1) In the end we turn to religion to comfort us with the idea that the person we love is going to die. When Beth believed that her husband was near his time, she went to a Buddhist monk and he told her all the signs to expect before he died. (Beth’s presentation)
2) Death is a topic that is avoided because people don’t really want to think about death. People do believe that when death comes it will come but until it comes you should live your life. (Personal Insights/ Relationship)
3) There is unequal access to healthcare because there are certain requirements for healthcare and if you don’t fit within those requirements you are rejected. Rejecting people for the smallest illnesses makes it much easier to maximize profits for health insurance. (Sicko)
4) The issue of consent can be a problem when it comes to death because doctors must be the ones who have to decide what is right for the patient. If a patient is being given drugs for their pain, they will not be clear minded and able to make a decision for the patient, doctors must do the right thing. Some people believe that doctors don’t do all they can to help the patient but they must because they took an oath. In the documentary near death, the doctors always have a conversation about the best thing to do with the patient and think of a backup plan in case the first plan doesn’t work out. (Near Death)
So far we have used different texts to understand illness & dying from different perspectives, we have watched films that have focused on different aspects of death such as the healthcare system, and finally we have spoken to people that have illnesses and we have seen how they have been treated within the healthcare system. In the movie sicko, Michael Moore explored health care insurance and the atrocities that exist within this system. In the movie Michael Moore wanted to show the viewers that even with health insurance we still can’t afford proper healthcare. Workers for healthcare insurance looked for any pre-existing conditions and used that as ammunition to refuse people healthcare. There were several instances where patients were refused treatment and they died because they were denied health care insurance. Then Michael Moore took us to France, Britain, and Canada, where the health care insurance in those places are very different from the U.S. For example in Britain there is a new system where you get paid based in the health of your patients, and the saying a banana a day keeps the doctor away is true in that case. This movie helped mw to understand some of the absurdities about the health care system but at time I felt it was biased and I’m sure there are some alternatives within the health care system that are not bad.
For the past couple of weeks we have been hearing from patients, doctors, but I would also like to hear from politicians about their perspectives on healthcare and what should be done to maintain control of the health care system. A question I have is what would be an ideal system of healthcare? Another question I have is what does it mean to live your life? If you know that death is drawing near why do so many people choose to do all the things they have wanted to do rather than doing all those things now while they are still living. In a movie the character once said, “Are you living or are you existing?” What does this mean? Since the unit is coming to an end I believe it would be best to think about what we need to do to live our lives according to our will and purpose. I think life is all about finding meaning and this is essential to living. We could explore these topics by looking at people who have had more positive outlooks on death.
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