This last month was good to get back into the medical role once again. The medical world and the role of a physician assistant (PA-C), are always changing in some ways, and in other ways it will always remain the same. Working with people that have medical ailments is a passion for me and I like to help when and however I can.
The part I find most disturbing is that the corporate machine is "business as usual" and people, the patient, is still just another piece of meat that there is no compassion for. I can understand how the medical system is in trouble as there seems to be a delicate balance to keep it all together. I don't believe that government bailouts are an answer to any problem.
Programs that support children are always good. Programs that enable people who could otherwise work long term are bad. The abuses on all ends are atrocious. Its difficult to think that by acting locally, that things can change, but we all have to do our part.
I talked with Dr. Tryon a bit and found out that he has a custom group of people that he follows. He's checked out of the main stream and abandoned Medicare for his practice. He's essentially a "hired gun patient advocate." Truly, if you are in a hospital and don't have an advocate, you will have a harder time. There is value in having an on-call care provider 24/7, and someone who knows you well.
My advice is to stay healthy, exercise regularly (never stop), don't eat bad food, and be nice to your fellow human.
Moreover, I'm wondering about how medicine and SAR are converging. People are now being charged for SAR costs, much like they are for medical bills. Does the State have an obligation to pay for these costs, does the State have an obligation to charge for SAR services? Are there other alternatives ? Volunteerism does not seem to be enough. There are fewer and fewer volunteers in these times of economic difficulty. Those who are new to SAR do not have any skills since the programs for kids are fewer. Kids are interested in instant gratification since that's that we are training them to do. Interesting chain of events.
National Mountain Rescue Conference, Juneau, AK 2010
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With over 90 government authorized units in the US, Canada and other countries, the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) has grown to become the critical mountain search and rescue resource in the United States.
The National Spring Conference 2010 is being held in Juneau, Alaska and I've been asked to present as the keynote speaker, presenting on a recent National Geographic expedition to Mexico that Strike Rescue was contracted to do. Although I have done many presentations over the years, I have not been a keynote speaker before. This should be exciting.
Cueva de los Cristales (a.k.a., Fortress of Solitude)
The topic I'm speaking on is Heat Illness. I've learned more about the effects of heat through the doctoral Exercise Science program that I am in at the University of New Mexico. This information will be coupled with the trials of running an expedition 300 meters underground and at temperatures of 48 C and humidity of 90-95%. There's no escape and there's no help if something goes wrong, so there's no room for error.
I came up with some tricks to manage this environments and the physiological issues surrounding them as well as some non-traditional ways of getting in and out to help mitigate the risk. Hope to see you at the conference !
National Geographic will unveil our expedition later this year and it promises to be exciting !
