THE PATH TO THE PATH TO DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE

I CAN'T VS I WILL

'T VS I WILL BY EMILY JOHNSON, MD

In medical school, students learn about the care that patients should receive. Each student graduates understanding the optimal medication regimen for countless disease processes, the appropriateness criteria for different types of imaging tests, and the reasoning involved in ordering just the right lab studies.

Conveniently, the barriers to provide such optimal care are skimmed over if addressed at all. There is rarely mention of the fact that if you fail to include just the

right diagnosis code or if you fail to include precise yet often meaningless wording in documentation, your patient can end up with a large bill or no treatment at all.

A few lucky students at stand out medical schools will learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the requirement to provide accessible care. Even fewer will understand how rare accessible care is in reality. I am not aware of any medical school that teaches you creative problem solving or desensitization strategies to help patients with disabilities, sensory needs, or even just those with fears of needles, imaging studies, or specialists. Nobody teaches you how to help patients navigate a medical system that is clearly not designed for them. As a result, the practicing world of physicians gets divided into those who can't and those who will. Those who can't accept the system as it is