The Importance of Preventative Medicine

Truthfully, as an undergraduate I knew very little about the osteopathic profession. In 2013, however, I began working as a medical scribe with Dr. Ghaffari-Greene, DO, in the Sibley ER and she opened my eyes to the beauty of osteopathic medicine. Thanks to Dr. Ghaffari-Greene, and a number of other osteopathic physicians in the ER, I have come to understand what osteopathic medicine is all about. Three years after my first exposure to the osteopathic profession, I continue to be motivated to become an osteopathic physician for many reasons. These include the following:

I shadowed Dr. Martin Skie at the University of Toledo Medical Center when I started contemplating a career as a physician. He is an orthopedic surgeon and I had the privilege to shadow during several surgeries, and throughout clinical rotations. I spent over fifty hours shadowing him over the course of a month. I also had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Zachary Ginsberg, an intensivist, in Kettering Medical Center’s intensive care unit. I was able to discuss the patients, their conditions, the lab results, imaging studies, medications, procedures, and the science behind the thought process while shadowing for over one hundred hours over several months. Both opportunities provided insight into different specialties and sparked my interest.Since

“I was recruited to the University of Missouri to serve in a tri-appointment with the School of Medicine, Harry S Truman VA hospital, and division of general surgery in July 2013. The assignments were seemingly going well and clinical growth was exceeding expectations. My most recent evaluation by both the division of surgery and the surgery residents had been completed and were more than

America's healthcare system is extremely fragmented which contributes to limited access, poor quality and escalating costs. People are living longer due to the advancements in technology, medical deliver and technology. As the population ages, there will be more people that with chronic conditions. Pre-existing conditions and chronic health conditions contribute to the rising cost of healthcare. Some of these conditions could be prevented if caught at an early stage. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) address some of the disparities among Americans, one being preventative services. Insurance companies are now required to insure patient with a previous health condition under the ACA. Research has shown that evidence-based preventive services can

Upon researching GW, I realized the MD program offers several exceptional opportunities including being at the vanguard of medicine due to its historic nature, having numerous partnerships within its area, and encompassing medical and surgical specialties. These opportunities would not only provide me with a strong education that is enriched with connections, but they would also expose me to novel patient scenarios on a daily basis as I have a passion for learning in medicine. Additionally, GW’s mission for diversity fits will with my interest of stressing inclusion through service and attempting to eliminate healthcare disparities. My former research in bioethics shows that I also value understanding disparities in healthcare and seek to eradicate

As my affection for the game of tennis demonstrates, I believe teamwork and intuition are at the forefront of any endeavor. Coming into medical school, my interest in surgery stemmed primarily from my innate passion to hone the tremendous skillset a surgical operation required. After exploring several surgical fields as a medical student, I have found that the procedural skills and type of care provided in orthopaedic surgery provide the perfect fit for my goals and personal motivations. I was first exposed to orthopaedic surgery while working on a systematic review involving plastic surgery literature. It was a key turning point in my interests.

This letter is my formal recommendation of Ajmal Khan to your Program. I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Khan for a two month observership at James A. Haley Veterans’ hospital, Tampa, Florida. Dr. Khan observed inpatient and outpatients’ procedures, and attend rounds and teaching conferences. I worked closely with him and Dr. Khan stood out as an individual with curiosity and dedication to hard work.

There is a definite need for a solution to the rising healthcare costs. This increase has caused people to be less willing to seek out medical care for the fear of not being able to afford it. This in turn causes people to become even unhealthier. Santa Clara University shows they agree when they say, “Whether the cause is smoking, alcohol abuse, poor diet, lack of exercise, failure to use seat-belts, or overexposure to the sun, preventable health care costs are the first concern of many U.S. health care critics.” There has been an explosion of accidents, deaths, diseases, and disabilities that have risen due to behaviors that could have been prevented. This surge in negative effects has alerted people nationwide. They are now trying to figure out what the best solution would be. Some may say that this issue does not affect them or that it is not “a big deal”. However, Santa Clara University can prove that wrong when they said, “What motivates their criticism is overwhelming evidence that individuals with

This law both forces people to buy coverage, as well as forces insurance companies to cover people in new ways. Those two go hand in hand because if the majority of citizens did not purchase health insurance, insurance companies would not be able to provide all of the coverage that the ACA requires them to. For example, females no longer have a co-pay for preventative care services. If certain individuals choose not to purchase insurance, they will have to pay a penalty. The penalty is evidently increasing each year, but many people still choose to pay the penalty rather than purchase insurance. In my opinion, the law was passed mainly to force insurance companies to cover more people for certain things. There are many provisions that put limits on insurance companies as to what they can and cannot do.

My past experiences in Asian Pacific Health Corps serving those in the San Gabriel Valley and Kids Come First Community Health Center serving those in the Inland Empire have inspired me to become a physician who is dedicated in making a difference amongst medically underserved populations. These experiences have exposed me to the unique health issues those in Southern California are facing and introduced me to the diverse population I want to ultimately serve. I am excited at the potential to further develop this passion at a medical school committed to service, as I have seen medical students from WesternU-COMP volunteering their time to perform osteopathic manipulative treatments at APHC’s health fairs. I look forward to volunteering as a student leader in organizations at WesternU-COMP, such as Pomona Homeless Outreach Program, and encouraging my classmates to get involved with community service projects to extend their learning beyond the classroom. WesternU-COMP’s innovative curriculum, early clinical experiences, supportive environment, and state-of-the-art facilities will prepare me to be a well-rounded leader in the ever-evolving field of medicine. With a reputation of graduating students matching into their residencies of choice, I can be assured that WesternU-COMP will help me to reach my career

The lack of preventative care is defiantly a major issue with the uninsured adult and I believe it is safe to say that most adults that do not have insurance are not financially secure. This can contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle as fast food is affordable and easily obtainable. You mentioned the lack of support and a decreased IQ score also contributes to the vulnerability of this group. Unfortunately, adults with these characteristics do not seek assistance and knowledge that would prevent them from developing diseases related to poor lifestyle choices. As nurses, it is our responsibility to educate these patients about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and the impact this can have on their wellbeing. Additionally,

In my junior year in college, I realized that an engineering career will not be as challenging of a trail as medicine. From very early on in my anatomy cadaver labs, I always had the impression that I would enjoy a surgical profession, but this decision for surgery did not shape until the third and fourth year of my clinical clerkships. During one of my surgery clerkships in Atlanta, I observed a young male with necrotizing fasciitis who got admitted in a critical condition. My attending was initially hopeless, but fortunately after four weeks in the ICU and a few surgeries, he survived and got transferred to the floors. I paid full attention to how Dr. Mayor was refining his strategic methods to save his patient’s life. He was consulting a group of diverse physicians from various departments, and collaborating many assessments into his plans.

Unfortunately Healthcare in the US is very much centered around treating patients once they’re sick versus establishing effective preventative methods to help folks avoid getting sick in the first place. This reactionary approach of treating the sick is very lucrative to some business such as pharmaceutical companies. However, patients as consumers, their families and society as a whole are the ones who bear the brunt of negative consequences that such a poorly designed healthcare system fosters. Many of the greatest challenges related to increasing preventative care in our healthcare system stem from the need for people – providers and patients, to ‘change’ and embrace a new paradigm. Most people are resistant to change especially changes

Numerous reports have been made in regards to children from birth to three years of age not receiving any type of preventive care. Preventive care provides immunizations, health screenings, and tests that help to prevent against diseases and illnesses. There have been many studies conducted in regards to the importance of children receiving preventive care. The most crucial time frame for this care should occur from birth until 3 years of age. Millions of infants, children and adolescents in the United States did not receive key clinical preventive services, according to a report published by the Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Supplement. This paper will discuss the importance of preventive care, the challenges and barriers that prevent children from receiving preventive care, and how to encourage parents to obtain preventive care for children.

The video chosen for this week’s journal focused was absolutely amazing. The video focused on the future of medicine and the many inventions that are up and coming. It was very insightful. The focuses that really grabbed my attention was to cure the well before they get sick, personalized healthcare, and bio-informatics (Kraft, 2011). Preventative medicine is the key to the future of our patients. As healthcare workers, we are not seeing patients until their disease process has progressed beyond prevention and it is in a later stage that now requires treatment. The invention that interest me the most was the virtual colonoscopy. The population I work with are mainly over the age of 50 years old. When asked if they have ever received a colonoscopy, 80% of them say they have not. I think the virtual colonoscopy would eliminate the fear factor for most patients and would allow us to catch diseases of the GI tract faster before treatment is needed.