“Today…I made life better!”

This link will orient the reader for my rant that follows.

Thugwithyoyo’s hierarchy of workers/professionals that “[make] life better” (in order of contribution to our society’s collective quality of life).

1) Farmers
2) Ranchers/Dairymen
3) Miners
4) Food processors
5) Food distributors
.
.
9) Tool fabricators/Parts manufacturers
10) Textile producers/workers
11) Freight transporters (maritime, railroad, trucking)
12) Crude oil refinement/organic chemical production technicians
13) Power generation/Energy technicians
14) Sanitation workers
15) Hazardous materials cleanup technicians
16) Air-traffic controllers
.
19) Construction workers/Craft workers
20) Law enforcement officers
21) Military personnel
22) Data entry/retrieval technicians
23) Transcriptionists
24) Nurses
.
.
.
28) Scientific Researchers
29) Engineers
.
.
34) Journalists
35) Jurists
.
.
45) Legislators
46) Lawyers
47) Doctors
.
.
.
63) Architects/Designers
64) Artists/Musicians
.
.
.
.
101) Advertising executives
102) Prostitutes/Pimps
103) Television producers
104) Criminals
105) Corporate executives

Two things to note:
1) Notice how the earnings of the less contributing professions are typically greater than the earnings of the most needed occupations up top.

2) Notice that many of the much needed occupations, at the top of the list, on which American society most depends to thrive, are presently ‘outsourced’ to foreign countries.

The title of this post is a slogan that I’ve seen affixed to the sides of buses over the past month, most likely, with the aim to promote public opinion of the Legacy Healthcare System in Portland. I’ve seen several different versions of this ad with the same slogan; they typically picture a doctor, decked out in full scrub garb, (complete with stethoscope), standing in front of backlit X-ray or MRI or Ultrasound films or whatever the fuck else is supposed to be technically alien to a layperson. I speculate that the ad execs who decided to employ this strategy, did so to illustrate the grandeur and mystique of modern medicine; probably, with the intention of conjuring synonymous thoughts of medicine and godliness. If you haven’t already guessed, these ads annoy the piss out of me!

OK. I understand that Legacy’s slogan makes use of “life” both collectively and in the more metaphysical, consciousness/well-being of the individual, sense. Traditional western doctors excel at alleviating suffering from, and sometimes even curing, ailments after individuals have been stricken with them. For this, doctors should be respected.

Our (by ‘our’ I mean people of the developed, westernized world) improved quality of life, our reduced pestilence in comparison to that of civilizations of centuries past, and our much longer than what is biologically intended lifespans, we owe to the efforts of the workers in the industries at the top of my hierarchy. Improved quality of life and the necessities that certain occupations provide (i.e. goods, sanitation, shelter, security) have greatly improved our lives and health by preventing the occurrence of disease, malnourishment, and injury – problems that would have otherwise been much more prevalent in an American society deprived of such necessities. Improved health of the collective, by definition, implies that the health of the individuals that comprise it, has improved as well. It may be argued that even down at the level of individual persons, my topmost selected industries play bigger roles in health and quality of life, indirectly as they may be, than doctors do.

Please also bear in mind that in American society, doctors efforts primarily affect the affluent and those poor enough to qualify for government assistance. Neither economic demographic comprises the bulk of our country’s population distribution. Individuals that are neither affluent nor destitute, who require medical treatment, may seek it only at great expense to themselves (whether medical “benefits” are involved or not, it is the worker who is, either directly or indirectly, paying the bill). It is for the above reasons that doctors don’t make it very high on my list. Remember that the next time your attention is drawn to a glossy billboard deifying doctors.

Here’s a list of feel good medical ad campaigns:

Legacy Health System. (Portland, OR) was awarded a Gold [Aster] award, for:
“Total Ad Campaign “Today I Made Life Better””

Legacy Health System. (Portland, OR) was awarded a Silver [Aster] award, for:
“Total Ad Campaign “Because Kids Need Us””

Southern Illinois Healthcare / St. Joseph Memorial Hospital
(Carbondale, IL) was awarded a Silver [Aster] award, for:
“Today’s Medicine Timeless Care”

Saint Luke’s Health System (Kansas City, MO) was awarded a Gold [Aster] award, for:
“The Difference Makes The Difference”

Oregon Health & Science University (Portland, OR):
“Where Healing, Teaching and Discovery come together”

All Saints Mental Health & Addiction Services, (Racine, WI)
“The knowledge to help … the heart to heal.”

University of California, Davis Medical Center. (Sacramento, CA)
“The courage to help… the passion to heal” … real original guys!

and, finally, my personal all time favorite also by UCDMC:
“…In the hands of doctors!”