Week 3: Medicine

Summary: Professor Chuck Sullivan, Biology, guest lectures on medicine.

Goals:

• Return to our discussion of revenge effects by considering modern medicine and health care.
• Link to the Rosenfield Global Pharmaceuticals Symposium, taking place on campus Feb. 3-5.
• Generate ideas for research papers.

• On to Week 4, Revenge effects

Monday, February 2: Medicine (1)

Guest lecturer: Chuck Sullivan, Biology

Read Tenner Ch. 2 & 3 (p. 33 - 90).

Professor Sullivan asks you to consider the following discussion questions as you read:

1. What is some of the evidence that people are “doing better but feeling worse?”
2. What are some examples of the revenge effects in medicine mentioned in Chapter 2?
3. What medical and non-medical factors have contributed to decreased human deaths over the past 150 years?
4. What is the view of a patient from traditional medicine, “modern” medicine from the second half (roughly) of the 20th century, and now?
5. Tenner described the concept of localization. What are some of the different examples of localization?
6. What are some of the major successes from military medicine that have been translated to more routine medical care?
7. How have different types of technology improved medical care and health care delivery?
8. Has technology saved health care dollars? Has technology caused more spending?
9. What are some characteristics of acute illnesses and what are some examples of acute illnesses?
10. Does modern medical technology require more or less human interaction? Please explain.
11. In what ways has medical “success” led to the emergence of chronic illnesses? What are some examples of chronic illnesses including those emphasized by Tenner in Chapter 3?
12. Why does Tenner feel that technological medicine is ill-equipped to deal with chronic disease?
13. How does modern technology produce a false sense of security that can lead to more medical problems?
14. What are some of the challenges in developing and using antibiotics or antiviral drugs?

Monday, February 2, 5:30 p.m.: Potential research topics due

Submit your potential research topics, in class or at my office, by 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 4: Medicine (2)

Guest lecturer: Chuck Sullivan, Biology

Read chapters 4 and 6 of Hope or Hype by Deyo and Patrick, distributed in class.

Rosenfield Symposium on Global Pharmaceuticals

If you are able, please attend one of the following talks. I hope we can include them in our discussion on Friday. You may email me a response to one of them for 5 points of extra credit.

Professor Sullivan recommends the talk on Wednesday as more closely related to the material he plans to address.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 8:00 pm 
Geoffrey Allan, CEO of Insmed: "The Role of Biologic Drugs in the continuing Rise of Healthcare Costs - The Need for Change"

Thursday, February 5, 2009 11:00 am 
Kathleen R. Stratton, Scholar, Institute of Medicine: "Public Health Controversies and Vaccine Safety"

Friday, January 30: Discussion of Medicine (Team 2)

Janet Davis (davisjan@cs.grinnell.edu)