Understanding Medical Practices

If you ever received a consent form mere hours or minutes before a hospital procedure, you can imagine how confused the mother was when she received a form asking her to agree to let one of her unborn twins participate in Dr. He Jiankui's gene-editing experiment. Relying on information learned from Dr. Michael Deem, his U.S. Ph.D. mentor, Dr. He used the CRISPR-Cas9 technique to disable the gene that enables HIV to enter a cell by attaching itself to a protein.

     Medical professionals cannot be expected to write informed consent forms lay people can understand. Communication experts in the countries where forms are used need to choose the best ways to translate modern medical research and procedures and to pilot test forms before they are used.

     Since drugs produced in one country are used and sold at different prices throughout the world, they have the potential to be weaponized by overpricing them for, or withholding them from, enemy countries.

     Other practices also require attention. Some countries and companies offer financial rewards for stealing intellectual property.
The FBI is investigating Yu Zhou for making millions by forming a company based on a discovery he made while using U.S. government grants and performing research owned by Ohio's National Children;s Hospital while he worked in a lab there for ten years.

     In a major example of "ethics dumping," the practice of performing a medical procedure in another country that is banned at home, China's health ministry prevented Italian neurosurgeon, Dr. Sergio Canavero, from attaching the head of a paralyzed patient to the body of a deceased donor in China.

     When a doctor suggests a child take a prescribed drug or undergo a procedure, does the child's parent or guardian truly understand the side effects and alternatives? Modern medicine is not only costly; it is complicated. Busy adults often lack time to obtain a second opinion, ask a pharmacist if there is a lower cost generic, analyze internet opinions, or subscribe to and read a newsletter from a medical research center. At the very least, a relationship with a child's doctor and specialists needs to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and follow-up questions to make answers clear. As soon as children are old enough, involve
them in the questioning. They want to know if a needle or the dentist will hurt and how long they will be in the hospital or have to wear a cast or braces.

      Teachers, scouting groups, boys and girls clubs, etc. might look for opportunities to assign reports on subjects, such as gene editing, bioethics, using drones to deliver drugs in Africa, hair growth products, vaccines, and vaping. Also, see if the Red Cross, nursing organizations, emergency medical services, local hospitals, or other medical associations have outreach programs that provide speakers and tours.

     Students always ask how what they are supposed to learn is relevant. Everywhere in the world learning about health is relevant.

How Globalization Can Be Fun

When I taught selling, before each class I used to assign a student to come up with news of the day or another topic (never the weather) he or she would use to engage a customer with some small talk before making their sales pitch, if they were on a sales call that day. I was reminded of this device, when I read about a Latin teacher who begins classes by asking if anyone has a silly question to ask the class in Latin.

     With a globalization twist, I thought parents and teachers could ask young people, "Who can stump the family/class with a question about world affairs?" They could ask questions, such as, "What percentage of the Russian electorate voted in the March, 2018 presidential election?"
"Where does the Nile River split into the Blue Nile and the White Nile?"
"What is the native language of Kim Jong Un?"

     MindWare, which claims to sell "brainy toys for kids of all ages," has another fun way to stimulate interest in the world. The company sells a line of dot-to-dot activity books with an "extreme" number of dots to connect to reveal: 1) world folklore, 2) world architecture, 3) the world's cats, and 4) the world's dogs. Each dot-to-dot puzzle is on heavy paper that can be colored with markets after the picture is completed. For more information, call 1-800-274-6123.

     The earlier blog post, "Talk with the Animals," also suggests ways animals prompt a student's  interest in the world.