Students receive reality check-up about medicine’s future
Bristow speaks on health care reform, roles for minorities
By Ben Gilmore
UCLA students got a realistic glimpse of the future of medicine
Thursday with a harsh look at health care reform and the increased
role for minorities in medicine.
Dr. Lonnie Bristow, president-elect of the American Medical
Association (AMA), spoke at Griffin Commons to a group which
included UCLA medical and pre-medical students, raising important
issues impacting the future of the health care profession.
Bristow reaffirmed his love of the medical field despite the
difficulties its practitioners will face in the years to come.
"To become a doctor is the best decision I’ve ever made. I
wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world," he said.
However, Bristow cautioned, students on the path to medicine
should not make the mistake of thinking that it will be a smooth
road. Incredible competition and an increased emphasis on basic
care over specialty work will make it more difficult for students
to get the residency and job of their choice, he said.
"The new reality conflicts with the foundation of our
profession. Its impact on residencies and specialty positions will
make it harder to practice our ancient healing art," he said.
Bristow emphasized the need for more doctors specializing in
basic or primary care, and the need for clear action on the health
care issue.
"Washington let us down. Nobody got it done right. There will be
no sweeping health care reform in this administration, only
piecemeal reform, which the AMA will support," he said.
The consequences of health care reform concerned many students
in attendance.
"One reason I came was to learn about the shift from specialty
care to primary care," said Nicole Williams, a third-year
undergraduate student and director of the Black pre-Health
Organization.
Regardless of upcoming changes, many UCLA medical school
students are still optimistic about their futures as doctors.
"We’re very happy with our choice of profession," said Wayne
Franklin, a second-year UCLA medical student and president of the
Student National Medical Association, which sponsored the event.
"There’s no sense of impending doom here, even though we know the
medical field is shifting towards primary care."
The event was especially important to Franklin’s group, which
includes a large African-American representation, since Bristow
will soon be the AMA’s first African-American president.
This achievement was inspirational to many students attending
the event.
"I’m here to express support for the first African-American
president," said Toya Tillis, a first-year student at the UCLA
Medical School. "It’s really inspiring  sometimes you get
burned out with all the workload, and its good to see the
difference one person can make."
Bristow’s election marks a huge milestone for underrepresented
groups advancing in the health sciences, especially since the AMA
was closed to African Americans in the 1960s, Franklin said.
Despite recent strides, minorities still may face discrimination
in the medical profession, Bristow said. He cited massive
streamlining by hospitals in which disproportionate numbers of
minorities were fired.
"The criteria for hiring and firing doctors must be published
and made a matter of public record," he urged.
But regardless of color, all medical students will have to deal
with the effects of health care reform, Bristow added.