About a century ago, the future of medicine came down to a singular decision: Osler Vs. Flexner. If you're unfamiliar with these two, then you need to know that the former was a doctor, a founding professor of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Flexner was an educator with a BA in classics, and—spoiler alert—the decisions were made in his favor.
So I've been practicing medicine for over two decades, and like any good doctor, I was excited to be in the industry of saving lives. As a primary care geriatric physician, I care deeply for my elderly patients, and creating treatment plans is something I always aim to do with their best interests at heart.
However, if you buy The Geriatrics Vengeance Clubby Andy Lazris (yours truly), you get to read what it's like to have your hands tied by the policy.
The policy, of course, has roots in the works and publications of one Abraham Flexner, credited with playing a large role in healthcare reform, even though he wasn't a doctor. William Osler, an actual medical degree holder, who went on to be the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, somehow had his opinion overruled.
If you shop for health care system-related books, you'll find that building the medical system we have today is the product of a century-long domino effect. Flexner's work was amongst the first domino, and if you buy affordable nonfiction books online by real doctors practicing today, you'll join us in wishing it had been Osler's instead.
William Osler
This man started his life on the path to being a priest. But during his education, he was impassioned by science, so much so that he diverted his career to medicine.
He is remembered for a famed speech in Philadelphia where he highlighted the importance of responding calmly under pressure and showing patience and composure.
That's one of the signs of a real doctor. Anyone can learn the procedures and the uses of medicine, but the praxis of treating patients includes much more. As outlined by The Hippocratic Oath, compassion and customization is a big part of what helps patients heal.
One must avoid seeing their patient as completion of symptoms and remember that they're people with preferred lifestyles and needs. As a doctor, you need to blend the idea of saving their lives with preserving everything they love about their lives.
Along with that, it's a proven fact that a positive mindset impacts physical health and recovery. Neglecting a patient's emotional state is akin to neglecting to check if they have a fever. Medical fiction and even the best nonfiction books about the industry have always posed theories about this.
Osler was light years ahead of his time, creating the first medical program for specialty training. He was the first medical educator to bring medical students in for bedside manner training. He clearly saw and appreciated the many facets of healing.
Failure to do this has become common in modern-day medical practices. The entire pandemic response was motivated by everything but a desire to cater to people's human needs.
If you buy COVID-19 books online describing the way decisions were made and research was rushed, you'll find that the so-called practitioners of patient care approached the virus as though it existed in a Petri dish. That's to say they completely forget to account for human nature in their rush to mask and jab the populace, only to turn a blind eye when these methods proved futile.
An Oslerian approach would have accounted for the devastating effects of social distancing and alarmist media portrayals of hopeless outcomes. Then again, all things Oslerian have long been flouted in the interest of the storied Mr. Flexner.
Abraham Flexner
You can't buy a health care reform book that wouldn't in some way refer to the man who created the self-titled and ruthlessly self-indulgent Flexner Report. This report was integral in bringing the biomedical model to the forefront of medical education.
The core philosophy is to prioritize science, policy, and practical methods in all medical treatment. Even mental disorders are presumed brain diseases and are to be treated as such, with pharmaceutical "solutions".
The report was also responsible for the closure of several American medical schools that were either rural or dominated by African American Students. Flexner posited that being treated by graduates from these institutions would only bring danger to "the unfortunate white".
Just reading about the real things written and preached by this man suddenly bring the ludicrous views of characters in Civil War-related books seem all the more believable.
The Impact of Flexner Today
So how is this possible? How could the entire medical community be adhering to rules made by a man who incapacitated thousands seeking a medical education?
If you want a complete history, as told by a humble pair of doctors, my upcoming book, A Fork in the Road in Baltimore, outlines the whole thing. If you'd like to buy affordable nonfiction books online and gain an understanding of the healthcare system we have today, I highly recommend you check this out.
Humans are trusting by default, and therein we believe that if things are a certain way, it must be because that is the best way.
It may sound like a dystopian medical fiction book or something out of historical fiction, but the fact is that the entire healthcare system mandates that doctors be taught to do exactly what the Hippocratic Oath forbids. Treating a series of biological responses and physical irregularities is disrespecting all medical science.
Browsing a nonfiction online bookstore for material on medical studies will show you the exclusively practical approach to care. The "why?" here is simple: it's cheaper to treat a file than a patient. That's the ugly truth of the medical industry. The rules of industry rule with a solid gold fist.
What Does That Mean For Patients
With actual medical research and scientific findings having to fit the bill (no pun intended) as "moneymakers", the industrialization of healthcare means that you may never get the right treatment. You will instead get the most cost-effective treatment.
A simple example is the mere time you spend with your doctor. Ideally, in my opinion, a doctor should take their time getting to know their patients to care for them properly. However, that's not how America's beloved capitalism works. Instead, it demands that we move on to the next, treat more patients, and shut patient files as quickly as possible.
It also means that researchers cannot pursue certain directions if not adequately funded. This means that rare conditions often go untreated because the market would be small if pharmaceuticals were developed to treat these conditions.
It's also the main reason for The Great Stupidity, coincidentally also the title of my 3D fictional book. The stupidity in question is "The Great Battle Against Snot", otherwise known as the response to COVID-19.
According to the CDC, the way to avoid catching the novel virus was to:
buy a mask for every day of the week
buy copious amounts of sanitizer
buy disinfectant
buy food-safe disinfectant
buy a face shield
Buy gloves
Buy vitamin C
Buy home tests
Get vaccinated
Lock yourself into your home
See a pattern? My personal favorite is the almighty commandment to get vaccinated, then to double vax, then get a booster, and so on that governments shelled out millions for. In this globalized spending spree, everyone was so distracted matching their masks to their clothes that nobody noticed how shockingly ineffective all this was.
Not to mention the fact that vaccines were no longer voluntary. As long as you'd like to keep your job, that is. I, a board-certified physician trained to treat the ill, was left with no other option but to follow along, only able to express my opinion in satire. Buy The Geriatrics Vengeance Club online for a laugh as you learn about how completely healthcare missed the point.
I also outline the pitfalls of blindly following legal policy in my Civil War book online. Buy Three Brothers from Virginia online to see why the critics loved it so much. If you're more interested in the current happenings and truth about the many claimants rising from here, there, and everywhere, check out January 6th and the Millenial Horde, a Book of the Year Nominee, and according to reviews, a hilarious read.
If you like my work, I've got best non fiction books to read 2021 and a two-part Historical Fiction book online, The Adventures of Yadel the Dreidel. Click here to browse fiction books online that contain an education, and sometimes, a soundtrack.