So, I’ve been feeling a bad cold/flu coming on for days. I don’t mind teaching with this condition so long as I can take enough Tylenol and Sudafed. However, with the onset of swine flu (I have several students with it) I wanted to make sure today that I did not have that particular virus before getting into a class of 300 students. When I called my doctor and our pediatrician to ask ab0ut getting tested, they were not prepared for the question. But here is the kicker, when I asked one of them if I could have a test done today, the nurse warned me, “but you’ll have to pay for it,” as if no one would ever think of such a thing. I pressed her – I WANT to pay for it. She replied, “OK sir, but that is going to be about … TEN dollars.”
So there you have it – we are so conditioned into not having to pay for any medical care whatsoever that now the prospect of a $10 expenditure is reason for panic in the office, and surprise when I indicate I want to do it. Did I get the test? No. The nurse finally warned me that the tests are extremely unreliable.
So, what happens when I go to class tomorrow and then infect half of UR?
You nailed it, wintercow.
Now if you were a holstein winter cow, your employer would have gladly paid a lot more than $10. Holsteins don’t get a co-pay. They often get fertility examinations under their employer-provided, self-funded, health plans.
One wonders: is what Obama has in mind for the economy similar to a fertility check for a holstein, only daily?
Since it is September, I’m not surprised to see few comments from students. They must have little time to spend on the computer, given their heavy homework load reading from Professor Wintercow’s assignment list. I hope in time they will engage us with their ideas.
So, what happens when I go to class tomorrow and then infect half of UR?
Wear a surgical mask.