There is no shortage of dissonant tales about the U.S. Health Care System. We can perform the most innovative, high-tech surgery - such as a face transplant - but can't seem to improve access to basic care for disadvantaged populations across our nation. If you discuss these conflicts with ten physicians, you might get twenty different opinions on how to "fix" our system. Even more opinions emerge as you talk to policy makers, social scientists, and patients. However, those opinions are formed through biased, selective experiences, and a holistic understanding health care in America is elusive. But at the most fundamental level healthcare occurs in the relationship between the patient and the healthcare provider. That relationship has complexities that affect and are affected by the system of care. In this course we will attempt to understand what delivering health care in America means through the lens of cognitive science, communication, and culture - particularly as pertains to the patient/physician relationship. Through those lenses we will explore how stakeholders think, communicate, and relate around some of the major issues in American Health Care. At the end of the course students will have a new framework for evaluating our health system.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; BU BA; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM
