It's evil, I tell ya....

Good heavens above, those lovely Americans are at it again! So, we have an "evil" and "Orwellian" healthcare system, while across the pond everything is roses. Hmmm.

Anyone who has applied for med school will (or should!) know both sides of this debate - it forms part of a popular interview question. So, in short, the US system is based on private sector provision with the poor being treated by the state, although it is generally accepted that this state provided healthcare is far below the standards of our lovely NHS, which is free at the point of care to all citizens of the UK regardless of their financial status. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I would be happier to be in a system that treated me according to my needs than according to my insurance coverage.

It's not perfect by any means... there are a lot of problems with funding, especially for certain drug treatments. There's also a lot of unnecessary wastage - perversely there is a fortune being lashed out to "consultants" (ie the non-doctor type) advising the management on how to save money! There is a problem with staffing (hands up anyone who is short-staffed this week?), and the gaps are being plugged by agency staff that cost three or four times as much as permanent staff. There is a problem with morale in a lot of hospitals, as frontline staff try to deal with an ever increasing workload in the face of shrinking resources and ever more impossible government targets. But, after 60 years, it is still holding true to its founding principles - a comprehensive heath service available to all, with treatment based on clinical need and free at the point of delivery.

Now I've heard a lot of tosh spoken today about "shiny private hospitals". Yes, the bricks and mortar are jolly nice, but have you seen some of these lovely new PFI-built hospitals? And as for the people inside, the large majority are also NHS staff, or at least were trained by the NHS. The point is that in this country, "going private" in most cases means moving up the list, rather than receiving significantly different treatment, and even then, you will not be put ahead of those in most need of attention. Yes, you might get a nice en-suite room to yourself in a private hospital, the nurses might smile a bit more, the view might be a bit better out of your window, but the fact remains that if it all goes horribly wrong the NHS will be there to put you back together again, and that makes me very proud to be a part of it.

And if you don't believe me, ask an American: http://tinyurl.com/lf2ywm

No one likes us, we don't care.

Crikey, really ought to update this blog, especially as I seem to have gained a follower!

Trouble is, I haven't exactly been up to much, now that I've finished moving house, done all the unpacking etc, I am now just twiddling my thumbs waiting for med school to start. Ahem, of course what I mean to say is that I'm working my way through my reading list in preparation. Honestly :)

So, the topic for today (as I have no student antics to report on yet) is people's reactions to hearing that I am going off to med school. I have to admit, on the whole the reactions have been pretty disappointing. Obviously my Mum is over the moon, practically stopping strangers in the street to tell them the happy news!! Also, my very good mates have been happy too, although lots of them have been in on the whole process and know how much of struggle the whole thing has been. The rest of my friends and family have been... shall I say lukewarm? And then there's my former workmates who have ranged from unimpressed to downright hostile, with some of them accusing me (not to my face) of making the whole thing up!

It seems I am not alone in receiving this peculiar response - chatting to other new med students online, I have found that many have the same or worse situation. One person said their family were totally negative, criticising how much it was going to cost and saying that they would not provide any support. Other people have lost best friends and/or partners over it. That is terribly sad, as applying to and getting through medical school is really tough, so you need all the support (not just financial) you can get.

So, my sage advice to anyone reading this is that if you go through this process, you will really find out who your friends are! But even better, you can look forward to making lots of new ones when med school starts :)