NM-Sen: Udall Walks a Day in an Albuquerque Doctor's Shoes

Walk a Day in My Shoes: Tom Udall/Elizabeth Burpee

To read more about Rep. Udall's day with Dr. Elizabeth Burpee, as well as view more photos and video from their day together that's been posted at the SEIU Walk a Day in My Shoes website, click here.

The DSCC News Center has coverage on an AP story about Rep. Tom Udall, Dem candidate for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, spending a day in the life of an Albuquerque doctor on April 4th. Rep. Udall's experience was part of a program called "Walk a Day in My Shoes," sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU):

Udall joined Dr. Elizabeth Burpee, a resident internist at UNM Hospital and union member, on her rounds at the Family Clinic and to several hospital departments Friday afternoon to learn more about the plight of low-income patients and the difficulties of treating them.

During the afternoon at the hospital and clinic, Udall got an earful about emergency room overcrowding, overworked residents, low-income patients being discharged who are unable to afford their medications or hospital equipment and other problems.

Udall is the fifth Senate candidate in the country to participate in the program this election season. His Republican opponents in the Senate race—Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce—also were invited to participate in the program, but have not responded, said Marcus Mrowka, an SEIU spokesman.

Udall also talked with other health care providers:

Among the hospital workers Udall talked with was Dr. Cynthia Arndell, who discussed the barriers to providing low-income patients with quality health care, like the dehumanization of health care, a lack of a holistic approach to patient care, too many physicians writing too many prescriptions and the inappropriate use of services, like patients using the emergency room for non-emergency procedures.

... Arndell said Congress could provide financial incentives, such as lower cost loans, to medical students who go into primary care, find ways to retain physicians who are in primary care and look at how medical students and residents are trained.

Dr. Tom Shiffler, an internal medicine resident at the clinic, said he felt like he had post-traumatic stress syndrome from working with low-income patients, but being unable to adequately help them.

"I felt like I had a decent amount of medical knowledge, but absolutely no tools or no idea how to deal with a patient like this," he said.

Rep. Udall's response?

Asked about his day spent with Burpee, Udall said he got a better sense of what it's like for residents who formerly had to work unlimited hours a week, but now are limited to 80 hours a week.

"I think we're really pushing the envelope at 80 hours, especially following her around and getting a sense of what she's doing in her 80 hours. It's very intensive," he said. "It's exhausting work."

Click to learn more about SEIU's Walk a Day in My Shoes program and see who else has participated so far as a candidate.

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive.