Sicko of Sicko?

So we went to famous Blueberry Hill on Saturday night. I was shocked: the food was satisfying, the prices weren’t too high, the drinks weren’t extravagantly priced, and the music was low enough that I could actually converse with friends. Oh, and they have a dart range. Real darts, not crappy plastic ones. I’ll save you the boring “this is what we did” details; I’d rather just wrap it up by saying that we MSTPs have not been an exclusive group at all. I’ve spent time getting to know undergrads, MD students, grad students, and even a townie or two (e.g. Blueberry Hill night was a diverse group). I got the feeling from other places/MSTPs that it can sometimes get pretty segregated. Hopefully we keep this social scene open.

But on now to the main topic of this post: I went to go see Sicko with a med student and a CS grad student before going to Blueberry Hill. Let me start by saying that it is certainly worth seeing for us, the future doctors. Healthcare is a multi-faceted issue that needs attention; there are no two sides, no 3 sides, no 10 sides to it… and there are no easy answers to fixing our system. Sicko presents solutions taken in other countries (namely France, the UK, Canada, and Cuba) as obvious and easy. Moore relies on almost purely anecdotal evidence, and judging by the responses emitted by my fellow moviegoers, I would say that this was adequate to speak to most of the public. But I am a scientist, dammit! Where are the data, Mike? Where are your sources? How can you say with such confidence that A and B go beyond correlation into the realm of causation? Clearly, I had some issues with the film. For instance, he is quick to make connections such as “France has socialized health care, and the French live longer. Therefore, socialized healthcare is better.” Basically the film is loaded with Moore’s arguments that sound plausible but aren’t presented with a factual foundation. Are they still valid arguments? Some of them are, yes. Should a future doctor see the film? I believe they should. Should a scientist see the film? Yes, and try to accompany somebody who isn’t as used to thinking critically. Should you agree with Michael Moore? I can’t tell you that. But please, don’t just take his word for it.

Two weeks until orientation. I swear, entries will be much more MSTP-related. I swear. Maybe.