Rural Rounds

This week is a vacation week for me. A year ago I started my medical residency in internal medicine-pediatrics and since then it continues to be a whirlwind. In my program at Indiana University , we switch between working within the pediatrics department and internal medicine department every 4 months. This year I did 8 months of pediatrics, divided by a 4 month block of internal medicine. Since I am doing a program that actually combines two residencies, my "year" is 16 months long; I will complete 8 months on internal medicine and 8 months on pediatrics before I am officially an upper level resident. This recent article in the L.A. Times blog highlights the current problem facing the U.S. healthcare system: spending. In most circles, the problem is usually blamed upon doctors and specialists, in a private setting, pushing expensive, sometimes unnecessary tests and procedures upon patients where they are not needed. It's portrayed as a pharmaceutical industry that spen