The future of medicine can’t be
seen in a crystal ball, says Jeffrey Stanley, D.O. (’82).
Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that today’s medical students
can’t meaningfully plan their futures.
Today at noon in Irvine 194,
the former Ohio Osteopathic Association (OOA) president will
talk about the future of medicine. Stanley is the second
lecturer in the “Taking Pride in Your Profession… Celebrating
Osteopathic Medicine” speaker series, which is sponsored by
Student Government and the Office of Alumni Affairs.
Stanley, a CORE clinical
professor, is the chief of vascular surgery, chief of staff and
director of the vascular residency program at South Pointe
Hospital. Stanley also is a fellow of the American College of
Osteopathic Surgeons.
He says he is looking forward
to answering questions about what is going on in medicine and
what are the challenges of practicing medicine. Stanley
served as the 2004-2005 OOA president.
“I love to hear what students
have to say,” says Stanley. “I hope they really open up. I love
the students here. They’re great people, and they’re very
excited about what they’re doing. I want to know what concerns
them, what might be bothering them.
“You hear so much about
malpractice and the decreases in payment, for instance. I’m sure
students wonder what these things are going to look like when
they begin to practice.”
He, too, had questions about
his future when he was in medical school.
“Twenty years ago I was
wondering where I would be in twenty years,” says Stanley. “What
would I be doing? Where would I be living? I remember very well
all the questions in my mind at the time.”
“Unfortunately, no one knows
exactly what medical practice will look like even 10 years from
now.”
The whole model of medicine
could be different.
“I think right now medicine is
in a kind of transition zone. I can’t know what medical
malpractice laws and insurance will be in the future. The
difficulties we’re experiencing now could be completely solved.
What students should do is to stay educated as to the nature of
these issues — and I think the students today are more involved
than ever.”
But certain demographic trends
in the population are reliable predictors of what will be
shaping the health-care needs of the future.
“I know that people are getting
older — there are millions of baby boomers out there that are
getting older.
“It’s these older people that
will develop vascular diseases and coronary artery disease. So,
yes, there will be a need for vascular surgeons, cardiologists
and internal medicine doctors. And the needs of the aging
population will spill over into almost every aspect of medicine.
Aging Americans will require quality health care across
different specialties, and this country will have to provide
it.”
“Can I tell today’s medical
students that they will have jobs when they’re ready for them?
Absolutely, they will have jobs.”
Knowing that there’s a position
waiting for you after medical school, he says, shouldn’t really
be what motivates you. He says the specialty you decide upon
should be the one that gets you up in the morning.
“I’ve been doing
this for 18 years now, and I always wake up before my alarm
clock goes off. You find that part of medicine that wakes you up
before your alarm clock does — the one that makes you excited to
get to work. That’s the one you should focus on. Do what you
enjoy.
“Everyone has a chosen field. I
believe I was born to do this. There’s no question about that in
my mind.
“That’s what students need to
find. Some have those answers now, some don’t. Students also
need to be open to the possibilities — to be able to see the
different cues that tell them what to do and where to go.
“Some will be very focused on
becoming vascular surgeons. If they truly want to be vascular
surgeons, they will need to be at the hospitals that have
vascular surgery programs, to get to know vascular surgeons and
to do vascular surgery rotations.
The opportunities are out
there, he says. It’s the responsibility of medical students to
be educated as to where the best opportunities are. Students
need to choose their internships and residencies very wisely.
“And that’s how they, in some
way, can direct their futures.”
Lunch will be
served at Stanley’s lecture.
- 30 -
News for
the week of Sept 26 –
Oct 1
