Healthcare & Alma Mater Pride

This post concerns two institutions that
I have come to experience new sides of:

1.) The Healthcare System

Summary:
Since I wasn't covered by my insurance
I could have been in deep doo-doo, but
thanks to the efforts of the great people
I met during my first encounter with US
public healthcare, I was able to get through
this adventure without having to sell my
spleen to afford it.


This is the story:
I went to take care of some further health
checkups today. (School requirements)
What I feared would be a struggle with a healthsystem that
has no mercy for the poor, the disadvantaged or...students,
turned out to be one of the most positive experiences I've had
so far.

Right from the first visit I was greeted with a
warmth and a personal touch that I haven't felt
in Sweden nor in Canada (I'll leave Canada out
of this, given that I have only had one experience
of healthcare service in Canada).

Immediately as I walked in the door to the
Community Health Center and looked towards
the desk, I was acknowledged and met with a
"Hello, what can we do for you today?"
The staff was joking and laughing with eachother
and the patients. What I'm used to is a quietness
in the waiting room that is close to depressing,
and when you're finally called, it's by a nurse that
seems to be afraid or simply too jaded, to participate
in human interaction.

I was led through the paperwork-procedures and
was asked several times if I needed assistance.

I was quickly sent to a nurse that checked my vitals
and prepared me to see a doctor.

(Now here's the glitch:
As a walk-in patient I now had to wait a total of
7 hours to actually get to see the doctor (!)
Perhaps if I had booked an appointment
it would have been a completely different
deal, but...)


After that, the doctor and I went over what was mandatory
in terms of the health-check and what was not.
(I already had most of the vaccinations for example)

The stuff that I had to do, they either did in-house
for free (included in the $43 main fee), or, as in the
case of the x-raying, referred me to another clinic that
would do it for free or for a very low cost.
One nurse was actually on her way home and her kids
were waiting for her, but took the time out of her spare
time to find me the cheapest clinic. (Plus, she had the
most lovely Jamaican patois)

I also went back to show them the results of a skin
test http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantoux_test
so that they could strike TBC off the list, and all I had
to do was to walk in, tell them what I was there for,
and I was led straight to the nurse. It all took five minutes,
and on top of that, the receptionist greeted me with
"Ah! Mr. Tobias, you're back! What can we do for you!".
I had been there once! Once! And they remembered
my name without even looking at my file. That, sometimes
is worth as much as the care received.

Also, as I went for my X-ray today, the
procedure went something like this:

1.) I walk in, I ask for the radiology department. I go there.
2.) I wait 5 five minutes.
3.) I get X-rayed.
4.) I go home.

It all took about 20 minutes.

Some thoughts about this (Just throwing them out there)

1.) Is there a service-mindedness in North America
that has spilled over from the commerical sector
into the public sector, and people are now perceiving
it as a given?

or...

2.) Are North Americans (as opposed to Scandinavians, I guess)
in general more open to one-another?

or...

3.) In an area with a lot of poverty, violence and
health problems, is there a greater tendency to stick
together and be good to eachother because that you
won't get anywhere by being an a**hole? (This reminds
me of another theory that, in these modern times, as we
have all moved in with eachother in urban areas, humans
are increasingly depending on eachother to survive as
opposed to back in the stone-age or medieval age where
being a bully for your own dominance would acutally benefit you)

Is Brooklyn such a place?




2.) The Post-secondary Educational System

Summary:
Making students (and teachers) feel proud of their school
is a great way to enhance school spirit, retain students and market the school. It should be a priority to highlight the achievements of the institution, its staff and its faculty.


My story of coming to Emily Carr is that I stumbled in almost by mistake. As I was looking into universities and colleges in 2002,
my brother's girlfriend at the time had recently graduated
from a school in Vancouver that I had never heard of.
She seemed like she knew what she was doing, so
I assumed that the school couldn't be all that bad.
Later, after having applied once and failed, I got the
chance to visit Vancouver on vacation and see
Granville Island and everything around ECI.
That kind of settled it.

I once heard a fellow Foundation student of mine say
"Wow, I can't believe I got accepted to Emily Carr".
At the time, it was all very new and exciting and we
both shared that buzz. Later on as the work piled
high and the all-nighters commenced, the feeling had
matted off slightly and was replaced with the inevitable arose:
"Why the #$%^&* am I busting my balls over these assignments?"

Now, this was in Foundation and I can't recall how many times
the theory has come up that Foundation possibly serves the
role of a secret "weeding out"-process to separate the serious
students from the slackers. What is crucial to realize though,
is that regardless of what year they are in, students may feel
not only stressed out, tired and straight-out miserable as we
all do from time to time, and these moments may also be the
points at which the students decide whether this is really what
they want to do with their lives. Especially if they are
already wobbling in their convictions of their choice of career.

Sometimes, people need a reminder that they are in an
educational institution (the best in Canada if one is to
believe Ron Burnett) that they chose and worked hard
to get accepted into.
They should feel privelieged and proud of the fact that
they can pursue their interests full-time, and it should
feel like a blessing, not a burden.

The institution would benefit from amplifying and supporting
that feeling if not only for creating happier students, but also to
strengthen the profile in the art and design community.
(I've heard that ECI is competing with UVIC in terms of funding for instance)

Emily Carr has a lot of talent inside its walls but is there enough
energy invested from the school itself to encourage and promote
that talent?

I will list a couple of good examples (there are more to bring up,
but I have already ranted for too long in this post) that I have
experienced at Emily Carr and at Cooper Union:

1.) Make Students Feel Special.
In my Interactive Design of the fall semester of 2007,
at the end of the class, our final projects were presented
to Telus and invited guests in the IDS building. (We also got
the opportunity to show our process mid-way in a personal
presentation to Bill Moggridge, a key figure within the Industrial Design field)
This was a catered dress-up event, presented to the biggest
tele-communications company in Canada. The feeling that I
retained after this class was that the school cared for what
I was creating and is proud of what I do. The benefit for ECI was
to show the industry that it is not simply "an art school"
(which seems to be a common misconception
of those who are not familiar the school) but an accomplished
design school whose students are bright and professional.


2.) Location, Location, Location.
Cooper has got Manhattan. They know it.
ECI has got Vancouver! And believe or not,
that means a lot! Granville Island is a great,
friendly and safe place.
Vancouver has the mountains, the sea and
a great range of culture and cuisine.
This is definitely a selling point for any type of student.


3.) Push Your Celebrities.
Cooper Union has Milton Glaser, Herb Lubalin,
Ellen Lupton... They also have merchandise to show it.
(See attached picture)
ECI has Douglas Copeland, Brian Jungen, Terrence Koh...
Why not offer these alumni an attractive way
to collaborate with ECI for mutual exposure?


(Side note on merchandise: Laniards, shoulderbags and
calendars in all honour, but if you really want to push the
brand recognition, let students improvise on the theme that is Emily Carr.
Give them the signal that their work is worth representing
ECI and pick the best. ECI is school for creatives.
Let that show! Think Absolute Vodka. The possibilities are endless.)


If you got it, flaunt it.