[I] am currently pursuing a graduate business degree with an emphasis in healthcare management. Having experience working in emergency medical services and a regional public health department, I was exposed to various deficiencies within the healthcare system. In addition, my mother’s failing kidneys and her sitting behind a near endless stream of other eagerly waiting renal failure patients allowed me to observe, firsthand, a problem with the core belief of American healthcare—that is, people are convinced that they need to fight death.
With superb medical technology and the most advanced line of pharmaceuticals, Americans have come to believe that there is always a way to extend their life, whether by maintaining youthful beauty or by blindly trusting in experimental treatments for incurable ailments. Companies are even trying to use 3-D printing technology to manufacture organs and solve the organ shortage in America. The ability to build organs is, without a doubt, an impressive endeavor and can inevitably save many lives. However, too many people remain clinging to the hope that one day a miracle drug or product will materialize to fix them. This hopefulness is not living.
I am pursuing an MBA with a major in healthcare management to reevaluate and restructure the fundamentals of American medicine. There should be more palliative care that alleviates the pain patient’s face on a daily basis. There should be counseling to allow patients to accept death rather than have them dying to live while accumulating debt. Health professionals should extend their patient care times to properly educate rather than do cursory examinations, those ephemeral touch-and-go seconds that make a patient wonder why he or she decided to wait those forty-five minutes in a crowded waiting room after having waited weeks to attend their appointment. There must be a solution, and I intend to stand at the forefront of change.
In business school, I plan on understanding the finances and operations in running a healthcare system. Better management of costs while providing effective services, such as team-based medicine to minimize unnecessary appointments, can change the face of healthcare in this country. In addition, nonprofit hospitals should not be seeking a profit margin. A reassessment of charge masters can help low-income families avoid debt and increase quality of life. In the military, I was always taught that reactive steps meant I was behind the curve. An MBA is a means to comprehend the healthcare shortfalls and acquire the resources to make a difference proactively. I aim to be decisive in creating a healthier system that truly addresses the issues of accessibility and affordability across the country, especially when state waivers in 2017 will alter how the Affordable Care Act deals with America’s healthcare issues. My experiences and my business education will allow me to lead from the front and help create a revolution in how people use healthcare and give them an opportunity to enjoy life regardless of their preexisting medical condition.
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