As I See It ─ Personal Essays About Healthcare and Healthcare Reform in the U.s.

As I See It is a collection of personal essays about healthcare and healthcare reform. Although the content of these essays is factual, the authors utilize literary techniques to create an interesting narrative that conveys an intentional message. The essays in this collection often have a familiar tone and are characterized by authorial introspection and a personal struggle for honesty. Ideally, personal essays reveal hidden tensions and contradictions that may go against the grain of conventional wisdom in thought-provoking or complex ways.

The authors are primarily experienced healthcare professionals who have stepped back from their daily work to reflect on their personal experiences and how these experiences relate to some of the “big picture” (or policy) issues in healthcare. These essays provide a glimpse of what it is like to be “inside” the healthcare system. They invite a reexamination of taken-for-granted assumptions by documenting the complexity of the interrelationship between healthcare practice, economic markets, ethics, and corporate responsibility. The power of these essays comes from linking personal experience to the ongoing debate over the structure and nature of the US healthcare system.

BRENT BEAL teaches strategic management in the College of Business and Technology at University of Texas at Tyler. He conducts research on corporate social responsibility (CSR), strategic management, value creation, and economic markets. He is particularly interested in the interplay between business and society and in the norms, narratives, and institutions that govern this interaction. Beal has published research articles in theAcademy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Philosophical Economics, Business Horizons, Journal of Managerial Issues, Journal of School Choice, Case Research Journal, Business Case Journal,and Journal of Case Studies.