6 Feb 2008 - Panel discussion - Where do I go when I am sick?

This was a panel discussion from various low-income groups including a farmer, security guard and domestic helper. I was very touched by their struggles with the healthcare system and how often the quality of care that people received depended on how much they could pay. For example, one woman spoke about her husband's experience. She was not able to pay the nurse upfront for her services and instead said that she would pay at the end of her husband's treatment. As a result, the nurse inserted IV needles into her husband's arm more roughly than usual, and the woman's husband ended up with very swollen arms and hands. It makes me very sad that while there are inevitably certain additional obstacles that poor people undoubtedly have to face due to their financial situation, people working in the healthcare system still make these people's lives harder simply through their attitudes towards them. When I think of the healthcare system in the United States and its great emphasis on empathy and compassion, I wonder how these healthcare workers developed their uncaring attitudes. Was it because their emotions were dulled over time or was there simply no focus on the need to develop a correct attitude in their heathcare education?