Which medical break through do we need most?

I was asked the other day, “Which medical break through do we need most?” And my opinion on whether stem cell research can help alleviate the many ills we suffer from. Well, here is what I have to say about that.

Stem Cell Research:

First, I could write a book on how stem cell research will one day lead to a breakthrough treatment for conditions like spinal chord damage, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS, CP, MD, etc…, but I won’t because it’s already been done and can be found all over the net.

Which medical breakthrough do we need most?

What I would like to do is have a little fun with the idea of “medical breakthrough we need the most.” What if, a research institute somewhere invented a therapy that when applied would make the recipient ethical, moral, responsible and they couldn’t lie. Then in a double-blind, placebo, cross-over study they administered the therapy to the top executives of every pharmaceutical company, the FDA, NIH, government office and insurance company.

This therapy once applied and given a year or so, we should start to see real advancements in the research and treatment of disease. No longer will a drug that only treats a symptom be used like candy. Insurance companies would start to pay for preventative care rather than disease care. Research grants would be given to the NIH for research on foods and supplements for the prevention, correction and treatment  of disease. The positive outcomes from this research would become national standards of care and applauded by the FDA, US government and the insurance industry.

The American population would fall in love with their government, gladly pay their taxes and we would all live happily ever after.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I read a quote today, “All things must change to something new, to something strange” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

It’s quite random but I thought as an exercise in logic, how could I apply it to my profession of recruiting, and this is what I came up with.

The law of conservation of matter says, matter cannot be created or destroyed, although it may be rearranged. Longfellow’s quote is quite similar to that universal law and can also be applied to all things, tangible and intangible, including ‘recruiting’. What was used in our past, let’s say pen & paper and the phone is now e-mail, faxes and social networking sites. If you would have told someone 70-80 years ago that it will one day be possible for them to communicate with or find people from all over the world, in any profession, with just a key-stroke, they would most likely have found that person and idea strange.

Nothing ever stays the same. The second a thing is created (an idea or an object, including ourselves) it begins to decay or at least change from its original form, into something new, for a moment; it may even be a bit strange.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

Here’s how to sabotage an interview with a Fortune 100 company in the first 10 minutes.

Believe it or not, I just had an senior interviewer call me with a critique of a candidate my firm submitted for a lucritive, mid-six-figure salary, position.  The candidate asked, “if I close ten sales in the first week (the expectation is 2-4 per week) can I take the next 3 weeks off?”  The interviewer was polite and finished up the interview and said good-bye.  I am betting that as soon as the door closed the candidates resume went into the trash. The sad part was, the candidate was over-qualified for the position and really wanted the job.  The interviewer said that he had never had anyone sabotage themselves so bad within the fist few minutes of an interview.

My recommendation for all interviews is to always answer the interviewers question with a yes or no answer, unless he/she asks for a more detailed answer.  Never volunteer infromation, just answer the question!  The more you open your mouth the more chances you have to put your foot in it.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

What would you consider to be the 3 most important healthcare concerns that need to be addressed?

1. HIV/AIDS and malnutrition in Africa
2. Public health (sanitation/immunization) and malnutrition South Asia
3. Dependency on, and cost of, pharmaceuticals in the United States

In the United States, we talk about the high cost of health care, or the lack of access to health care, and the high cost of medication…. These are just symptoms, not health care concerns. Why do most individuals need a medication, or a doctor, or surgery? Because they have a symptom. Why do they have the symptom? Because of the lack of preventative medicine/health care.

I feel the most important health care issue in the U.S. is the lack of a comprehensive preventative medicine/health care program. Here is just one illustration of where a preventative program would be more effective than the standard approach.

99% of medications only activate or suppress reactions within the body they do not rebuild or regenerate. One does a little so let’s look at it.

Let’s take the drug Fosamax for instance. It claims to rebuild bones in patients with osteoporosis. Why do most people develop osteoporosis? Most develop it because they are sitting more (non-weight bearing) and since the body remodels according to the stress placed upon it, and they are not placing stress on the hips and spine, osteoporosis develops. What is the more logical approach, advise the person to perform weight bearing exercise thereby increasing the stress on the weight bearing joints thereby promoting new bone formation? (and if you really want the hedge your bets, give the person some inexpensive Vitamin D, calcium and boron). Or, advise the person to continue with their sedentary lifestyle and just take a medication? The choices: exercise with all of its benefits and $5 worth of supplements or Bingo, a hip fracture and $30 worth of medication.

Just think if the government actually implemented a program that got people to eat right and exercise. That’s our universal health care program right there. It’s cheap, it’s easy to follow and there is almost no paperwork. Billions would gained in increased production and billions more would be saved by tax payers who don’t have to buy as many medications every month or spend money on co-pays. That saved money will now go right back into the economy.

I don’t know if it will ever happen but it would be nice if it did.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

What programs are being implemented to combat childhood obesity at your child’s schools?

I am a doctor, practicing holistic medicine for over 18 years and the problem you are mentioning is just getting worse, not better. I have lectured at many schools, in front of hundreds of teacher’s and parents. I feel I am doing well if I can get through, touch, and influence just one or two. I live in southern California where the pace of life is so fast that parents are lucky if they can even have one meal with their children. It’s a sad and true fact.

The schools do have a part in this but the school and government bureaucracy is such that teachers have their hands tied. With these programs, the decisions come down from the top but never get implemented or fully implemented or are totally watered down. We just got vending machines out of the schools here. Why were they ever there in the first place?

Parents are the real answer to this problem. Get the kids outside for one; stop the TV, MySpace, computer games, X-Box, Play Station….. Parents should be parents and not become the effect of their children and give into their uneducated food choices and demands. Parents should also be held accountable for their children exceeding an appropriate BMI by more than, let’s say 50%. Allowing your child to become morbidly obese is a type of child abuse, because they are almost certain to develop premature degenerative diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke.

I recommend limiting simple carbohydrates, following a low glycemic diet, exercise a little or a lot everyday, no sodas, stay away from boxed or canned foods unless they have just water, salt and peas (corn, beans….), lastly get educated. There are tons of great books out there. Read them and share what you’ve learned with your kids. It will be money and time well spent.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

What qualities, characteristics, and/or skill sets are essential to being an exceptional leader?

These are in no particular order.

1. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses.

2. Having the ability to communicate effectively and the ability to accept
communication.

3. The ability to delegate.

4. The ability to manage time efficiently.

5. Possessing the ability to think outside the box – a good imagination.

6. Intelligent – knowledgeable.

7. Must be responsible, moral, ethical, and have integrity.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

Dr. Marcus Ettinger’s LinkedIn Profile

I am amazed and a little ashamed I haven’t joined-up sooner. My recruiters and sourcers use it all the time. One of them brought it to my attention that I didn’t I have a profile and that I should, well here it is.

Let’s get connected. Networking is one of the best tools a recruiter can have and LinkedIn is one of the best ways to meet other professionals in your industry.

The number one killer in an interview

I read an interesting article today about strategic philanthropy, but what really caught my attention was the first nine lines. As a recruiter and placement specialist, I have had the hardest time correcting this one area with my qualified candidates; using proper English when speaking.

When Gilbert Maurer was chief operating officer of the Hearst Corporation, he encountered many bright college graduates. But he noticed something odd about them. “They could write okay, but they couldn’t articulate,” he recalls. “If ever they had to give a presentation, it was ‘like’ this, and ‘you know’ that. I called it
verbal landfill.”

Maurer, now retired but still on Hearst’s board of directors, decided to do something about it. “In my father’s day, you had to take something called ‘rhetoric’ in school, in my day it as ‘oral English’. It’s a teacher’s euphemism for ‘being able to express yourself’,” he says.

A few years ago, he broached his concern to the president of his alma mater, St Lawrence University, a small, private liberal arts college in upstate New York. “I asked him: ‘What do you think would happen if a St Lawrence graduate could have a leg up on other college graduates because he could speak and express his ideas more effectively?’”

St Lawrence immediately began working on the idea…

The most important piece of advise I can give a candidate is to not use the words, ‘like’, ‘you know’, ‘um’, or ‘a-a’.  Mr. Maurer calls it, “verbal landfill”; I call it, “interview or career advancement suicide.”  A client once told me that he didn’t hire one of my candidates, who was far more qualified than the rest, just because he said, ‘you know’ after every thought. That one flaw in the candidates character drove the Ph.D. interviewer crazy. He said, “how is it possible that an Ivy League M.P.H. (Masters in Public Health) couldn’t speak proper English?”

It all starts with parent’s and teacher’s, and if not corrected early, the habit just gets re-enforced by our current, myspace,  hip-hop and MTV influenced society.

Coaching Tip:

One of my coaching tips is to have the candidate record themselves and count how many times they say one of the above no-no words. Then practice daily, re-recording themselves until the bad habit is broken.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

Can money still be made in the Mortgage Banking Sector?

In a way, yes, and it’s in distressed properties – foreclosures.

First and foremost you will need to either qualify for a loan under the new stricter standards or have the cash to buy out-right.

Look for a foreclosure property that is a fixer-upper in a great area! You will have the potential for big profits if you advertise it properly. Here are seven areas to look at that will net you the biggest profits when it’s time to sell.

1. The homes are in a well-established neighborhood. You should look for older homes that are clean and obviously well-kept by their owners.

2. The neighborhood is clean. The age of the neighborhood doesn’t matter as long as it sparkles. You won’t see trash in the streets, unkempt yards or other signs of neglect in these neighborhoods.

3. The neighborhood is aging – in a good way. If a neighborhood is well maintained, it will age well. Look for tall, full trees as one sign of neighborhoods that are aging gracefully. You can also research the houses in the neighborhood to find out which ones have changed owners at least once already.

4. The neighborhood shows signs of continual improvement. Look for signs that people have improved their homes: add-ons like decks or sun rooms, additions, extensive landscaping, or new siding or other improvements to appearance.

5. There are things to do close by. Stores are easy to get to and are nearby, and a variety of important amenities are available. Make sure that shopping complexes and other facilities also look well maintained, safe and welcoming.

6. The property doesn’t need major work. If the improvements to the home are mostly minor and/or cosmetic and would serve as upgrades rather than full-on rehabilitation, go for it. A general rule is that fix-up costs should be within 5-10% of the purchase price.

7. The structure is sound. A solid foundation is essential for any new relationship – especially the one buyers have with their new home. Make sure there are no major structural problems like damaged foundations, masonry, signs of sagging or problematic settlement.

To be a wise foreclosure investor, you’ll have to do some research and leg-work to find which properties are the slam dunks, with tons of potential and which ones are the money pits. Remember to always use good common sense when investing in a foreclosure. With a little effort and elbow grease you will be seeing the green fruits of your labor before you know it.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS

To be fiscally prudent, isn’t it more sensible to exhaust other hiring avenues before pursuing your services?

There are plenty of good reasons not to put off a professional search until your need becomes critical. The majority of these reasons are preceded by a dollar sign.

Studies indicate that, without the use of an executive search firm, you will likely spend the equivalent of one year’s salary for the position you are attempting to hire for, if you conduct your own search.

This is calculated by accounting for losses in efficiency and productivity, as well as advertising and human resource costs.

Seeing us earlier, rather than later, can be the most cost-effective solution.

Marcus Ettinger DC, BS