41 Monday, July 12, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com WJbe Midpigan ~Eaitij MARK BURNSI I'm just asking for an hour Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu ANDREW LAPIN EDITOR IN CHIEF RYAN KARTJE MANAGING EDITOR ALEX SCHIFF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely thesviews of their authors. Purging the influence Medical schools nationwide should follow 'U' example E very day, medical professionals are relied upon by people at their most vulnerable, and often, their most desperate. But their duty to society is so vital that blind faith and deference to their moral scru- ples is simply irresponsible. Every conceivable measure to prevent ethical lapses among doctors should be taken in order to prevent the possibility of anything but the patient's health influencing their decision-making. To that end, the University Medical School's decision to discontinue corporate sponsorship of postgraduate classes is a commendable step that should be emulated by institutions across the country. The steel grated doors are lifted, and the fifty sad faces already sit- ting in the plastic chairs look up at me for answers. But I don't have any; I never do. I don't know where their next meal or paycheck is going to come from. I don't even know if they're going to make it through the week. I just wish that, once, I'd see that door lifted and not have to see the same faces I see every Thursday. Then I'd know something better had happened in their lives. But every week, I'm going to see many familiar faces at the Delonis Center - a soup kitchen on the west side of Ann Arbor. As students at the University, we have the moral obli- gation to help those in need, whom- ever they may be, because we have the time to do so and because of the self-fulfillment received in lending a helping hand to someone who needs it. Opportunity. At the University, every one of us has the ability to fur- ther our education. We can utilize the various resources the University has to offer. We can increase the possibil- ity of our success in the future. Not only do we have the distinguished opportunity to obtain a college degree, but we're able to receive that education and "college experience" from the highly acclaimed University of Michigan. Most people do not have the opportunity to attend college for a variety of reasons: inadequate financial resources, poor standard- ized test scores, lack of family sup- port, poor guidance, etc. But we do. Since we are given the not-so-com- mon opp"rtunity tdo something great with our lives, it' sour responsi- bility to help those who might not be able to help themselves. I know some of you might say, "It's not my prob- lem." But when that mentality rears its ugly head, no progress can be made. Thatithought process should be non-existent when another person needs help. Time. Before my mom and dad got married, they met with the priest who was performing the ceremony. He told them, "There are 168 hours in a week, and God is only asking you to commit one of those hours to Mass." Well, I'm not God, but I'm asking you to commit just one hour a week too: through a community service organization on campus, the Ronald McDonald House near the Medi- cal Center, raising money for breast cancer research - something tangi- ble that takes effort on your part. If you already perform an hour of ser- vice every week, maybe you can give another hour. Perhaps you think you don't have time. But if you counted up the num- ber of hours a week you spend Face- booking, watching random television shows, playing Nintendo 64 or Xbox and screwing around with your house- mates - you're bound to find at least one you could devote tota person or an organization instead. 168 hours a week - someone is only askingfor one. Self-fulfillment. That's what one hour a week will give you. After serv- ing eighty or so people every Thurs- day, I might not get a thank you from all of them. But receiving a thank you should not be your motivation for helping others - there has to be a deeper purpose for giving your time. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said it best: "You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you." Opportunity. Time. Self-fulfillment. It's our duty to go out of our way to 0 do something that will better the community, whatever that may be. It doesn't even have to be something big - just something meaningful. Our opportunity lies before us to lend a helping hand. The time commitment isn't too great. The self-fulfillment received will make your week. 168 hours - you just need to give one. Mark Burns is the Daily's summer Managing Sports Editor. Nationally, as much as half of the funding for continuing medi- cal education classes comes from private corporations like pharma- ceutical and medical device man- ufacturers. These classes, which are offered to teach practicing clinicians about new methods and treatments, are mandatory for doctors in many states, On the recommendation of the Medi- cal School's Conflict of Interest Group, officials decided to end any corporate sponsorship of CME classes starting next Janu- ary. The Medical School says that it expects to make up for the lost revenue with thriftier spending and higher registration fees for participating doctors. The importance of impartial- ity in medicine couldn't be more black and white. Where patients' lives are at stake, medical profes- sionals should only be focused on improving their condition, not repaying an implicit debt to phar- maceutical and device companies who sponsored their classes. And it's equally important for CME instructors who teach doctors to be isolated from the corporations that indirectly pay them. But the expectation that medi- cal instructors can essentially be paid by private industry without any resulting bias in the way they present the corporations' prod- ucts is absurd. Whether or not doctors are willingto recognize it, commercial sponsorship presents clear potential for the develop- ment of biases among clinicians. And while critics often cite stud- ies in which doctors report no bias in the way CME classes are taught, it's necessary to remem- ber that such a bias might be sub- tler than doctors immediately recognize. More importantly, the doctors surveyed had an interest in reporting no bias, as they would have to pay more for required CME classes were cor- porate sponsorship banned. And while doctors are gener- ally well-paid, precautions should be taken so that the costs for doc- tors to attend CME classes don't become excessive without com- mercial sponsorship. To counter this new problem, government agencies could create CME fund- ing pools. Pharmaceutical cor- porations who want to sponsor doctors' education about new products - of which they will certainly benefit - would give the money to an independent entity rather than directly funding classes. Such a policy would put distribution of CME funds in the hands of governments and insti- tutions, eliminating conflicts of interest while preserving private enterprise as a source of funding. But the University Medical School is among the first to bar corporate sponsorship of CME classes. In order to protect the trust vested in the medical com- munity, other institutions should follow suit by purging their class- rooms of corporate influence. When I struck it, it just had to go in." --Spanish soccer player Andres Iniesta, on his World Cup-winning goal, as reported by ESPN yesterday. LIKE WHAT YOU SEE HERE? Want to see more? Check out more from Daily columnists, additional view- points from students and more cartoons posted online throughout the week. Go to michigandaily.com and click on 'Opinion.' * LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. Send letters to tothedaily aumich.edu or visit michigandaily.com and click on 'Letter to the editor.