Hw 26 - Looking Back & Forward In Unit

Insights:
- Health care systems are based solely on making a profit as opposed to the greater medical good of the people they are insuring.
- The U.S spends more money per person, per year on health insurance, yet in other countries such as England, less money is spent per person, per year and their citizens live longer, and have better success with their health care. (Sicko by Michael Moore)
- Although illness and dying are inevitable aspects of each of our lives, in our society, it is still a business of power, wealth and establishment. (i.e. doctors vs patients, health care companies vs citizens)
- Doctors treat patients as best they can, while also adhering to what the patients want as well as what they need. However, they have a preference and try to persuade the patients to share the same preference as them.

Out of the multiple sources we've gone through for this unit, the most helpful to me have been what I've seen so far from the film "Near Death". Although we have explored a lot on the people who encounter the problems with losing someone, or their own sickness, we haven't gone through the other side of the illness and dying "system", the doctors who treat sick patients. In "Near Death" I've gotten deeper insight into the doctors, and learned about how they go about treating illness and dying, they want to satisfy the patients needs along with their wants, however a lot of persuading and strategy is used as well.

I feel that we should explore deeper in to other institutions of illness and dying, and specifically, nursing homes. With "Sicko" we've explored the subject on a political level, and somewhat personal level; in "Near Death" we are exploring the subject from a doctors/patients aspect, and a major area we have left to explore is from the perspective of the elderly. I feel it is important to identify differences in the people who are old and sick, and, old and dying, from the people who are plagued at a relatively young age such as Morrie, from "Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom. To explore deep in to how nursery homes operate, we can search for a good book or film that identifies with nursery homes as well as "Near Death" did for hospitals. We can analyze the film/book and discuss it to gain an additional aspect on the subject of illness and dying.