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On the 28th August, Club Hopeland had the pleasure of welcoming Mrs Jenny Henry, an American health care professional and English teacher, all the way from Nashville, Tennessee (currently living in Blida) to give a talk in English entitled: ‘Healthcare: Algeria v the USA’.Just before her talk some of my medical English students (pictured below), joined English speaking expats for a meal with an eclectic range of International cuisine!
Jenny started with an introduction of herself, a nurse for 30 years in the USA but now living in Blida, teaching English. She gave us a feel for her home town of Nashville, the music capital of the world which started with country music but is now home to every possible genre of music. A local newspaper is dedicated to providing the music lover with a timetable of where and when to go depending on their ‘musical mood’!
Jenny started with an introduction of herself, a nurse for 30 years in the USA but now living in Blida, teaching English. She gave us a feel for her home town of Nashville, the music capital of the world which started with country music but is now home to every possible genre of music. A local newspaper is dedicated to providing the music lover with a timetable of where and when to go depending on their ‘musical mood’!
Nashville is situated in the ‘Bible belt’ of Southern America where a church can be found on every corner although these days, houses of worship for all denominations can be found. The weather can be similar to Algeria occasionally seeing 4 seasons in one day and despite Jenny remembering it as a small town; it has now grown into the 25th largest populated city in America. Nursing
Jenny loved nursing, describing it as a good field, but over the years, the changes have made it harder to enjoy the job.
She started by speaking about the risk of litigation health care professionals find themselves faced with on a daily basis and the paperwork required to manage that risk. She reminded us of a well known saying in nursing both in the USA and the UK:
‘If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen’
So if the patient goes to the toilet, you have to write it down, if you speak to the relatives, you have to write it down, if you educate a patient about something.... you guessed it!
This fear is also compounded by each health professional being accountable for his or her own actions and therefore the doctor saying, ‘The nurse did it!’ is not unheard of!
This fear of making a simple mistake and finding you have no support and at risk of losing everything has prompted nurses in the USA to take out medical malpractice insurance and while this is not yet the case in the UK, is likely to be the case in the not so distant future.
Jenny would love to be a nurse in Algeria but is limited by the language barriers.
Healthcare
In the USA less than 60% of the population are medically insured and a majority of those who are, have been given it by the companies they work for, however, fewer companies are doing it these days due to the expense.
Many Americans have no health insurance which means that they may receive very basic emergency care but no further treatment will be given until they can produce their insurance card.
The reason for this is the cost............... approximately 500 $ per month.....just in case you are ill!
You might consider this worth the money when you consider that a single ride in an ambulance and a 3 hour stay in the emergency department can cost a staggering 6000 $ and a simple operation followed by a 24 hour stay can set you back 80,000 $.
The Head teacher of the school told the group that even as an American citizen on holiday in her own country, she is not entitled to health care unless she has travel insurance.
A further shock was that the doctor may think that you require an operation but the insurance company can override this decision!!!!!
If this wasn’t enough, those with money are buying health insurance for their pets!
Medication
Medication in the USA is very expensive and most insurance policies don’t cover it. As a nurse, Jenny recalled increasing scenarios where families have to decide between important medicines and food and heartbreaking stories of parents unable to afford medicines for their children.
Whilst there is minimal care for the elderly (Medicare) and some social security, it is not enough to live on and therefore in no way covers the costs of medication.
These high costs have made health care a major USA electoral issue.
Jenny then recounted the story of her daughter in the USA who doesn’t have health insurance on account of her being a college student but who has a recurrent respiratory tract problem. In the USA, she has to see a doctor to prescribe the medication she needs at a cost of 100 $ and then it costs 25 $ for the treatment, treatment which can be bought over the counter in Algeria without seeing a doctor and costing a fraction of the cost.
She admits that some medication is unavailable in Algeria but is amazed at those which are available without prescription. She has an Algerian pharmacist friend who she engages in ‘drug’ talk but is starting to worry that they are beginning to think she takes them all!!!!
Choice
In Algeria, when you want to see a doctor, you go directly to a specialist of your choosing. In the USA, you will see a general practitioner, not of your choosing, who may or may not decide to embark on the bureaucracy to get a specialist opinion.
If you have a basic universal insurance then it is likely that the doctor you see will be newly or not very well qualified (HMO).
Jenny finished by saying that the best thing about Algeria was the Algerians and although the main health concerns seem to be too much sugar and smoking, in general, the Algerian lifestyle was healthier than the ‘everything deep fat fried’ diet of the Southern Americans. She praised the doctors in Blida following personal experience of their care and reminded us all to reflect on whether the health care system in Algeria really was that bad after all!!!!
The event was attended by approximately 25 Hopeland ‘General’ and ‘Medical’ English.JPG)
students and teachers and was followed by a drinks and sweets reception in the garden as an opportunity for our students to speak freely with the native speakers present. A wonderful time was had by all and our thanks go to Jenny for her enlightening talk.
We look forward to receiving the next guest speaker at Club Hopeland after Ramadan.
Jenny loved nursing, describing it as a good field, but over the years, the changes have made it harder to enjoy the job.
She started by speaking about the risk of litigation health care professionals find themselves faced with on a daily basis and the paperwork required to manage that risk. She reminded us of a well known saying in nursing both in the USA and the UK:
‘If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen’
So if the patient goes to the toilet, you have to write it down, if you speak to the relatives, you have to write it down, if you educate a patient about something.... you guessed it!
This fear is also compounded by each health professional being accountable for his or her own actions and therefore the doctor saying, ‘The nurse did it!’ is not unheard of!
This fear of making a simple mistake and finding you have no support and at risk of losing everything has prompted nurses in the USA to take out medical malpractice insurance and while this is not yet the case in the UK, is likely to be the case in the not so distant future.
Jenny would love to be a nurse in Algeria but is limited by the language barriers.
Healthcare
In the USA less than 60% of the population are medically insured and a majority of those who are, have been given it by the companies they work for, however, fewer companies are doing it these days due to the expense.
Many Americans have no health insurance which means that they may receive very basic emergency care but no further treatment will be given until they can produce their insurance card.
The reason for this is the cost............... approximately 500 $ per month.....just in case you are ill!
You might consider this worth the money when you consider that a single ride in an ambulance and a 3 hour stay in the emergency department can cost a staggering 6000 $ and a simple operation followed by a 24 hour stay can set you back 80,000 $.
The Head teacher of the school told the group that even as an American citizen on holiday in her own country, she is not entitled to health care unless she has travel insurance.
A further shock was that the doctor may think that you require an operation but the insurance company can override this decision!!!!!
If this wasn’t enough, those with money are buying health insurance for their pets!
Medication
Medication in the USA is very expensive and most insurance policies don’t cover it. As a nurse, Jenny recalled increasing scenarios where families have to decide between important medicines and food and heartbreaking stories of parents unable to afford medicines for their children.
Whilst there is minimal care for the elderly (Medicare) and some social security, it is not enough to live on and therefore in no way covers the costs of medication.
These high costs have made health care a major USA electoral issue.
Jenny then recounted the story of her daughter in the USA who doesn’t have health insurance on account of her being a college student but who has a recurrent respiratory tract problem. In the USA, she has to see a doctor to prescribe the medication she needs at a cost of 100 $ and then it costs 25 $ for the treatment, treatment which can be bought over the counter in Algeria without seeing a doctor and costing a fraction of the cost.
She admits that some medication is unavailable in Algeria but is amazed at those which are available without prescription. She has an Algerian pharmacist friend who she engages in ‘drug’ talk but is starting to worry that they are beginning to think she takes them all!!!!
Choice
In Algeria, when you want to see a doctor, you go directly to a specialist of your choosing. In the USA, you will see a general practitioner, not of your choosing, who may or may not decide to embark on the bureaucracy to get a specialist opinion.
If you have a basic universal insurance then it is likely that the doctor you see will be newly or not very well qualified (HMO).
Jenny finished by saying that the best thing about Algeria was the Algerians and although the main health concerns seem to be too much sugar and smoking, in general, the Algerian lifestyle was healthier than the ‘everything deep fat fried’ diet of the Southern Americans. She praised the doctors in Blida following personal experience of their care and reminded us all to reflect on whether the health care system in Algeria really was that bad after all!!!!
The event was attended by approximately 25 Hopeland ‘General’ and ‘Medical’ English
.JPG)
students and teachers and was followed by a drinks and sweets reception in the garden as an opportunity for our students to speak freely with the native speakers present. A wonderful time was had by all and our thanks go to Jenny for her enlightening talk.We look forward to receiving the next guest speaker at Club Hopeland after Ramadan.
