RWL #152 - Sex Ed, Talking Stains, and Free Markets
Happy snow days from the University of New Hampshire! We had our first cancellations this week - Monday the university was closed, and Tuesday it was closed until 11 (It probably should have been closed Tuesday, too, the sidewalks were terrible). That’s life in sunny New Hampshire, but I think it’s the first fall semester during which I have had classes cancelled for snow. The spring semester is usually when you have to program in a few snow days into your syllabus. Last day of classes is Monday. I have a pile of papers to grade, and a final exam to give on Wednesday, so my next RWL will be celebrating being done with the semester, but I have to admit, it feels like it’s a thousand miles away.
I wanted to also share that I finished reading Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone last week - it’s a great book - I think it does a great job demystifying talk therapy, both in terms of what it can and cannot do. There was a time when I thought I might go into the field, and reading this made me wonder what my life would have been like had I chosen that route. I get my fix of this sort of interaction through my interviewing for my podcast and for my qualitative research, and I think that’s probably good enough for me. I have a different agenda than a therapist in the researcher role, but Gottlieb’s focus on narrative resonates with me. That is one of the things I try to draw out in my work - the narrative individuals have about their lived experiences. It’s fascinating to be the foil for people to tell their stories. If you have been through therapy, or been interested in therapy, I think you will find this book fascinating. It is a great window to peer into what the industry is like, and Gottlieb is an excellent writer.
On to this week’s links!
(Image is of Hewitt Hall, my home away from home at UNH)
Read
What: KevinMD.com, A physician joins TikTok to talk sex education
https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/12/a-physician-joins-tiktok-to-talk-sex-education.html
Why: An interesting blog post from an OB/GYN who cares about public health and is going where her population is TikTok.
Other physicians who I know online were jumping onboard, and telling me it was the next big thing. I smiled and nodded but resisted … until I realized that teens who need to hear about birth control and sexual health are spending hours on TikTok – so why wouldn’t I go there?
Obviously I’m a huge fan of social media for educational purposes. I think this is a great example of a physician taking advantage of the low barriers of social media to take individual action to improve lives. That’s what I love about social media platforms - they are (mostly) free, and if you have a passion, you can create a message.
I won’t be on TikTok any time soon because that is not where my desired audience is. But what a cool example of the use of social media for public health education, and even better, an example of a passionate individual deciding on her own to make a difference.
Watch
What: TIDE TO GO - INTERVIEW (TALKING STAIN) (30 seconds)
https://adage.com/videos/tide-to-go-interview/517
Why: It’s old, but it makes me laugh out loud every time I see it, so it’s worth watching for that alone. But really I thought about this video because I was talking about professionalism with my undergraduate students, and how small “tells” give away a lack of awareness about how to be in a professional environment. It doesn’t take a big ugly stain. The least subtle things are not dressing appropriately for an interview - wearing jeans and sneakers instead of dress pants or a skirt and real shoes, for example. But it’s also more subtle tells like a concern about vacation days and benefits instead of the challenge and intrinsic value of the work. I think this is a good conversation starter for talking about professionalism.
Listen
What: Econtalk, Keith Smith on Free Market Health Care (80 minutes)
https://www.econtalk.org/keith-smith-on-free-market-health-care/
Why: I’ve heard a lot about the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, famous for its policy of taking no insurance payments and only cash, but I had never heard an interview with its founder. Dr. Keith Smith. This is a long-ish but very interesting interview. Smith claims the Center set its prices in 1997 and has not only not raised them, but in many cases, now do the procedures for less money. I don’t think Smith clearly states some of the issues about how insurance-based healthcare finance works correctly, but he has the gist of it right. Regardless, what he does is rather remarkable, and I think if we had more facilities like his, we could see a real improvement in cost control in the United States. Personally, I think the idea of single payer is the best way to continue the out of control cost spiral we have seen in the United States because it will shift pricing completely out of the market and into the hands of lobbyists and politicians. Getting third party payment out of healthcare would dramatically improve our system.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
Have a great weekend and do amazing things!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau