The Tuesday Take Away (week 3)

Since I begin medical school today...dramatic pause...gasp...and CHEER! I’ve been reading up on a few more medically related topics. Still Muslims, Marijuana, and Finland snuck their way in.

Hockey enforcers are turning to alcohol and other addictions to soothe problems while paying in deaths.

Teachers are highly regarded in Finland. This fuels the jealousy (or admiration) of American superintendents and education activists.

Supposedly, people only wash their hands 60% of the time after using the bathroom. This statistic is even lower for doctors between seeing
patients. Sick. Just sick.

Argentina is on the up from 2001’s 100 Billion dollar default and this article says why. Love the title on this one: “The Turnaround Tango.”

NY Times on the Health Care Crisis
"American health care tends to divide the population into insiders and outsiders. Insiders, who have good insurance, receive everything modern medicine can provide, no matter how expensive. Outsiders, who have poor insurance or none at all, receive very little. To take just one example, one study found that among Americans diagnosed with colorectal cancer, those without insurance were 70 percent more likely than those with insurance to die over the next three years."

Mapping Marijuana in the USA: Where it’s expensive and where it’s dirt cheap.

David Carreon on questioning the framework of food banks and blindly giving money. Based on an essay by the world’s all time 2nd richest person, Andrew Carnegie.

There’s now hope for the shaky handed phlebotomist.

A hilarious video on 1st year diagnosing a patient as a 1st year medical student.

A great article by Steven Koll on why many Muslims are angry with the U.S.
“The United State props us autocratic governments on the basis that they are relatively more progressive - according to the assumed Western narrative - than what the people would do if they had their way. When the Algerian military in 1991 overturned the results of a democratic election when it appeared that an Islamist party would prevail, America and other Western governments turned a blind eye. When democratic forces arose in Tunisia and Egypt, Muslims perceive that the United States only joined the parade when the outcome was irreversible.”

Learning and Memory. Way more than you ever wanted to know, but very insightful material!

A beautifully written article by the author of Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese (who I will meet today) on the irreplaceable patient doctor relationship and the importance of physical examination. I take refuge in articles that confirm the ability of humans to perform as technology cannot.