UGAPreMed Grady College of Journalisn and Mass Communication Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Advisor Dr. Leara Rhodes Editor in Chief Selin Odman Editorial Editor Erica Lee Editorial Director Shajira Mohammed Managing Editor Carley Borrelli Online Editor Heather Huynh Design Editor Galit Deshe Graphic Designers Kinsey Clark, Galit Deshe, Lisa Dinh Photo Editor Heather Steckenrider Promotions Editor Eva Chamberlain Public Realtions: Eva Chamberlain, Shelby Eggers Director of Operations Lisa Dinh Director of External Affairs Hammad Khalid Fact Checker Ahmed Mahmood Copy Editors Hammad Khalid, Monisha Narayanan, Trang Nguyen, Hirel Patel, Sona Rao Writers Laurence Black, Annika Carter, Natalie Dixon, Lisa Dinh, Amna Jamshad, Hammad Khalid Quinn Macdougald, Cathrina Nauth, Sona Rao, Chiara Tondi Resta, Juhi Varshney www.premedmag.org facebook.com/premedmag twitter.com/UGAPreMedMag
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Column: SHADOWING
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Column: SPOTLIGHT
DR. MARTINA SUMNER
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Column: Public Health
CAREERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH BY HAMMAD KHALID
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money on our minds
Health Insurance to Hemoglobin: Economic perspectives of public health
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By Sona Rao
n the ever-changing field of academia, the “publish-or-perish” stereotype is waning, and academics are finding new ways to engage in the network of businesses, government agencies and organizations. This is particularly true in the expanding healthcare field, where technological innovations and rapidly evolving medical practices are shaping the way consumers interact with healthcare companies and providers. And where there is growth, there is economics. Economists are starting to play a grand role in the scheme of public health and are driving healthcare efforts forward. One of the most popular fields of health economics is consulting for medical centers and pharmaceutical companies. Hospitals are businesses too, and they are involved in a complex, multifaceted market that entails a certain level of inter-practice competition. Healthcare consultants are the temporary innovators who analyze the market of hospitals — among other health-related businesses — and apply economic theory to boost hospital performance. They look at key ideas, such as product differentiation: how different the services of Hospital X are compared those of Hospital Y, and how willing are patients to invest in one hospital’s services over the other’s. As the cost of healthcare continues to rise, consultants have a greater responsibility in bringing efficient strategies to the table.
The private sector is not the only place that has seen an increase in the presence of health economists. In fact, government agencies, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are a particular hub for health economists. Most health economists specialize their research in a certain disease or type of injury. These economists hold leverage in major public health policies that the CDC enacts, which is why their credentials must match the standard set forth to partake in these decisions. Such professionals are published academics who have experience presenting research at national conferences. For example, Scott Grosse works in the Division of Blood Disorders of the CDC, where he researches hemoglobin disorders and blood clotting. He got the position through a prestigious 2-year Prevention Effectiveness Fellowship. The fellowship spawned his research at the CDC and led to his position today. Although government agencies are more demanding in terms of credentials, health economists who pursue this path become the driving force of CDC efforts and have a direct impact on public health policies in the U.S. Health economics has a large presence in both the public and private sector. It is a burgeoning field in which students, depending on their degree, can have a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of the community. The knowledge of economic theory and practice extends into the crevices of our society’s most pressing health issues. Economics is the art of efficiency, and with a growing field like health care, understanding the balance of the complex market and global health ramifications yields the power to stabilize public and private health operations for the future of public health. Photo illustration by Kinsey Lee Clark
“banded money” courtesy 401kcalculator.org “stethoscope” © 2008, Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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CAREER SPOTLIGHT
EXPLORING CAREERS IN CHEMISTRY PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENTIST IN ONCOLOGY by cathrina nauth
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CAREER SPOTLIGHT
BY NATALIE DIXON
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FEATURE: POLITICS OF HEALTHCARE
HOW IT CHANGED OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
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FEATURE: POLITICS OF HEALTHCARE
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FEATURE: CAREER SPOTLIGHT
THE HONOR
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R OF WIELDING THE SCALPEL by amna jamshad
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FEATURE: CAREER SPOTLIGHT
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Column: THROWBACK
DR. JONAS SALK
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Column: IN THE NEWS
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CAREER SPOTLIGHT
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CAREER SPOTLIGHT
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ALUMNI WRITER
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