A second med school
Doug Thompson of Stephens Media delves into the questions posed a while back by Rep. Steve Harrelson. Is the satellite operation of the UA Med School in Northwest Arkansas a step toward a second med school and, if so, is that a good idea?
It's a good continuation of the discussion. It omits something vitally important, however. That is the enormous expense -- much of it needlessly duplicative -- of a full-blown second med school. Residency programs and training for allied professions are separate issues.
Expectations of honesty in this discussion shouldn't be high, given the dramatic underestimate of the cost of the new NWA programs and the cost overruns, near100 percent by some calculations, on the new hospital at UAMS in Little Rock.
Comments
If they can just speed up the education and training of nurses and technicians it would be worth millions to health care facilities. My partner tries to hire nurses just about every day. She gets lucky about once per month, then another one leaves for personal reasons or a better job offer in Rogers.
Posted by: eLwood![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 29, 2007 12:39 PM
I dunno, maybe a second med school would be a good idea.
If we doubled the number of new docs each year, maybe we could reduce the amount of time and the cost of renting a chair in their waiting rooms.
I figured on my last routine visit, I paid him $75 to rent a chair in the waiting room for an hour so I could pay him another $50 for five minutes of his time to get a piece of paper allowing me to buy what I already knew I needed.
Supply and demand - Maybe increasing the supply of docs would shorten the wait and reduce their cost.
If not, it might at least provide additional employment for Lexus dealers, real estate agents and malpractice lawyers.
Posted by: Don Keyhotay![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 30, 2007 02:10 AM
Open the floodgate of doctors and nurses desiring to migrate to the US from India, Costa Rica, Thailand, and Eastern Europe, then kill the government programs that don't bargain medical costs, allow for re-importation of medicines and the US will have affordable healthcare!
No second med school needed!
Posted by: OPRA![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
|
December 30, 2007 10:19 AM