By: Jillian Radetsky
The talk surrounding President Barack Obama's health care plan has been overly prevalent among news organizations and people alike.
According to barackobama.com, Obama’s health care plan “will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses and our government.”
Despite the details of Obama’s plan, the future of our health care system lies in the hands of today’s pre-med and med students who will implement the plan if it passes.
However, future doctors and nurses have a wide range of opinions on the health care plan, from those completely opposed to those in favor of the plan.
The views of these future doctors and nurses could affect their desires to enter the field, and, in turn, maintain the health care industry.
Gaining experience in a dermatologist office this summer, Marci Levy, a pre-med student at the University of Georgia, remains confident in her decision to become a doctor.
“It was interesting learning the ins and outs of running a practice and jumping through hoops to get the insurance companies to help the people in need,” Levy said. “I am also interested in helping people who can’t afford insurance and therefore can’t get any treatment. I want to help them.”
A major Obama supporter, Levy says that his health care plan didn’t influence her decision to become a doctor at all, even if Obama’s plan would decrease the typical salary of a doctor. “I am not doing it for the money,” she said. “It’s my passion, and I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
“People keep telling me that this is a tough time to be a doctor, but I still want to do it,” she said. “I think something needs to change and Obama’s health care plan can bring about this change. There will be kinks that need to be worked out and I know it will take time, but I am all for it.”
Unlike Levy, Becca Isaacson, also a pre-med student at UGA, says that she is nervous about Obama’s health care plan. “I feel like the hard work of doctors could potentially go unnoticed,” she said. “I feel like with this plan, the government would be making the medical decisions that doctors should be making.”
Isaacson compared future doctor’s offices to other government run institutes, like the DMV and the Post Office. “Those places are so frustrating,” Isaacson said. “I don’t want a doctor’s office to become like that. If people are sick, they shouldn’t have to have the stress of waiting in long lines. I believe that they should receive care immediately.”
Despite Isaacson’s feelings of opposition towards Obama’s health care plan, she is still working towards becoming a doctor.
Regardless of whether Obama’s health care plan passes or not, Kim Lincenberg, a med student at Washington University, is focused on her future career. “I am working so hard to get this education to become a doctor,” Lincenberg said. “At the end of the day, all that matters to me is using this education to follow through on my dreams and actually becoming a doctor.”
Whitney Seltman, also a pre-med major at UGA, has similar views to Levy, Isaacson and Lincenberg in that Obama’s health care plan has not affected her decision to continue on in the medical field.
“I feel that his plan does not affect me wanting to become a doctor because I don’t think the outcome of the health care plan is going to be as big as Obama is making it seem,” said Seltman. “I don’t think socialized health care is a good idea.”
According to the official Association of American Medical College Web site, enrollment in medical schools in Georgia has continually increased. However, the data available on this Web site ranges from the years 2003 to 2008, excluding the year that the said change would occur. The four main medical schools in Georgia listed on this Web site are Emory, Medical College of Georgia, Mercer and Morehouse. In 2003, total enrollment for all of these Georgia schools was 1,632; in 2008, this total was 1,826.
Enrollment numbers for the entire country followed a similar pattern to those in Georgia. In 2003, the total enrollment in the nation was 70,169 and in 2008 the total enrollment in the nation was 76,070. The question at hand is how this trend will change in the years to come with the installment of Obama’s health care plan.
The talk surrounding President Barack Obama's health care plan has been overly prevalent among news organizations and people alike.
According to barackobama.com, Obama’s health care plan “will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses and our government.”
Despite the details of Obama’s plan, the future of our health care system lies in the hands of today’s pre-med and med students who will implement the plan if it passes.
However, future doctors and nurses have a wide range of opinions on the health care plan, from those completely opposed to those in favor of the plan.
The views of these future doctors and nurses could affect their desires to enter the field, and, in turn, maintain the health care industry.
Gaining experience in a dermatologist office this summer, Marci Levy, a pre-med student at the University of Georgia, remains confident in her decision to become a doctor.
“It was interesting learning the ins and outs of running a practice and jumping through hoops to get the insurance companies to help the people in need,” Levy said. “I am also interested in helping people who can’t afford insurance and therefore can’t get any treatment. I want to help them.”
A major Obama supporter, Levy says that his health care plan didn’t influence her decision to become a doctor at all, even if Obama’s plan would decrease the typical salary of a doctor. “I am not doing it for the money,” she said. “It’s my passion, and I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
“People keep telling me that this is a tough time to be a doctor, but I still want to do it,” she said. “I think something needs to change and Obama’s health care plan can bring about this change. There will be kinks that need to be worked out and I know it will take time, but I am all for it.”
Unlike Levy, Becca Isaacson, also a pre-med student at UGA, says that she is nervous about Obama’s health care plan. “I feel like the hard work of doctors could potentially go unnoticed,” she said. “I feel like with this plan, the government would be making the medical decisions that doctors should be making.”
Isaacson compared future doctor’s offices to other government run institutes, like the DMV and the Post Office. “Those places are so frustrating,” Isaacson said. “I don’t want a doctor’s office to become like that. If people are sick, they shouldn’t have to have the stress of waiting in long lines. I believe that they should receive care immediately.”
Despite Isaacson’s feelings of opposition towards Obama’s health care plan, she is still working towards becoming a doctor.
Regardless of whether Obama’s health care plan passes or not, Kim Lincenberg, a med student at Washington University, is focused on her future career. “I am working so hard to get this education to become a doctor,” Lincenberg said. “At the end of the day, all that matters to me is using this education to follow through on my dreams and actually becoming a doctor.”
Whitney Seltman, also a pre-med major at UGA, has similar views to Levy, Isaacson and Lincenberg in that Obama’s health care plan has not affected her decision to continue on in the medical field.
“I feel that his plan does not affect me wanting to become a doctor because I don’t think the outcome of the health care plan is going to be as big as Obama is making it seem,” said Seltman. “I don’t think socialized health care is a good idea.”
According to the official Association of American Medical College Web site, enrollment in medical schools in Georgia has continually increased. However, the data available on this Web site ranges from the years 2003 to 2008, excluding the year that the said change would occur. The four main medical schools in Georgia listed on this Web site are Emory, Medical College of Georgia, Mercer and Morehouse. In 2003, total enrollment for all of these Georgia schools was 1,632; in 2008, this total was 1,826.
Enrollment numbers for the entire country followed a similar pattern to those in Georgia. In 2003, the total enrollment in the nation was 70,169 and in 2008 the total enrollment in the nation was 76,070. The question at hand is how this trend will change in the years to come with the installment of Obama’s health care plan.
Jillian,
ReplyDeleteOverall, this is a well-reported story. That said, you still have some lingering problems with wordiness. For instance, in your lede, you could simple say "has been prevalent..." "Overly prevalent" is redundant. Also, I'm not quite sure why you moved the enrollment numbers to the end of your piece. It seems to fit better after graph 5. That said, you have a lot of statistics in those graphs that might work better as a infographic. Otherwise, keep up the good work.