Working for Uncle Sam (cont.)
Cutting-edge research
Maryland Pao, MD
Office of the Clinical Director,
Intramural Program
Bethesda, Maryland
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As a staff clinician and
the deputy clinical director of the National Institute of
Mental Health’s Intramural Research Program, Pao works in the office of the clinical director,
which oversees the clinical aspects of research on patients in
NIMH trials at the National Institutes of Health’s
300-bed research hospital in Bethesda.
Pao’s main focus
is pediatric psychosomatic medicine. She studies how children
with chronic illnesses cope and adapt. “Think about the
technological and medical advances we’ve made in the
treatment of chronic illnesses,” she says. “What is
the experience of the child who has to live through all this
medical care? I do a lot of training for physicians and nurses
to be sensitive to that and to modify the hospital environment
for the emotional well-being of children through research [on
children] who have chronic illnesses.”
Prior to coming to
NIMH, Pao was a research academician. The main drawback she
sees to working for the government as opposed to in the private
sector is again, money. “It’s not as
lucrative,” she says. “And there are some federal
bureaucracy issues, but there’s always bureaucracy,
wherever you are.”
For Pao, the rewards
of the work outweigh these negatives. “I really, really
like my job,” she says. “I look forward to coming
to work. The research is cutting edge and very exciting.
It’s pushed me to think harder about treatments and the
mechanisms of illness.”
Affecting the future of health care
Trent Haywood, MD, JD
Office of Clinical Standards and Quality
Baltimore, Maryland
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“This is a time
when a lot of decisions about the future of health care are
being made,” he says. “I know a lot of clinicians
out there are interested in how we can shape that
future.”
An internist by training,
Haywood spent two and a half years in a regional CMS office
before moving to the national level. He was involved in the
development of the CMS’s Hospital Compare Web site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) which allows
consumers to look at a number of different quality rankings for
hospitals. “This has allowed us to really take advantage
of that data we have to improve the quality of service for
patients and to share that information with consumers to help
them make informed decisions,” Haywood says.
Haywood finds the
scope and impact of the work done by the CMS particularly
satisfying. “This work is exciting and things are
constantly changing on a day-to-day basis,” he says.
“What we do here has a real significant impact for the
public at large.”
A debt to veterans
Andrew H. Kang, MD
VA Medical Center
Memphis, Tennessee
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Since 1972, Kang has
been on staff at the VA Medical Center in Memphis. He is the
Goodman Professor of Medicine and the director of the research
center for connective tissue diseases at the UT College of
Medicine. He sees patients at the VA Medical Center, conducts
research, and teaches medical students. In 2003, Kang received
the William Middleton Award, the Department of Veteran
Affairs’ highest honor for scientific achievement in
biomedical research.
Kang has been drawn to
research since medical school. The aging population of veterans
affords an ideal opportunity to study rheumatic diseases, and
researchers have access to funds from several sources. The VA
has its own system of research funding, plus researchers there
can tap into other funding sources such as NIH grants.
As a VA physician,
Kang feels he’s less restricted in his ability to treat
patients than he would be in private practice. “VA
hospitals and medical centers have less artificial limitations
to care than those posed by insurance companies in the private
sector,” he says. “In the VA it’s been much
easier to do what is needed for the patient. Also, there are
other paramedical services available, such as social workers,
specialists in prosthetics and orthotics, and other specialists
that may not be as readily available in other
systems.”
The number one
drawback to the job is money. “I suppose if you ask my
wife, she might say the income is not as good as it might have
been,” Kang says. “At the risk of sounding corny,
income is not my focus.”
Indeed, Kang has very
personal reasons for wanting to work for the VA. “A part
of the reason that I entered the VA medical service is my sense
of gratitude to the veterans of the United States,” he
says. “I was born and raised in Korea, and during the
Korean War I suffered greatly. Without the intervention of the
United States Army, I doubt I would be alive today. I have
harbored a deep sense of gratitude to US veterans since
then.”
