On the rise of political advocacy in medicine and public health, where it leads us astray, what it costs the public, and the case for a return to political neutrality.
This a hundred times over! So many of our students and trainees are so focused on social justice at the expense of learning how to provide good medical care. And it is encouraged and rewarded by the powers that be.
At a national conference this summer, 2 of the morning plenaries were on combatting misinformation. Certainly there were exciting medical updates that could have been presented to help me better care for my patients.
I rather enjoy all the outlandish things my patients say. It keeps me reminded of all the many life experiences and perspectives that exist in humanity.
I am saddened by the political discord that has distorted science and medicine. I see so many patients discouraged and searching for doctors who simply see them as a whole person.
The behavior of this physician is appalling. I agree with your dad, Dr. Ayers—I will speak up if my visits with a doctor or any care provider come with anything political.
I love your point about not knowing the political leaning of your colleagues—that how it should be.
Good grief are we in trouble when a PhD needs to remind physicians of their basic duty to humanity. This is refreshing to read, I oppose left-wing woke ideology completely, precisely because it leads to this sort of bullshit. I sent this to my family members in the medical professions, I hope they adhere to this philosophy 100%. No patient should have to worry that their doctor has anything but their health in mind. Why is this happening? Left wing activists are execrable to me, they do this crap all the time to everything they touch, quality means nothing to them.
The concept of the article makes sense but some the early examples and ideas don’t really come together to drive in the points made later on…That clinician’s visit was unfortunate but nowhere in our practice guidelines or medical curriculum of promoting inclusive language does it emphasise enforcing it onto patients. In medicine we have been taught to cater to our patients like customers at a service job, whether appropriate or not. This is just an individual example of poor physician behaviour.
In addition some the early examples of putting politics first honestly are more examples of things that, yes, may be more left leaning in terms of political ideology, but are simply not within a physician’s scope of practice and expertise, political or not, and inclusive language has nothing to do about politics and everything to do about making our patients feel comfortable, WHEN THEY ARE ENFORCED ON DOCTORS AND NOT PATIENTS. I get the points being made by the rest of the article but a lot of these early examples don’t make the case for me.
I was shocked to discover how deeply embedded a two tier system of preventative care is in the ACA. Imagine my frustration as a man to realize that all I entitled to between the ages of 18-50 is the most basic care imaginable while my wife receives well-woman visits annually including much more (leaving the aside the obvious gynecological care that I do not need) at a zero dollar copay.
You combine that with the six year life expectancy gap men face, higher rates of suicide, much higher rates of cardiac deaths... and since you can't find epidemiological data to support the structure you are left with the obvious conclusion: it is all political.
My faith in the institutions of medical care in this country is close to 0% after this late realization - with the exception of my excellent primary care doctor: she has done a remarkable job caring for me. This is when I realized in my own life just how deeply politics goes into medicine and it's unreal.
But you know WHY this happens. It's to pay the (doctors) bills. Hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay back to they HAVE to tow the line. If not you've seen what's happened to those that disagreed with the Covid narrative.
Thank you for a great piece on this topic. I have had to counsel physicians to stop talking politics in the clinic, as it makes the staff members who work with them very uncomfortable. To be a patient on the receiving end of the same diatribe is truly awful. There is no place in medicine for personal political appeals.
What is most disturbing….the Medical Community, Big Pharma, the Medical Boards whether Speciality or State have not apologized for their egregious behavior. There is AMPLE evidence that We The People have been lied to , manipulated , injured and even put 6 ft under by these people in powerful positions. THIS says but one thing….they ARE going to do the same or similar scheme AGAIN. It was painfully obvious the entire approach to this “pandemic “ was managed counter to all prior cases, and providers with effective treatments were cancelled/doxxd and censored while their treatments were aggressively used with positive results in India but kept secret. These agents against humanity’s health should be purged for the good of medicine ethical base.
I saw my PCP in Nov of 2020 and told him I was tired of being told to panic all the time, and tired of not being treated like a human being, rather than a walking probable Typhoid Mary. He WROTE IN MY CHART that I was upset that Donald Trump had lost the election and was therefore not cooperative with all the Covid…whatever. That was the last time I saw him, and you better believe I yanked my kid from the practice too.
Wow. Excellent move! How dare you have an opinion during the Covid era? I worked (R.N.) in healthcare / insurance industry for 40+ years and hate to say, what goes in your medical record can and will be used against you.
It's truly shocking to relive the events of 2020 - 2021. I'm now 65 y.o., a former true blue Democrat, Independent as of January 2022 - yes, the nerve of me, thinking independent thoughts, doing my own research (um, reading)! Not trusting the "experts" and "settled science" regarding experimental pharmaceutical injections - a heretic to be burned at the stake, perhaps! Hello, Salem Witch trials redux!
NOT ONE DAY has gone by that I do not think about what happened. I will never forget, I have lost trust in the medical system, the government, academia and I will never be the same.
I have never run into such a stupid cardiologist as that. You don't correct the patient's grammar and you don't steer them into inclusive language. Wife was far more informative and specific than partner. If I was to say "my partner," I would mean my young neurologist practice partner, which would totally change the meaning of the conversation! I predict she is not going to do well, and I would not refer patients to her if there was any alternative.
Being inclusive means not making assumptions; contradicting the preferred usage of a patient is the complete opposite. I’m not sure which is more disturbing the idea that the cardiologist isn’t intelligent enough to understand the distinction, or that she was taught to behave like that.
Excellent piece!
This a hundred times over! So many of our students and trainees are so focused on social justice at the expense of learning how to provide good medical care. And it is encouraged and rewarded by the powers that be.
At a national conference this summer, 2 of the morning plenaries were on combatting misinformation. Certainly there were exciting medical updates that could have been presented to help me better care for my patients.
Very eye opening
I rather enjoy all the outlandish things my patients say. It keeps me reminded of all the many life experiences and perspectives that exist in humanity.
I am saddened by the political discord that has distorted science and medicine. I see so many patients discouraged and searching for doctors who simply see them as a whole person.
The behavior of this physician is appalling. I agree with your dad, Dr. Ayers—I will speak up if my visits with a doctor or any care provider come with anything political.
I love your point about not knowing the political leaning of your colleagues—that how it should be.
Good grief are we in trouble when a PhD needs to remind physicians of their basic duty to humanity. This is refreshing to read, I oppose left-wing woke ideology completely, precisely because it leads to this sort of bullshit. I sent this to my family members in the medical professions, I hope they adhere to this philosophy 100%. No patient should have to worry that their doctor has anything but their health in mind. Why is this happening? Left wing activists are execrable to me, they do this crap all the time to everything they touch, quality means nothing to them.
The concept of the article makes sense but some the early examples and ideas don’t really come together to drive in the points made later on…That clinician’s visit was unfortunate but nowhere in our practice guidelines or medical curriculum of promoting inclusive language does it emphasise enforcing it onto patients. In medicine we have been taught to cater to our patients like customers at a service job, whether appropriate or not. This is just an individual example of poor physician behaviour.
In addition some the early examples of putting politics first honestly are more examples of things that, yes, may be more left leaning in terms of political ideology, but are simply not within a physician’s scope of practice and expertise, political or not, and inclusive language has nothing to do about politics and everything to do about making our patients feel comfortable, WHEN THEY ARE ENFORCED ON DOCTORS AND NOT PATIENTS. I get the points being made by the rest of the article but a lot of these early examples don’t make the case for me.
I was shocked to discover how deeply embedded a two tier system of preventative care is in the ACA. Imagine my frustration as a man to realize that all I entitled to between the ages of 18-50 is the most basic care imaginable while my wife receives well-woman visits annually including much more (leaving the aside the obvious gynecological care that I do not need) at a zero dollar copay.
You combine that with the six year life expectancy gap men face, higher rates of suicide, much higher rates of cardiac deaths... and since you can't find epidemiological data to support the structure you are left with the obvious conclusion: it is all political.
My faith in the institutions of medical care in this country is close to 0% after this late realization - with the exception of my excellent primary care doctor: she has done a remarkable job caring for me. This is when I realized in my own life just how deeply politics goes into medicine and it's unreal.
What a well-written piece. I will definitely have my senior nursing students read this. Thank you
Thank you!
DEFINITELY find a new cardiologist.
But you know WHY this happens. It's to pay the (doctors) bills. Hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay back to they HAVE to tow the line. If not you've seen what's happened to those that disagreed with the Covid narrative.
Thank you for a great piece on this topic. I have had to counsel physicians to stop talking politics in the clinic, as it makes the staff members who work with them very uncomfortable. To be a patient on the receiving end of the same diatribe is truly awful. There is no place in medicine for personal political appeals.
Thanks!
What is most disturbing….the Medical Community, Big Pharma, the Medical Boards whether Speciality or State have not apologized for their egregious behavior. There is AMPLE evidence that We The People have been lied to , manipulated , injured and even put 6 ft under by these people in powerful positions. THIS says but one thing….they ARE going to do the same or similar scheme AGAIN. It was painfully obvious the entire approach to this “pandemic “ was managed counter to all prior cases, and providers with effective treatments were cancelled/doxxd and censored while their treatments were aggressively used with positive results in India but kept secret. These agents against humanity’s health should be purged for the good of medicine ethical base.
I saw my PCP in Nov of 2020 and told him I was tired of being told to panic all the time, and tired of not being treated like a human being, rather than a walking probable Typhoid Mary. He WROTE IN MY CHART that I was upset that Donald Trump had lost the election and was therefore not cooperative with all the Covid…whatever. That was the last time I saw him, and you better believe I yanked my kid from the practice too.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Wow. Excellent move! How dare you have an opinion during the Covid era? I worked (R.N.) in healthcare / insurance industry for 40+ years and hate to say, what goes in your medical record can and will be used against you.
It's truly shocking to relive the events of 2020 - 2021. I'm now 65 y.o., a former true blue Democrat, Independent as of January 2022 - yes, the nerve of me, thinking independent thoughts, doing my own research (um, reading)! Not trusting the "experts" and "settled science" regarding experimental pharmaceutical injections - a heretic to be burned at the stake, perhaps! Hello, Salem Witch trials redux!
NOT ONE DAY has gone by that I do not think about what happened. I will never forget, I have lost trust in the medical system, the government, academia and I will never be the same.
I have never run into such a stupid cardiologist as that. You don't correct the patient's grammar and you don't steer them into inclusive language. Wife was far more informative and specific than partner. If I was to say "my partner," I would mean my young neurologist practice partner, which would totally change the meaning of the conversation! I predict she is not going to do well, and I would not refer patients to her if there was any alternative.
There is nothing "public" about health and medical care. Once government intervention is allowed, these sorts of things (and worse) are inevitable.
Being inclusive means not making assumptions; contradicting the preferred usage of a patient is the complete opposite. I’m not sure which is more disturbing the idea that the cardiologist isn’t intelligent enough to understand the distinction, or that she was taught to behave like that.