Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Medicine
Got a question for all of you.
Is there a problem in the states with the safety of health care workers? By that, I mean do many doctors and nurses go to work fearful of being hit, beaten, or injured by patients in the States?
The reason I ask is that it is a major problem here in the UK. There are signs up in doctors offices saying "we don't have to take this" and constant stories of this or that doctor or nurse going into the hospital themselves after being injured by a patient. Now, I never really heard anything about this in the States and it surprised me when I came over here. Sadly, though, if this is not a trend in the States, there is one conclusion that comes to mind.
The difference in the States medicine and the UK is that everyone is able to get medical care and see a doctor regardless of money in the UK where as in the States only those who can afford it can. Now what this says to me is that the only difference in the two equations is the inclusion of the poor, ethnic minorities, etc. that are denied healthcare in the States that are the impetus for the violence carried out on medical workers. This seems very odd and horrible to me, but if anyone else has an idea, I would love to hear it. This was a problem with NAtional Healthcare that I hadn't thought of.
Thoughts?
Is there a problem in the states with the safety of health care workers? By that, I mean do many doctors and nurses go to work fearful of being hit, beaten, or injured by patients in the States?
The reason I ask is that it is a major problem here in the UK. There are signs up in doctors offices saying "we don't have to take this" and constant stories of this or that doctor or nurse going into the hospital themselves after being injured by a patient. Now, I never really heard anything about this in the States and it surprised me when I came over here. Sadly, though, if this is not a trend in the States, there is one conclusion that comes to mind.
The difference in the States medicine and the UK is that everyone is able to get medical care and see a doctor regardless of money in the UK where as in the States only those who can afford it can. Now what this says to me is that the only difference in the two equations is the inclusion of the poor, ethnic minorities, etc. that are denied healthcare in the States that are the impetus for the violence carried out on medical workers. This seems very odd and horrible to me, but if anyone else has an idea, I would love to hear it. This was a problem with NAtional Healthcare that I hadn't thought of.
Thoughts?
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
What the Fawkes wrong with you?!
Ok readers, now that you have calmed from your apoplexy from the horrendous pun/slur...a plur if you will...let me explain my gross baseness.
There are many things that one finds strange living with the English. One interesting facet comes on buses and tubes. When riding on public transportation, no one talks and if, for some reason, you have to talk you do it quietly so as not to disturb the other people who are very into...ummm...sitting there. Also, you may ride the same train as a person for ten years, stand with them at the same stop every morning and sit across from them everyday but that does NOT give you the right to ever speak to them or even look at them (there is an addendum to this rule if they start talking on a phone...then see rule number one.) And on and on the list goes, with some things approaching hilarity and others just downright weird. It is to the latter category that my title alludes.
There is a holiday here which will be celebrated this saturday called Guy Fawkes (pronounced Fox) Day. This is a day that commemorates A) A National war hero B)A Famous Artist or C) A man who tried to blow up the houses of parliament a few hundred years ago? If you are drunk right now and happened to stumble into C then you are correct! Guy Fawkes was apprehending orchestrating a plan to blow up the houses of parliament and was tried and executed for his crimes. Now, mind you, had he been successful the loss of life would have been astronomical and the political repercussions almost unimaginable. So what do the English do? They have a National holiday and set off fireworks to celebrate!!!!
That's right. For hundreds of years now the English have been doing to the sky what Fawkes tried to do to Parliament in homage to a terrorist.
No wonder they lost the colonies...
There are many things that one finds strange living with the English. One interesting facet comes on buses and tubes. When riding on public transportation, no one talks and if, for some reason, you have to talk you do it quietly so as not to disturb the other people who are very into...ummm...sitting there. Also, you may ride the same train as a person for ten years, stand with them at the same stop every morning and sit across from them everyday but that does NOT give you the right to ever speak to them or even look at them (there is an addendum to this rule if they start talking on a phone...then see rule number one.) And on and on the list goes, with some things approaching hilarity and others just downright weird. It is to the latter category that my title alludes.
There is a holiday here which will be celebrated this saturday called Guy Fawkes (pronounced Fox) Day. This is a day that commemorates A) A National war hero B)A Famous Artist or C) A man who tried to blow up the houses of parliament a few hundred years ago? If you are drunk right now and happened to stumble into C then you are correct! Guy Fawkes was apprehending orchestrating a plan to blow up the houses of parliament and was tried and executed for his crimes. Now, mind you, had he been successful the loss of life would have been astronomical and the political repercussions almost unimaginable. So what do the English do? They have a National holiday and set off fireworks to celebrate!!!!
That's right. For hundreds of years now the English have been doing to the sky what Fawkes tried to do to Parliament in homage to a terrorist.
No wonder they lost the colonies...
