It is estimated Americans will spend over $2 trillion this year on health insurance, pharmaceutical drugs and medical bills. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation within eight years, America’s health care costs will soar to $4.1 trillion annually. Americans spend more for health care than any other nation in the world, yet, America is not the healthiest nation in the world. American ranks 34th in the world for infant mortality and 42nd for life expectancy.

Newsweek magazine reports that side effects from prescription drugs are now the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. The AMA reported that 750,000 people die annually from prescription drugs - not from the disease for which the drugs were prescribed.

America is the most drugged nation in the world, and it is legal drugs that are the problem. But it is not just the psychotropic drugs and painkillers Americans consume like candy. It is also the Statin drugs, antibiotics, blood pressure drugs, sex enhancing drugs and vaccines that are also exacting a toll on our health. People take them because they think they make them healthy, but, to the contrary people take them because they are unhealthy.

The fact is that the United States is the most heavily vaccinated population in the world and coincidently plagued with the highest occurrence of autism, diabetes and asthma in the world. What is wrong with this picture?

With the largest vaccination schedule in the world, it would seem that the U.S. would have the lowest death rates and the best health. However, the U.S. ranks 34th in infant mortality, falling behind such 3rd world countries as Croatia and Crete.

Gary Null, Medical analyst warns, “A definitive review and close reading of the medical peer-review journals, and government health statistics shows that…the number of people having in-hospital, adverse drug reactions (ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2 million. The number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is 20 million. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million.”

Chronic disease is on the rise in perfect step with the growing medical system. Forty-eight percent of men and thirty-eight percent of women are predicted to have cancer. Eight percent of children suffer from serious food allergies. Twenty percent of children are on schedule II pharmaceutical drugs, and a third of low-income preschool children are overweight or obese. Heart disease, asthma, allergies, diabetes, mental illness, cancer and obesity rates are spiraling upwards among all sectors of the population.

Americans spend about 10 percent of their disposable income on food. Other countries generally spend more than Americans. Japanese spends, on average, 13 percent. France spends 14 percent, China, 28 percent and India spends 39%.

Currently the U.S. spends 16 percent of its gross domestic product on health care. More than any other country. The World Health Organization ranks the U.S. at 37th in health outcomes.

The best time to create and maintain good health is before you have a diagnosable disease or disorder. You can not afford to wait for medical science to fumble upon the pharmaceutical answer with 25 - 30 serious side effects. If you are waiting for the medical miracle drug cure for cancer and still eating a junk diet and living a sedentary lifestyle the prognosis is bleak. If you are relying on the FDA to produce what is safe while you use products daily that have ‘FDA approved’ toxins in them, you may be bailing out your boat without stopping the leak.

If you accept the fact that the EPA only allows 0.1 mcg per kg of mercury in your diet yet you permit 25 mcg of mercury to be injected directly into your arm with one-single flu shot, you will be horrified to find out in the future that there are long-term side effects to placing toxic metals in your body.

The fact is that without government subsidization U.S. food costs would be much higher. Government subsidization typically targets the inorganic and the most toxic end of the food supply. This leaves organic food producers competing for market sales in a slanted playing field. Thus, forcing the majority of the U.S. population to be controlled by Government subsidized poor quality food. See documentary: Food, Inc.

Regardless, it is still your choice what you check out of the grocery store. It is still your choice to maintain health rather than look for a miracle cure or a ‘quick fix.’

Learn more on how to systematically research your doctor in this series of articles.

In Part 1, we looked at the prerequisites for medical school, the MCAT, the application, as well as some statistics.

In Part 2, we glanced at what medical school entails-from various basic sciences courses to clinical rotations. We looked at the Boards, costs, and the actual medical degree.

In this article, Part 3, we will delve a little deeper into what Internships are all about.

PART III - Internship

As we discussed last week, a medical degree is simply a degree granted by the school that the student has completed training. Finishing medical school alone is not enough for the new doctor to actually practice medicine. In order to see patients, a doctor needs to have a license granted by the state.

Medical License

In the United States, the “license” to practice medicine is regulated by each individual state. It is not controlled by the federal government or the medical school itself.

In order to obtain a medical license, almost all states require a year of residency training. The first year of residency training is also known as internship. Another requirement is passing the third and final part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE - or “The Boards”). As we remember from Part 2, the first two parts of the exam are administered during medical school itself.

So how does getting into residency work?

The Match

Residency programs are specific to medical specialties. For example, there is a general surgery residency, pediatric residency, and so forth. During the last year of medical school, the student must decide which specialty of medicine he or she is interested in. Then the student will need to apply to various residency programs, visit the hospital, and interview there.

Unlike other job interviews where you can apply to many places, wait to see who hires you, and then pick from your options, the residency selection program goes through a “Match”.

The Match is run by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The NRMP is a non-profit corporation that uses complex computer algorithms to “match” students to residency programs - or you can think of it the opposite as well - to “match” residency programs to students.

Here’s how it works:

After interviews, the medical student ranks the various residency programs in order of preference. This list is submitted to the NRMP. At the same time, the residency program (the faculty and other staff) ranks the students based on who they want most. This list also gets sent to the NRMP.

The computer system at NRMP then tries to match both the student and the residency program based on their highest possible preference in a way that’s fair to both.

Every student that participates in the match finds out which residency they got into on the same day, “Match Day.” Both student and residency program are committed to accept each other, meaning the student can’t change his or her mind. Likewise, the residency program can’t change it’s mind either.

The Scramble

Students who failed to match (when the student ranked A, B, and C programs, but none of them picked her) or residency programs who failed to fill (not enough students ranked the program), they both undergo a stressful process of the “Scramble”. The Scramble begins two days before the Match day. In the Scramble, students frantically call for positions while programs try to fill their spots. Those who don’t have to scramble only know that they have successfully Matched, but not to which program until Match Day.

Statistics

According to the NRMP, in 2009 there were 29,890 applicants for one of 25,185 residency positions. There were 1,146 positions that were unfilled.

Some programs such as Plastic Surgery are particularly competitive. In 2009, there were only 49 programs, offering a total of only 101 positions in the nation. Over 50% of those who applied for a plastic surgery residency did not match into a program.

Residency

As stated earlier, Internship is simply the first year of residency. After completing Internship and passing the USMLE part 3, the doctor can obtain a medical license. A medical license allows the doctor to see patients, treat illnesses, prescribe medication (narcotics and other restricted drugs will require an additional Federal license from the Drug Enforcement Administration), and even perform any and all types of surgery.

We’ll go over this more in the next article as well as the role of Residency beyond Internship.

Can you think of a food that is not found in as many places as tea? Astute readers will observe that many of the benefits of drinking tea are diminished

by adding refined sugar which can virtually neutralize some it’s major benefits. The various types that most of us would be familiar with are the green and black varieties. Of recent times white tea has been a recent addition to this group. The benefits contained in tea can vary according to which type is consumed. There are also certain types of teas that are best to avoid for the majority of people. One of these is Ma Huang or Ephedra Sinica. It has a powerful stimulant property. People who have heart or circulatory problems should not use this substance. That would also apply to people who may be taking anti-depressant drugs. This is one instance where qualified medical advice is crucial. Ma Huang is actually a restricted substance in countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the U.K.

- blood cleansing qualities

- can boost immune system

- some have anti-carcinogen qualities

- antioxidant source

My intake is generally a choice of black, green or white tea and no more than three cups daily. I never take it sweetened or with milk. I sometimes use the essence

from the last cup to top up another one. The antioxidants seem to be weakest in black tea, and strongest in the most delicately-flavored variety, white tea.

Commonly available, and a pleasantly refreshing beverage I can inform those who already consume tea with sweeteners or milk, that your reliance on these

additives should diminish over time, and then you can enjoy this drink for what it is, complete with it’s inherent health benefits