I found the article that Alex referenced in class. Take a look at it, it's rather startling. What do you all think about the prevalence of private interest in formal education??
I applaud the students at Harvard for standing up for what they believe in. It is not easy to go against your faculty and staff and tell them that you think what they are doing is wrong. The pharmaceutical industry has begun to overstep it's bounds by paying large sums of money and giving extravagant gifts to professors whose job it is to teach the future doctors about medicine without prejudice. I do agree with what Vijay had to say though. Just because the industry is flawed and corrupt does not mean that learning about new medicines and technologies on the horizon is a bad thing. We need a new checks and balances system that will protect the newest members of the medical field from the corrupt behavior of not only the industry but of older members who have lost their way. Their needs to be a law that prevents the industry from influencing the information taught in the classroom, but also allows for education in the area of dealing with pharmaceutical representatives and companies. It is ignorant to believe that a professor or doctor who receives financial benefits from any organization can continue to provide a biased free opinion; the only hope is to limit these gifts and begin to truly track the money that is changing hands. This will call for direct oversight by the schools administration. It seems like the students of Harvard are headed in the right direction.
I think it's great that the medical students are protesting. College students go into classes trusting their professors to teach them unbiased information. It is wrong for professors to use their power and influence they have over the students to promote pharmaceuticals that aren't technically the best products. It's one thing if the medication has been found to be beneficial, but if professors are using their class time to promote products for their personal benefits then they are misusing their power. I would be disappointed if I found out that one of my professors used class time to promote products in order to make money from companies they are promoting.
I'm really impressed with Matt Zerden's initiative to look in to the side effects of the cholesterol medication his professor was discussing in class based off a hunch that he had that he wasn't receiving unbiased information. I agree with what Steph has to say regarding that it's wrong for professors to use their power and influence over students to promote pharmaceutical companies. I definitely think it is a misuse of their power and teaching time, all for what? Just to earn extra money for promoting new medications? With the economy going in to a continuous downward spiral, how many other individuals are going to begin to do this just to earn extra money? If doctors at hospitals and professors at colleges are now promoting pharmaceutical companies, who's next?
This is nuts! I'm so glad that the students are standing up for what they believe. They have every right, especially considering they are paying for a non-biased and fair education. I'm glad that the school is actually investigating this instead of just finding a way to keep the students quiet. If this were just overlooked, then our already over-medicated society would have an even bigger problem on their hands. As far as we know, medical doctors are educated well enough to know risks and benefits of drugs. If these doctors are being taught the wrong thing to begin with, the problem would not only be harder to fix, but it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint.
this is really a scary thought. as students learning you don't always realize what's going on behind the scenes. its lucky this kid was made aware of it, and even better that he did something about it. it makes you wonder how prevalent this type of thing is, and how it belittles the level of education these students are recieving. if in their professional career they prescribe one of those medications to a patient based on the knowledge they learned from class, especially if that knowledge was biased from their drug rep/professor, they could potentially kill a patient. especially when it comes to phamacuticals, one has to be extrememly careful and know exactly what they are doing. hopefully more situations like this can be brought to light, so as to make educational establishments as unbiased as possible. as it should be.
The eductaion they are recieving should be unbiased. once they get out into the medical field they will have to learn to encounter and interpret more biased information from drug companies and other sources. so their foundations should be unbiased so they can acess. its great they are doing this
I think it is great that these students are trying to stand up for what is right. Education should not be influenced by teachers being bribed to talk about certain drugs. I was surprised at the number of people that were influenced by this at Harvard and I'm sure that it affects every medical school. I'm glad that the students are trying to make a difference but unfortunately, because pharmaceutical companies are so powerful in decision making, the students probably won't make much of a difference. Students should be able to trust their professors and the information that they are taught in class, otherwise it is a waste of the students' time and money.
I think that in all places of education it is important to make sure that teachers teach the students everything they are supposed to know. When there are outside interests, such as this one, the teachers are emphasizing certain material, and most likely forgetting to teach other stuff. It is amazing that even at a school like Harvard, pharmaceutical companies could have so much power. I would think that in Medical School, it would be important to emphasize all drugs, not just certain ones, as each patient a doctor deals with could benefit from a different drug or treatment. I am glad that the students at Harvard decided to take a stand. It would be interesting to see how many other medical schools are doing the same thing as them.
I am thrilled that the Harvard students actually stood up to their professors and did the right thing. I was unaware professors could even be on boards, or work for pharmaceutical companies. This seems completely unethical. Hopefully this will set a standard for other medical institutions and it won't happen again. I totally agree with the student who claimed he wasn't getting a fair education, because truly he wasn't. He was getting a biased, one sided opinion about a drug, which was wrong and unethical. It is so important medical schools incorporate all relevant information into their teachings so that the future doctors of society will be the best they can possibly be.
As a student, I would hope that my professor would provide me with unbiased information. It is unfortunate that some students at Harvard are dealing with the pharmaceutical industry ultimately altering their education. If a professor is not providing an education for students that entails an unbiased lecture, where does that leave our future physicians? In the future, I hope that advertising of pharmaceuticals does not influence healthcare providers as much as it seems today. Not only is it unethical, it is a social construction--causing a shift from researching pharmaceutical drugs to simply using what is readily available or pushed by drug rep's.
I cannot believe what I read!! As a student, I feel as though our professors should teach us in a way that is unbiased, and do impose their beliefs and ideologies on us, but apparently that does not happen. If I read the story correctly, the professor was receiving money from drug companies . . . if that is the case, he should not be teaching. Especially for those teaching in the medical field, I believe that if they have been or are a drug rep or receive money from drug companies, that they should not be allowed to teach, exactly for this reason. But in today's society, greed greatly affects people it seems, and this is a good example of what can happen.
It’s awful that even some professors at prestige universities are being corrupted by pharmaceutical companies. This automatically makes the professors teach in a bias manner, rather than keeping an open mind, teaching the pro’s and con’s of prescription drugs. There is too much corruption.
Teachers have the ability to mold there students minds. In a science setting teachers are seen as leaders. They are are the tellers of facts, yet even here are UNE teachers will discredit the usefulness of alternative medicine. They preach the importance of prescriptions. These actions are unacceptable professionals in a school setting.
I applaud the students at Harvard for standing up for what they believe in. It is not easy to go against your faculty and staff and tell them that you think what they are doing is wrong. The pharmaceutical industry has begun to overstep it's bounds by paying large sums of money and giving extravagant gifts to professors whose job it is to teach the future doctors about medicine without prejudice. I do agree with what Vijay had to say though. Just because the industry is flawed and corrupt does not mean that learning about new medicines and technologies on the horizon is a bad thing. We need a new checks and balances system that will protect the newest members of the medical field from the corrupt behavior of not only the industry but of older members who have lost their way. Their needs to be a law that prevents the industry from influencing the information taught in the classroom, but also allows for education in the area of dealing with pharmaceutical representatives and companies. It is ignorant to believe that a professor or doctor who receives financial benefits from any organization can continue to provide a biased free opinion; the only hope is to limit these gifts and begin to truly track the money that is changing hands. This will call for direct oversight by the schools administration. It seems like the students of Harvard are headed in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that the medical students are protesting. College students go into classes trusting their professors to teach them unbiased information. It is wrong for professors to use their power and influence they have over the students to promote pharmaceuticals that aren't technically the best products. It's one thing if the medication has been found to be beneficial, but if professors are using their class time to promote products for their personal benefits then they are misusing their power. I would be disappointed if I found out that one of my professors used class time to promote products in order to make money from companies they are promoting.
ReplyDeleteI'm really impressed with Matt Zerden's initiative to look in to the side effects of the cholesterol medication his professor was discussing in class based off a hunch that he had that he wasn't receiving unbiased information. I agree with what Steph has to say regarding that it's wrong for professors to use their power and influence over students to promote pharmaceutical companies. I definitely think it is a misuse of their power and teaching time, all for what? Just to earn extra money for promoting new medications? With the economy going in to a continuous downward spiral, how many other individuals are going to begin to do this just to earn extra money? If doctors at hospitals and professors at colleges are now promoting pharmaceutical companies, who's next?
ReplyDeleteThis is nuts! I'm so glad that the students are standing up for what they believe. They have every right, especially considering they are paying for a non-biased and fair education. I'm glad that the school is actually investigating this instead of just finding a way to keep the students quiet. If this were just overlooked, then our already over-medicated society would have an even bigger problem on their hands. As far as we know, medical doctors are educated well enough to know risks and benefits of drugs. If these doctors are being taught the wrong thing to begin with, the problem would not only be harder to fix, but it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint.
ReplyDeletethis is really a scary thought. as students learning you don't always realize what's going on behind the scenes. its lucky this kid was made aware of it, and even better that he did something about it. it makes you wonder how prevalent this type of thing is, and how it belittles the level of education these students are recieving. if in their professional career they prescribe one of those medications to a patient based on the knowledge they learned from class, especially if that knowledge was biased from their drug rep/professor, they could potentially kill a patient. especially when it comes to phamacuticals, one has to be extrememly careful and know exactly what they are doing. hopefully more situations like this can be brought to light, so as to make educational establishments as unbiased as possible. as it should be.
ReplyDeleteThe eductaion they are recieving should be unbiased. once they get out into the medical field they will have to learn to encounter and interpret more biased information from drug companies and other sources. so their foundations should be unbiased so they can acess. its great they are doing this
ReplyDeleteThe implications are quite far-reaching. Unfortunately no medical school is immune to it... even here at UNE..
ReplyDeleteAlex
I think it is great that these students are trying to stand up for what is right. Education should not be influenced by teachers being bribed to talk about certain drugs. I was surprised at the number of people that were influenced by this at Harvard and I'm sure that it affects every medical school. I'm glad that the students are trying to make a difference but unfortunately, because pharmaceutical companies are so powerful in decision making, the students probably won't make much of a difference. Students should be able to trust their professors and the information that they are taught in class, otherwise it is a waste of the students' time and money.
ReplyDeleteI think that in all places of education it is important to make sure that teachers teach the students everything they are supposed to know. When there are outside interests, such as this one, the teachers are emphasizing certain material, and most likely forgetting to teach other stuff. It is amazing that even at a school like Harvard, pharmaceutical companies could have so much power. I would think that in Medical School, it would be important to emphasize all drugs, not just certain ones, as each patient a doctor deals with could benefit from a different drug or treatment. I am glad that the students at Harvard decided to take a stand. It would be interesting to see how many other medical schools are doing the same thing as them.
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled that the Harvard students actually stood up to their professors and did the right thing. I was unaware professors could even be on boards, or work for pharmaceutical companies. This seems completely unethical. Hopefully this will set a standard for other medical institutions and it won't happen again. I totally agree with the student who claimed he wasn't getting a fair education, because truly he wasn't. He was getting a biased, one sided opinion about a drug, which was wrong and unethical. It is so important medical schools incorporate all relevant information into their teachings so that the future doctors of society will be the best they can possibly be.
ReplyDeleteAs a student, I would hope that my professor would provide me with unbiased information. It is unfortunate that some students at Harvard are dealing with the pharmaceutical industry ultimately altering their education. If a professor is not providing an education for students that entails an unbiased lecture, where does that leave our future physicians? In the future, I hope that advertising of pharmaceuticals does not influence healthcare providers as much as it seems today. Not only is it unethical, it is a social construction--causing a shift from researching pharmaceutical drugs to simply using what is readily available or pushed by drug rep's.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe what I read!! As a student, I feel as though our professors should teach us in a way that is unbiased, and do impose their beliefs and ideologies on us, but apparently that does not happen. If I read the story correctly, the professor was receiving money from drug companies . . . if that is the case, he should not be teaching. Especially for those teaching in the medical field, I believe that if they have been or are a drug rep or receive money from drug companies, that they should not be allowed to teach, exactly for this reason. But in today's society, greed greatly affects people it seems, and this is a good example of what can happen.
ReplyDeleteIt’s awful that even some professors at prestige universities are being corrupted by pharmaceutical companies. This automatically makes the professors teach in a bias manner, rather than keeping an open mind, teaching the pro’s and con’s of prescription drugs. There is too much corruption.
ReplyDeleteTeachers have the ability to mold there students minds. In a science setting teachers are seen as leaders. They are are the tellers of facts, yet even here are UNE teachers will discredit the usefulness of alternative medicine. They preach the importance of prescriptions. These actions are unacceptable professionals in a school setting.
ReplyDelete