting to help them (1) feel better, by treating the symptoms they describe and coming up with a strategic solution to solve the root cause of the problem (2) to lead them through a very difficult and vulnerable situation and (3) to connect with them on a personal level through listening, through a visible commitment, and through empathy. 

The Cleveland Clinic has an awesome video on empathy that I thought I would throw in here:

"Patient Care is more than just healing - it's building a connection that encompasses mind, body, and soul."

Click on the link below:
Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care

So....That is why I want to become a doctor! Salute!

For The Career Changers...

For the Career Changers...into Medicine, of course, but all others are welcome too!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have worked for a Fortune 500 Corporation for 7 years as of this past July. As I have gone through the process, both physically and mentally, there are 2 main things that I would advise for anyone choosing the life of a physician to strongly consider. Of course, this goes with full disclaimer that I have not yet even started medical school - this is only what I have learned since I have begun the process.

(1) What does it mean to move out of the Corporate world? It means that you must...

• First celebrate the change and the fact that you have found your true passion in life
• Know with certainty in every bone and cell of your body that you truly desire to have the lifestyle of a physician; it is not a job but rather a lifestyle and a privilege.
• Be comfortable with the fact that you will go from making pretty good income to zilch for the next several years, at least. Oh and don't forget that your 401k will be at a stand still too! :)
• Be okay with the fact that going to medical school, matching into a residency, and potentially seeking a fellowship will take, on average, about 10 years of your life. This is all while friends and family are living there life, getting married, having babies, and traveling around the world.
• Know that never again will you work only Monday through Friday with the ability to enjoy the weekends, company paid holidays, 23 days of PTO, and the ability to buy more time off if you need it!
• Accept the fact that not only will you make no money, but you will finish medical school with a huge debt that will pretty much require you to let go of any luxury you enjoyed before accepting loans from the U.S. government.

(2) Why all the stigma in international medical education?

• The Caribbean is not the United States. Although Caribbean schools mirror U.S. medical education and curriculum, it is still seen as sub par to that of which you would obtain in the U.S.
• From what I understand, most 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations require a student to move around to different hospitals that the school has affiliations with, and that can be a difficult process.
• You will live on an island for the first 2 years of medical school for the core science courses. This also brings about certain challenges in living conditions, technology, pace of life, etc.
• The attrition rates are high no matter which way you slice and dice the numbers.
• The faculty may all have an MD or PHD, or both, but that may not mean that they are good professors and can teach well.
• It is noted that international medical graduates have difficulty in obtaining residencies and will certainly not obtain a residency in any specialty type.
• The curriculum, at least at Ross University, is accelerated such that you learn 2 years worth of U.S - paced material in 16 months. However, beginning this year, Ross made a 20 month track available to students, at an additional cost of course.
• Class sizes are huge - not big, but huge! But because attrition is such a big factor, it sounds as if the size gets exponentially smaller after the 1st and 2nd years.

With all this said, I still choose to go to medical school. It sounds nuts, but I guess that is the part about knowing in every bone and cell of my body that this is the right choice for me. And even amongst all the things you seem to lose by changing careers to go into medicine, the stigma you carry by going to a school in the caribbean, or even the voices you have to hear from all the critics that question it -- IT IS STILL WORTH IT. I can hear my family's funny jokes and comments in the back of my head:

• Are you sure this is what you want?
• Do you want to try to take the MCAT again (so I can go to school in the the U.S.)?
• Why don't you just try getting a new job or try out a new industry?
• You are gonna need a mosquito net when you go down to the Caribbean. Are you okay with that? :)

And I will say that I view going to Dominica as a positive thing. Here are MY reasons:

• I will be focused! There won't be any distractions.
• Ross University has affiliation agreements for core clerkships with more than 70 teaching hospitals throughout the United States
• Ross placed over 700 students in residency programs as of March of this year
• Ross has hit a milestone marker with its 10,000th graduate from the School of Medicine. They are pumping lots of doctors into the U.S. healthcare system!
• In 2013, Ross students achieved a first time pass rate of 96% on the Step 1 United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), which is one of the most important determinants in a medical student's ability to obtain residency and is also on par with U.S. students
• I get 85 degree weather year-round, the ocean at my doorstep, and cool hiking adventures that await me

Anyway, all this is saying is that if medicine is truly the path for you, Go for it!! Bring your friends, family, and loved ones along for the ride. You only live once!

An Ode To My Father

Since I was young, I think I knew I was destined be a doctor. My dad was a physician and his dad was a physician... And in my family, I have been coined my "father's daughter." We are very much alike in the way we think, our intellect, our personality... I think you get the point.

In my mind, the culmination of this idea started with one tiny act.  Many years ago, my dad took me to the hospital with him and it was one nurse, who in only trying to be nice and make me feel welcome, made me a name tag with the words "Dr. Upson" and a doodle of little girl (which was supposed to be me) on it. Ever since then, the seed had been planted. And when I became more serious about becoming a physician, my dad would say "Paging Dr. Upson, Paging Dr. Upson" randomly when the thought came to his mind. While advising me that I should do what made me happy, I think I could tell that he secretly wanted me to follow in his footsteps to carry on the title of M.D.

Throughout the years, not only in college but even through the hardships of studying for the infamous MCAT, my dad would be there to encourage me, be my study partner, and to school me on the basics of physics. The garage, AKA my dad's man cave, certainly has all the tools to show me how Pressure=Force/Area in a hydraulic lift and the ins and outs of longitudinal sound waves coming out of his sound system. I can hear his voice now: 

• "It's just a test. You are stressing too much about this. It's only a test."
• "I can feel it. You are going to get a 30 this time around."
• "Just think - once you get that MCAT score, you can go to school at the UA, study while watching the Wildcats play, and live at home. If you and your brother both move back in, we might just have to get bunk beds." :)

In all seriousness, my dad has been the one with nothing short of an infinite, overly positive attitude throughout the process. With all the affirmations, you can't help but pick yourself back up and try again - He made me believe it WAS possible, even after failing miserably time and time again. I appreciate his shoulder for the couple cries I had when thinking it wasn't possible. But here I am about to become a doctor, and it is my dad that I owe this honor.

Dad - Thank you for being such a positive influence on me and every person around you. I am going to go be the best doctor I can be! I love you!

Today marks the beginning of a new journey...

For the past 2 years, I have been actively pursuing acceptance as a medical student.  However, NOW, I am on pursuit of becoming a great physician. It was only just a couple weeks ago, in fact August 7th to be precise, that my reality had been served. With all the studying, the multiple MCAT attempts, the application process and interview, I was destined to become an international medical student. I will be attending Ross University School of Medicine on the island of Dominica in January 2014 (even though I will always be a UA Wildcat at heart!)

This triumph comes with not only a great sacrifice of the freedoms I have enjoyed for the past 7 years, but also a huge excitement for a transition from the corporate world to Clinician. I am officially going to the "other side." Since graduating from the University of Arizona in 2006, I have worked for Cigna Healthcare in multiple facets, both here in the United States and abroad. I have had the luxury of completing my Masters in Business Administration and traveling the world. I have had the luxury and privilege of being apart of a wonderful family, having best friends, and meeting the love of my life. I won't necessarily be giving that all up, but life is about to change in a drastic way. And did I mention that I am starting this adventure at the grand age of 30 years young :)

In the coming weeks, I will have to share the news with my family, friends, and co-workers; I will have to initiate the process for incurring large amounts of debt (LOANS!) and trying to come up with a conclusive packing list for life on an island.

This though will be my outlet and personal account of my experiences, my thoughts and questions of embarking on the journey of becoming a great physician and to inspire people to live with no regrets. Your life is your playground - chase your dreams, try new things, fail, succeed, but have a blast while you do it! Salute!