Today had a very rushed start. Luckily, I was able to have a quick shower and grab Starbucks before the Great Collaboration presentations began. My group I presented first this morning which was so relieving. When Dr. Epright talked to us about our points, she asked us a lot of questions and even made us change one of our major arguments just minutes before it was time to present. Luckily, we all worked together to deliver the points across very thoroughly and efficiently. I felt confident to be standing up in front of everyone which made me pumped for the graduation speech. The other group that presented today was about pharmaceutical marketing. I was really surprised to hear that there is no prior FDA approval needed for drug advertisements to be in the media. I was more on the cons team for the following reasons: harder to test for long term side effects, patients self diagnosing, increased prices, and that patients would most likely just ask for a specific pill because they saw it on TV rather than because it is the best option for them. It was still really fascinating to see the groups work together and I am super excited to hear tomorrow's presentations.
Today I had a one on one with Tori during lunch. I had about 30 minutes to speak to her before the next thing on the schedule, but Tori and I talked for an hour and a half. We share so much in common when it comes to our faith which makes us have similar experiences. There was a lot that we talked about but one thing I asked her advice on was “how do I give people the benefit of the doubt?” Her response was the perfect in between answer. It wasn’t one that said I have to give people the leeway ALL the time but it also wasn’t to never let things pass. Tori said “in kindness direct people to do justice.” I was a little confused on what that meant at first until she gave me the following example. Recently, Tori saw someone take a snack from the third floor without paying for it. Instead of saying “well maybe they just can’t afford it, I am not going to say anything” or telling them “stealing is not okay and that you should be penalized,” Tori said “hey we pay using this computer, can I help you pay for it?” This example goes to show how one can still correct others but with kindness, understanding, and good intentions. Tori and I also talked about the importance of honesty and she helped me brainstorm ideas for how I should go about something I am currently struggling with. Needless to say I learned so much from the time I had with Tori today and reflected a lot about myself. I actually ended up missing dinner with the roomies because I was so deep in thought and went for a three hour drive… Yeah.
When we were finished, I went back to the room the tier was in and I walked in on the highs and lows. Something that stood out to me was when Allen and Kathryn offered us some wise words. They said that I can always change my mind when it comes to choosing my career. Deciding between careers is something that takes a lot of reflection and thought. It is something that we can’t just make a decision for once and then move on. Instead, it's a decision that requires more assessment throughout my life. I have to ask myself if this career makes me happy. I also have to be okay if the answer is no. What matters in this whole journey is making sure I don’t lose myself.
The next two segments were very informative. Jenna joined us and gave us a brief talk about Six Systems of Healthcare. The six consisted of insurance, medicare, medicaid, military-tricare, tricare for life, and uninsured. The four types of insurance are HMO, PPO, EPO, and POS. What I found really helpful is differentiating between medicaid and medicare. Medicare is caring for the old while medicaid is aiding the poor. I thought it was also really important that we talked about the uninsured. During my last clinical rotation, I saw patients in neurology who were uninsured. One in particular had seizures often and his medication wasn’t helping. The doctor and his team talked about referring him to do a nerve study exam but realized that it might be too much to cover since he doesn’t have insurance. The problem a lot of patients struggle with is that they can have too much money to be disqualified from medicaid and not enough for insurance.
Guess who joined us after? Tori!! She talked to us about professionalism. She gave us tips about writing emails, elevator pitch interview questions, and many more things. The most difficult part for many of us was the elevator pitch. Raquel even displayed to us how one can talk about themselves to someone else and still make it very casual. It is good to keep in mind that it's so much more impactful when one talks about who they are outside of academics because that's what makes connections with other people.
Can’t wait for tomorrow!!
Comments