ISO Jobs That Work
Your recent cover story "The Best Job for You" [March 19] offers valuable advice to recent graduates and career switchers trying to navigate the ever shifting landscape of the 21st-century job market. But frankly, while management consultants might get paid a pretty penny, at the end of their very long days, their corporate work can't hold a candle to the socially important and world-changing careers of police officer, nonprofit manager, and teacher. Whatever drawbacks listed about teaching in "Time to Think Twice" cannot outweigh the joy that comes from teaching a child to read or helping a student to discover an intellectual passion. If it weren't for teachers, where would future optometrists, school psychologists, and medical scientists mentioned in the accompanying article "Where Do You Belong?" come from? Our education system, and teachers, are the hearts and brains of our society. We need more and better teachers in America, not fewer.
MELISSA L. GIBSON
Teach for America alumna
Madison, Wis.
I felt compelled to respond to information presented in the "librarian" career description. The only librarians who have a "placid" experience are those in an archive. School librarians are teachers, and there is nothing placid about that experience. Many special librarians work in the corporate environment under the same pressures as their ultraefficient coworkers. Public librarians deal with all types of people: the mentally ill, unsupervised, school-age children, and a public that thinks librarians work for them. So who were you talking about when you said that librarians' work environment is placid?
DONNA S. SWARR
Hartford, Conn.
I believe "Time to Think Twice" misinformed the public about psychology. Research shows that psychotherapy is an effective treatment for numerous mental health problems. In some cases, the best treatment is a combination of drug and psychotherapy treatment. The well-documented shortage of psychiatrists, particularly in many rural areas, makes access to psychologists' care more important and is the reason some states have approved or are considering prescription privileges for specially trained psychologists. It is also important to be aware of the difference between a "life coach" and a credentialed mental health professional. A psychologist, by definition, in most states has a doctoral degree and, if acting as a health service provider, has earned a state-regulated license to practice. By contrast, anyone can simply proclaim him or herself a life coach without having completed a specific credentialing process.
SHARON STEPHENS BREHM, PH.D.
President
American Psychological Association
Bloomington, Ind.
With 25 years' experience in human resources, I advise high school grads to pursue a college degree in the field they are most enthused about. It is very difficult to predict the professions that will be on the hot careers list when you will be graduating from college. The graduates who are the most successful and, even more important, the most satisfied with their jobs are the ones who feel passionate about the work they are performing.
ROBERT E. MILLER
Fairfax Station, Va.
The Doctor Is Out
I found Jerome Groopman's comments very interesting because, as a nurse practitioner and dean of a school of nursing, I know that the education of registered nurses and nurse practitioners starts with the basics of learning how to listen to patients ["The 18-Second Doctor," March 26-April 2]. Sometimes it isn't about the food, the people they don't like, or the symptoms that are usually exhibited with their diagnosis. Sometimes it's about depression, pain, anxiety, or a new diagnosis that might suggest we were inaccurate or subject to tunnel vision. Rushing to read about the symptoms in a textbook or ordering tests or medications before listening to the patient's story results in a diagnosis that requires one to work backward to find the supportive data.
PEGGE BELL, PH.D
Barry University
Miami Shores, Fla.
Dr. Groopman is right on. My wife visited eight specialists after seeing her primary-care doctor. She spent about an hour waiting for each one. None stayed in the room more than 10 minutes. We're learning that if you mention multiple problems, then you lose the physician's attention totally.
HERMAN ANKENBRUCK
Moneta, Va.
Physicians are responding to flat or declining reimbursements by squeezing more patients into their schedules. Patients are frustrated by longer waits for shorter appointments, which frequently leave no time for education, counseling, or reassurance. A small but growing number of doctors have responded by severing relationships with third-party payers and are working directly for our patients. Since I am paid by my patient, I have a strong incentive to provide care that exceeds expectations.
ALBERT FUCHS, M.D.
Beverly Hills, Calif.
Media Play
Michael Barone's "A Tale of Two Crimes" [March 19] was well done and-unlike other reporting-factual. The absurd amount of coverage that was given Scooter Libby's perjury trial for what was essentially a noncrime versus the likely obstruction of the 9/11 commission's work-clearly in the national interest-by Sandy Berger demonstrates the bias rampant in the mainstream media. Libby was all over the front page of newspapers and on the nightly news countless times over many months. Contrastingly, Berger's case and verdict were poorly covered.
PAUL RICHARDS
Princeton, Mass.
In his column, Barone speculates that Bill Clinton asked Sandy Berger to destroy documents. Then he says Scooter Libby's perjury conviction arose from attempts to refute Joseph Wilson and calls Wilson a liar. Wilson was only another whistle-blower to catch the administration in more lies. Libby's conviction had everything to do with the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. It could be easy to speculate it was on the orders of the vice president. Barone also says that compared with Libby, Berger got light treatment. Libby has not been sentenced. He could get nothing. And if he does, President Bush can pardon him.
CHARLES E. LIKEN
Lansing, Mich.
In the Red
Edward Lazear, Chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, implies that our huge trade deficit with China is a good thing ["A Vision of Steady Growth," March 19]. He said "people want to invest in the United States. In order to invest in the United States, they have to give us something"-namely, their goods. In other words, the driving force behind our huge trade deficit is other countries' desire to invest in the United States. No wonder our economy is eventually headed for trouble, if this is the thinking of our chief economic adviser. The 2006 trade deficit was about $800 billion and is growing each year. The country is like a family selling off furniture to sustain a lifestyle it can't afford. Whatever happened to common sense? Our economists seem to have lost it.
GLENN HANKINS
Arlington Heights, Ill.
This story appears in the April 16, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.