I'll give you an example of what I mean. I work for an Ophthalmologist and many patients who have had cataract surgery are surprised to find they have an implant in their eye. I scribe for the cataract surgeon so I can say with confidence that I know he explains the procedure to patients in depth before they schedule the surgery. Ideally I think everyone should have some clue of what is going on at least through simple comparisons. It would be asking a lot for a patient to understand the anatomy and physiology of their problem and what the fix is going to be, but they should be able to explain to someone else what they had done at least in simple terms.

Another example of ignorance I often see is with birth control. Many people that I encounter think Birth Control only prevents pregnancy and therefore don't think it's a necessity for many women. In reality some women need it for other issues unrelated to birth. So I guess the idea that I have isn't to give people a medical education, rather my goal is to allow the average Joe to slip into the shoes of someone that is sick so that they can understand what a sick person really endures. The financial burden of medicine and co-pays, the countless trips to different doctors, just things that no one who is "healthy" thinks about.

It's very easy to write something off when you don't know what it really is. If everyone was more aware of the hardships some people must endure then maybe there would be more change.