I’ve been asked this question a lot recently at the Saint Benedict Home Health Institute and it made me think about the concept of home health, and how it relates to the work that we do here.
The Saint Benedict Home Health Institute was founded in 1976 by a father and son, Dr. James and Dr. Robert, to promote a healthy and happy lifestyle for those afflicted with illnesses in their homes.
When I first started working at St. Benedict in 1979, I was the only person in the house that had a physical illness. My father had arthritis and I had a heart condition, but I knew what I was doing. We did a lot of research and found out that a lot of people who have had an illness in their home get better with home health care.
I’ve never really thought much about the health care issue until recently. I’ve had the same health issues my entire life – I’m the same height, but the rest of my body has changed slightly. I’d never think about it much, but I’m just now thinking about things.
I remember a time when people said my heart was in the wrong place. Ive always had a weak heart and Im sure Im not the only one. Ive never really thought I was at risk, but I was.
I feel like our health care system is too focused on medicine. We have medical doctors who are not medical doctors. We have doctors who are not doctors. We have doctors who have not graduated med school. I’m not saying that medical doctors are bad, or that you shouldn’t go to that class. But medicine and health care system seems to be too focused on medicine.
In a word, yes. Thats exactly what I meant. As medical school graduates go, they can do a lot of good. But most of the ones I know are over-medicated. They can do a lot of good in the eyes of the medical community in the sense that they can prescribe medication, but they are not doctors. I don’t think medical doctors are bad. I think they are just in too much of a hurry to get med degrees.
In case it is not obvious, I think there are too many medical schools that really care more about getting a med degree than you do about getting a good degree. This is especially true in the U.S. where there are a lot of medical schools that are all about getting med degrees.
I am very much in favor of medical schools that put more emphasis on the doctorate. Medical schools ought to look at what they have and not just what they want.
I know that many medical schools are just as excited to have you as you are to be at the medical school. In fact I know that many medical schools are really eager to be your future doctor. However, there are a ton of schools that are doing so much to make you feel welcomed and to make you feel like you belong. These schools should be in the business of making you feel comfortable, not just in the process of getting a med degree.
