A structural inequality that I have become more attuned to is inaccessibility to healthcare. The UHI Clinic provides healthcare to uninsured people. It is a great service for the community and so many patients come everyday. Many patients are immigrants who have recently moved to the country and are still finding their footing. It is often that we have new people come to the clinic when they have insurance or make more than the income requirements. Unfortunately, the clinic has to direct them somewhere else because the grant that allows the clinic to run could be lost if these people are seen. I have seen first hand that having insurance does not equal affordable healthcare. Having an income cutoff also affects families that are slightly above the cutoff. It is unfortunate to have to turn these patients away because it is not for sure that they will be able to receive medical care in an appropriate timely manner. It is also important to note that the most common population seeking services at the UHI Clinic are people of color. I cannot speak as to why mostly minority groups are uninsured, but I have noticed a pattern among patients at the clinic. On the contrary, at the dermatology office, the patient demographic differs greatly. It is known that, for the most part, dermatology is expensive and sometimes not as urgent as other specialties. Almost all of the patients I have seen while shadowing have had insurance or were paying out of pocket for elective/cosmetic procedures.
Because I am on the premedical track, I would like to focus my capstone project on the physicians and their motivation to work at a free clinic or in a private practice. The capstone would likely cover the financial, emotional and work life balance aspects of being a physician. I would also like to compare and contrast their opinions on healthcare in the United States to see if there are differences/similarities across the different sectors of medicine.
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