Matthew's Weblog (graduated June 2009)

Congrats, Dr. Matthew Christopher!

Matthew graduated on Saturday, and we're so proud to have him as a brand new alum! Here are a few photos from his big day.

Receiving his diploma

Receiving the Service Distinction Award

Congrats, Matthew (and Jaime)!
 

After the ceremony

The American "health care" system will be neither healthy nor caring until it is embedded in the hearts of the American people.

Our nation’s chief governmental leader, President Barack Obama, believes firmly that, “making sure every American has access to high quality health care is one of the most important challenges of our time.” (1) Never have I heard anyone make a more accurate statement regarding the deficiency of health care in the United States today. The high costs of medical care do make it unattainable to many of our nation’s citizens, but the greatest threat facing the health of our nation today is not the cost of the goods and services provided by physicians, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. If we dig deeper into the real issues we will discover that the biggest threat facing the health care system today is that these goods and services would not necessarily provide “high quality health care” even if they were made available free of charge to all citizens.

The president is correct in his claims that this broken “health care” system is bankrupting our country with skyrocketing costs.(2) In 2007 our nation spent $2.4 trillion dollars on health care, the highest of any nation in the world. This equated to about 17 percent of our nation’s gross domestic product. What is worse is that if we look to the future, the absurdly high cost of “health care” today is only the beginning of our financial woes. The National Coalition on Health Care states that the total national health expenditures were expected to increase 6.9% this year alone, over two times the rate of inflation.(3) With these staggering costs hitting us in such tough economic times, it should come as no surprise that 50% of people in our nation who file bankruptcy do so, at least in part, as a result of medical expenses.(4)

This high cost of medical care is seen by the majority of the population as a serious weakness, but most of us tolerate it based on the assumption that we are getting better health results from a system that boasts the highest medical expenses in the world. Unfortunately, that assumption is absolutely untrue. If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that we are not even close to having the best healthcare system in the world.

A recent study looked at sixteen available health indicators and ranked thirteen of the leading industrialized nations according to these health indicators. Upon averaging the ranks of the scores of those nations for all of the health indicators, it was found that the most expensive health care system in the world did not rank first amongst those thirteen countries in the results it produced. In case you wondered, we didn’t rank second either. Even worse, there was not even a third place trophy given to us to be displayed at the office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Indeed we ranked next to last, crossing the finish line in twelfth place out of thirteen nations in the race for the best measures of health.(5)

Lest we convince ourselves that this research is biased or merely a statistical anomaly, we must also know that in 2000 the World Health Organization did a similar study of 25 nations using different health indicators. Again, the robust network of hospitals, physicians, researchers and pharmaceutical companies of the United States did not come in first, or second, or even third, but rather we ranked 15 out of 25 nations in an average of health care indicators.(6) Our insanely expensive health care system has failed to deliver the goods by almost anyone’s standards.

Not only is our broken health care system failing to help us to be healthier, but medical research has shown that it often contributes to our poor health through its adverse affects. In recent years, an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that 225,000 deaths a year occur as a direct result of our health care system (complications of unnecessary surgery, medication errors, adverse reactions of medications, etc.). The journal article itself states that these numbers may be lower than the actual deaths caused by our “health care” system because they only take into account hospitalized patients (not those who may have died at home as a direct result of our failing health care practices). It also tells us that other researchers estimate that as many as 284,000 people die each year as a direct result of treatments provided by our “health care system”. The author of the peer-reviewed article, a medical doctor writing to other medical doctors, concludes this section of her article by informing her peers that even this low estimate makes our American “health care” system the “third leading cause of death in the United States, after deaths from heart disease and cancer”, without even taking into account adverse effects that are only associated with disability or discomfort.(7)

In light of such staggering statistics, the answer to our problems is not for the government to simply take over the current system and make this same care available to all people. Our American “health care” system is broken, and I believe history has demonstrated that government control of an institution is seldom a CURE for high costs and mediocre results. Indeed, the bureaucratic red tape associated with such a takeover is often the CAUSE of even higher costs and worse outcomes. Countries like Canada, France and England that have government health care plans similar to the one that we are considering in our nation today are the evidence that government controlled health care is MORE COSTLY and provides LOWER QUALITY care for all of the citizens, even to the point of “rationing” healthcare services.

Still, I will leave the politics to the politicians, because there is an even greater point to be made here. Regardless of who has the ultimate control of our health care system in the future, the true origin of this system’s ailments is that we mistake it for a true “health care system”, when it is actually a “disease care system”. The emphasis of the vast majority of our research is placed not on the prevention of disease, but rather on the management of disease with medicine, surgery, and other therapies. These methods are a great means of reducing symptoms and perhaps stopping the progression of disease, but they are only “disease care” and should not be mistaken as true “health care”. Health care, in the truest sense of the word, includes any and all practices that promote health in a group of people, not just those that decrease the impact of disease in that population.

The vast majority of the steps that could be taken to put an end to our true “health care crisis” are not things that can be controlled or provided by the government, by insurance companies, or even by health care professionals. There is no doubt that the role of health care professionals in treating serious diseases, traumatic conditions, and many degenerative changes in the body over time is essential and does contribute at least minimally to overall health, but recruiting more health care professionals of any kind will not cure our ailing “health care” system as long as the American diet and exercise habits remain unchanged. In a similar way, our government could undoubtedly be a vital force in a “health care” system by educating the public about a healthy lifestyle as the surgeon general has done with the dangers of smoking. However, the benefits of the role of the government, and perhaps even insurance companies, in providing "disease care" is debatable, because it takes the personal responsibility for a person’s health out of his or her hands and places it in the hands of another. The third party systems that many of us so freely embrace are in many ways in opposition to the goals of a true “health care” system because they can unintentionally enable our citizens to drown themselves in a sedentary lifestyle, an unhealthy diet, and other habits that contribute to the health care crisis that we face without those people having to worry about bearing all of the financial consequences of those decisions. Again, I affirm that the true solution to our health care crisis lies not in any institution, but in the will of the American people, and if that will remains unchanged our current "health care crisis" will always be with us.

It is interesting to note that the only two things that cause more death than our broken “health care" system are cancer and heart disease, both of which can be drastically reduced by healthy living. Medical research has demonstrated that cancer risk is severely impacted by lifestyle choices of individuals more than by any other factor. More than one third of the 500,000 cancer deaths that occur in the United States each year can be attributed to exposure to tobacco products, and another third of the cancer deaths are attributable to diet and physical activity habits.(8) A similar statement could be made about the impact of lifestyle choices on heart disease. A Harvard Medical School study demonstrated that “in a population of middle-aged women, those who did not smoke cigarettes, were not overweight, maintained the healthful diet, exercised moderately or vigorously for half an hour a day, and consumed alcohol moderately had an incidence of coronary events that was more than 80 percent lower than that in the rest of the population.” The researchers concluded that “closer adherence to a more healthful lifestyle might reduce the risk of coronary heart disease still further.” (9) When one considers how moving from a system that promotes “disease care” to one that promotes “health care” could have such a significant impact on the top three causes of death in the United States, it is easy to imagine how such a paradigm shift could lead to longer, more productive lives for a large portion of our population.

As intriguing as this concept of a true “health care” system sounds, we must remember again that when all is said and done the ultimate responsibility for correcting the ailments of the virtually non-existent “health care” system of the United States today lies in the hands of individual citizens, like you and me. We must respond to this call to action to take a stand for own own health and for the health of those we love by incorporating exercise, a healthy diet and other healthy habits into our daily lives. These changes will be hard to come by, but today you and I have the power to have a significant impact on the health care crisis in our nation by embracing a healthy lifestyle ourselves and by encouraging our loved ones to do the same. Embrace health today, because the American health care system will be neither healthy nor caring until it is embedded in the hearts of the American people. Today is your chance to make it a reality.

(1) http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
(2) http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
(3) Keehan, S. et al. “Health Spending Projections Through 2017, Health Affairs Web Exclusive W146: 21 February 2008.
(4) Himmelstein, D, E. Warren, D. Thorne, and S. Woolhander, “Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy, “Health Affairs Web Exclusive W5-63, 02 February, 2005.
(5) Starfield, B. Primary Care: Balancing Health Needs, Services, and Technology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1998.
(6) World Health Report 2000. Available at: http://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/report.htm. Accessed June 28, 2000.
(7) Starfield, B. “Is US Health Really the Best in the World?” Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000;284:483-485
(8) Bridget M. Kuehn. Guidelines: Community Support Vital to Promote Cancer-Preventing Lifestyle
JAMA. 2006;296(15):1829-.
(9) Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, Manson JE, Rimm EB, Willett WC. Primary prevention of coronary heart disease in women through diet and lifestyle. N Engl J Med. 2000;343:16-22.

Matthew makes his exit

Though he has about a month to go before his June 13 graduation, Matthew is taking an early retirement from blogging. Aside from his regular schedule of activities -- intern duties, x-ray internship program duties, volunteer time at the local nursing home, class responsibilities and studying -- he's also busy preparing for graduation AND Part IV of the National Board Exams. If you ask any Sherman student, they'll tell you that’s enough to keep two or three people "in the weeds."

So in the tradition we’ve created for departing bloggers, Lisa (VP for enrollment) and I (Karen, director of public relations) are bidding him a fond farewell on his blog.

Matthew is a little different -- and, of course, I mean that in the nicest way possible! What I mean is, Matthew (like Jaime) arrived at Sherman in a different way than most of our other bloggers. While he knew all about chiropractic before he came to Sherman, Matthew first set foot on campus as an employee. From 2003 -2005, he traveled the eastern seaboard as an admission representative and career counselor.

Matthew on Halloween 2004 with co-workers Karen, Lisa, Holly and Alison

As you might gather, he was a pretty good rep for us, as he recruited himself and enrolled in the college’s winter 2006 incoming class. Even as a student, though, Matthew never forgot his Admission Office co-workers, always willing to help out with tours and special events.

Matthew with Admission Office Coordinator and buddy Alison Kimball

Now that he’s graduating, we’re going to miss having Matthew around... after all, he’s been here in one capacity or another for about six years. We’ll miss his antics and jokes too. But we are also very happy for him, and we’ll be proud to call him an alumnus!

So congratulations, Matthew -- Vaya con Dios!

One Exit Stayed, The Other Exited

The two exits I mentioned in my last blog were clinic exit exams and the exit of my Nervoscope in student clinic. . . Well, almost twenty-four hours have passed so here's how everything turned out.

We got our exit scores a little later than planned because of some technical difficulties but it was nice to get them the same day.  At the time we took clinical entrance exams the procedure was that you had to wait through the weekend to get your scores, so we appreciated even more the fact that Dr. McDowell-Reizer worked to get them to us that day.  And the results are that I passed and don't really have to take any more major tests at Sherman ever again!!!!

As far as the exit of the Nervoscope without legs is concerned, it was found by God's gift to all Sherman College interns, Shirlene Burnsed (pictured below).  Shirlene is the front desk Coordinator in the clinic and most of us, like my Nervoscope, would be totally lost without her.  Over the past few years she has demonstrated to me how important it is to have hard-working, smiling people at the front desk and what a difference that makes in how your patients interact with you.  She found the scope in the ready room and locked it up overnight for me so it would still be there the next day, thus giving me yet another reason to be thankful for her service to the college and those of us who are interns.  Once you get in clinic and have your own patients you will know exactly what I'm talking about and why we appreciate her so much. 

Exit Exams and Exiting Nervoscopes (they don't have legs, by the way)

Exit exams are over!!!!  At least I hope they are.  I studied all week and got here about 7:00 to put the finishing touches on my hard work.  We started testing about 9:00 and were finished within an hour.  It was stressful, fair and pretty much everything I expected it to be.  Now I just have to wait until 3:00 to get my scores back.

On a not-so-positive note, I was showing someone how to use my nervoscope in the student clinic yesterday.  I left it there and when I went back for it this morning it was gone. If it doesn't show up, it wouldn't be the first time a scope was stolen at Sherman, and I have another buddy who "lost" some stuff just the other week.  His hasn't turned up yet but hopefully mine will.  If you know anything about it please let me know. 

Wedding Bliss

I just got back from the social event of the year in Corbin, KY:  the events surrounding the nuptials of Marianne Johnson and Graham Trimble.  I tried Grippos, peanut butter rolls, a local soda and even my first buckeye.  I have pickled bologna and crackers awaiting me for later this week.  It was a weekend of firsts. . . and I found out I passed the pathology part of exit exams.

Today I'm working in the x-ray department and tonight I must shift gears and get ready for exit exams since Thursday is quickly approaching.  You may not hear much from me until then, but this is one of the last hoops I must jump through before graduating in June and I'll be back to finish my top ten list soon.

Exit Exams

Yet another door we must pass through to get a license is the process of clinic exit exams.  They are much like the entrance exams that we had to take to get into clinic, just a little bit more strict and seemingly a little bit more diagnosis and patient management related.  To date I have taken and passed two:  X-ray Analysis and Patient Management.  Today I have yet another:  Practice management.  So, I'm off to study HIPPA, Sexual Misconduct, Malpractice Insurance, and a slew of other things so that by the end of the day I can be confident that three sections of the exit exams are behind me forever.

Looking for a job

Having talked about living in the present in my last blog, I think I'll share about a new phase of my life:  The job search.

Graduation is a mere few months away and I really want to work with someone when I get out of school.  I have several good options that I'm considering but it is hard to say what I'll do at this point.  The trick is to find the right person, using the right technique that is willing to pay you the right salary to work in the right city.  Finding someone that meets all of those requirements except for one is not much better than finding someone that doesn't meet any of them.

So, the search is on. . . I'll let you know what the outcome is when I'm out of here in a few months.  For now, I'm just making the most of the time I have left at Sherman and keeping my options open.

Shadow an Intern Day

I just found out that I will be participating in the Shadow an Intern Day event on February 19.  That is a day when future Sherman students and those who are considering coming to Sherman get to spend an afternoon with a current Sherman intern to observe patient visits, see the paperwork, and see the digital x-ray facilities.  The event is from 11:30 until 4:00 on that day and lunch is provided.  If you come in from out of town the school will even pay for one night in a hotel.  Sign up now and perhaps I'll be the lucky intern that gets to spend a day with you.

Lesson #8: Live in the present

Lesson number eight in my top ten lessons learned at Sherman College has to do with living life in the present.  Here's the context.  One day I realized that the anatomy lab experience that I one day longed experience  soon became a part of my life that I wished was over so that I could get into clinic.  I also once looked forward to getting into clinic only to one day finding myself wishing that I could trade my clinic jacket for my own practice.  The point I'm making is that so often we live our lives wishing for the next "journey" we will make without fully making the most of the "journey" we are presently taking and we wish our lives away without ever really enjoying them in the present.

I often say that our major task at hand on any given day is to "learn from the past, live in the present, and love like there is no tomorrow."  The truth is that we don't know what tomorrow holds and we can't change the past; all we have is the present and we need to live in the present to the fullest. 

I would argue that we live in the present by loving God first and loving others with everything else that we have.  I believe that we also accomplish this by taking time to acknowledge all of the good things that we have in our lives and epxressing thanks to those who are a blessing to us.  I would argue that we live in the present by taking time to enjoy a beautiful sunset or a precious moment with family and friends.  However you choose to do it, my hope is that today you will take time to live in the present because tomorrow you could learn that all or some of the things that you take for granted today (your health, your family, your home or the beauty of a sunset) have been away from you in an instant.  If they are, you could deeply regret not making the most of them while you had them today.  So, let's not let the successes and pain of the past or our plans for the future get in the way of us living to the fullest every moment we have in the present.