How to Dispel Common Misconceptions about Physicians

[memehmaw]

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A lot of my friends outside medical school mention a lot of stuff about how the issues in healthcare today are due to white supremacy and have even gone far enough to suggest that physicians are the problem. This is distressing to me since I spend practically all day everyday studying to be the best physician I can be for all. I've always been really interested in OB, and one of my friends sent me this that has been making its rounds around the internet: http://everydayfeminism.com/2017/02/support-midwives-age-of-trump/

How do we combat this? How can we convince the public to trust that we are working and sacrificing a good chunk of our golden years to be of service? It's really discouraging to spend all this time studying just to be told my intentions are less than admirable.

 

[caffeinemia]

A lot of my friends outside medical school mention a lot of stuff about how the issues in healthcare today are due to white supremacy and have even gone far enough to suggest that physicians are the problem. This is distressing to me since I spend practically all day everyday studying to be the best physician I can be for all. I've always been really interested in OB, and one of my friends sent me this that has been making its rounds around the internet: http://everydayfeminism.com/2017/02/support-midwives-age-of-trump/

How do we combat this? How can we convince the public to trust that we are working and sacrificing a good chunk of our golden years to be of service? It's really discouraging to spend all this time studying just to be told my intentions are less than admirable.

Perhaps consider different friends or having a candid argument with them. We're all so afraid of offending people. Also remember that you went into this profession to help people not to get their admiration or approval. Everyone gets their just rewards. The patients you serve well will remember you for your kindness/goodness/ability, those you have never served and think poorly of you are not your problem; cuz everyone will someday get sick, and then they'll of course want the best that medicine has to offer, irrespective of the sociological consequences. Trust me on this -- when someone gets a ruptured placenta or something, you think they're gonna be like... oooh social justice! give me the midwife?

In other words, suck it up; haters gonna hate, but you can always tell them to fuk off.

 

[bashwell]

Unfortunately, this isn't anything new. Midlevels including nurses have making in-roads against physicians for years (of course it should be about what's best for the patients). Just check out the anesthesia forum and read about anesthesiologists vs. CRNAs! They seem to have it much worse. The general public usually thinks well of physicians, but the general public probably thinks even better of nurses.

 

[intubesteak]

Just wait until you hear this same crap in your ethics classes during med school.

 

[caffeinemia]

Just wait until you hear this same crap in your ethics classes during med school.

yup. keep your head down and trudge on and laugh you way to the bank, social prestige, confidence that you are a competent high functioning human being.

 

[Dr. Death]

Did you go to the website in question? The page links all over to "healing from toxic whiteness." It's basically a website for crazy white women who feel bad for being white. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most people don't agree with the premise of the website or the article.

 

[Stagg737]

I usually respond to stupid facebook posts by posting actual scientific articles in the comments then watching them implode when people use stupid arguments.

As to dispelling misconceptions, use logic and facts to talk to people and inform them of reality. When someone just sounds like they don't understand or that they're emotionally scared, you can ask them what their concerns are and try and address them individually and reassure them when they've heard things that are obvious BS. You also have to realize that some people are just closed-minded and won't listen to anything they don't want to hear and those people will always exist. I always try and listen when someone has concerns or beliefs that are wrong, but you also have to figure out how to gauge when trying to educate people is futile.

 

[caramelbear]

Did you go to the website in question? The page links all over to "healing from toxic whiteness." It's basically a website for crazy white women who feel bad for being white. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most people don't agree with the premise of the website or the article.

Eh, that website has been in my Facebook feed a lot. I do know a lot of far left people, though. I barely go on Facebook anymore. It's becoming too exhausting and not fun at all. I actually saw this article posted a few days ago right after it came out. The doomsday rhetoric has been really appealing to a lot of people upset over the election recently. OP, just keep doing what you do. I find that a lot of the loudest people right now are also the least productive and basically do nothing to actually help anyone. They think posting radical opinions on Facebook counts as political engagement. There are of course huge exceptions to that, but your friends clearly know nothing about your everyday life and future. Welcome to Medicine, where the people who sacrifice it so much are really just in it "for the money" according to some ignorant people in the general population. You will come across it all the time. Get used to it now.

 

[DocWinter]

Facebook is so full of political garbage these days, and everyone liking, sharing and commenting while doing pretty much nothing in real life. It's reached a heightened frenzy sometime between when Trump won the presidency and his inauguration. Truth is that most of the people protesting or shouting either for or against the political scene will not be affected or just don't like either the status quo or the change to happen. For the most part this is all clickbate intended to prey on emotions and anger, and best left alone to die down until people and media move onto the next outrage.

You're living real life pushing yourself through medical school. Keep trucking and know that you can practice in your own way for reasons you want to.

 

[WheezyBaby]

It isn't always worth the energy to attempt to change some people's views

 

[nowaysanjose]

Unfortunately, this isn't anything new. Midlevels including nurses have making in-roads against physicians for years (of course it should be about what's best for the patients). Just check out the anesthesia forum and read about anesthesiologists vs. CRNAs! They seem to have it much worse. The general public usually thinks well of physicians, but the general public probably thinks even better of nurses.

W/ respect to NPs (and nurses in general bc most nurses are just NPs in waiting, no seriously, just listen at the station every once in a while) always point out the fact that 0% literally 0% would pass Step 1, and there is no metric to measure all the mistakes doctors catch in those "outcome" studies. It's crazy that the public thinks nurses care when many could not give a s*** less about pts or their families

 

[memehmaw]

I'm already used to it, and I generally am not that bothered by it. It was really weird to hear people close to me who pride themselves as being "so educated" spew this BS. They sit in their ivory "academic" tower and cast a ton of morally superior judgment. These are the same people that literally think they know more about healthcare and medicine than I do (and I was an RN before this). I don't know. It s*** when your own friends who you've known for ten years clearly lump you in as some white supremacist because of some thoughts on "old traditional white men" in medicine. It's absurdity.

I didn't even get the impression that this was talking about nurse midwives in general. I knew of a ton who were on the busy OB service and as someone has previously said, "incompetence doesn't last long on busy OB floors."

 

[TooMuchResearch]

A lot of my friends outside medical school mention a lot of stuff about how the issues in healthcare today are due to white supremacy and have even gone far enough to suggest that physicians are the problem. This is distressing to me since I spend practically all day everyday studying to be the best physician I can be for all. I've always been really interested in OB, and one of my friends sent me this that has been making its rounds around the internet: http://everydayfeminism.com/2017/02/support-midwives-age-of-trump/

How do we combat this? How can we convince the public to trust that we are working and sacrificing a good chunk of our golden years to be of service? It's really discouraging to spend all this time studying just to be told my intentions are less than admirable.

Get off social media and get on with your day.

 

[LutGholein]

been making its rounds around the internet: http://everydayfeminism.com/2017/02/support-midwives-age-of-trump/

That's all political garbage--half of it is social justice warrior buzzwords.

Place no stock in it and just focus on being a good physician--the people who spend their energy and effort posting this *journalism* on your facebook feed are the very same people that have cultivated a negative environment for rational conversation. I've left my facebook after the election when everyone began crying that the sky is falling --I've become a happier person-- consider leaving social media and just focus on your career and nod your head along when you need to..

 

[Raryn]

That article isn't common misconceptions. That article is nuts.

I recommend not beating your head against the wall trying to argue with nuts.

 

[Goro]

Agreed. It usually just triggers cognitive dissonance. For many people, stupidity and ignorance are belief systems.

It isn't always worth the energy to attempt to change some people's views

 

[Lannister]

Can I just say...
"No, Tras Women are NOT 'Biologically Male'"
...what?

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

I left my facebook and it was the best decision I've made in awhile. God that website is toxic. I can't believe people actually think they're making a difference by sitting on there and perpetuating the cycle of ****ty journalism.

 

[Mabus3]

 

[BurghStudent]

That's all political garbage--half of it is social justice warrior buzzwords.

Place no stock in it and just focus on being a good physician--the people who spend their energy and effort posting this *journalism* on your facebook feed are the very same people that have cultivated a negative environment for rational conversation. I've left my facebook after the election when everyone began crying that the sky is falling --I've become a happier person-- consider leaving social media and just focus on your career and nod your head along when you need to..

Ditto. Couldn't stand some people anymore after Nov 8. Left Facebook, crawled back to SDN, lol.

 

[caramelbear]

By the way, OP, these are not "common" myths. These are lunatic ravings of far-left crazy people. Most normal people don't think hospitals are dens of patriarchal oppression. So don't worry about it. Darwin will sort them out.

Dens of patriarchal oppression LOL

I certainly know the type OP is talking about. I just laugh when I see those comments though.

I've never understood the length of people's Facebook posts nowadays. They actually have to sit there and write out their whiny buzzword-laden posts that are five paragraphs long.

 

[WindChaser]

I'm pretty active in terms of social justice activism (attending protests and not just posting stuff on Facebook) and I consider myself extremely liberal, but I do not agree with the claims made in that post. I'm pretty sure the author of this article has no idea what these words mean and it is disheartening as someone who has been super active in fighting for progressive values to see borderline insane people misuse and overuse these words in order to try and pretend like they are fighting for the same cause. Even when I try to overly analyze something, I would not come to such extreme assumptions that the author has written.

I do hope these types of things don't discourage people from still fighting for social equality. It is important as doctors to recognize that serving diverse patient populations mean understanding the types of struggles they face that many of us may not and that is the goal of social justice. Please don't let this discourage you from pursuing your goals as a healthcare provider but also do not let this turn you off from what social justice is really about - fighting for the people and, ultimately, your future patients.

 

[BurghStudent]

Can I just say...
"No, Tras Women are NOT 'Biologically Male'"
...what?

I just watched that. The argument, healthy females can get phalloplasty and healthy males can get vaginoplasty. So genitals aren't really in indicator of sex... Wtf.

Too much YouTube for one day.

 

[bashwell]

W/ respect to NPs (and nurses in general bc most nurses are just NPs in waiting, no seriously, just listen at the station every once in a while) always point out the fact that 0% literally 0% would pass Step 1, and there is no metric to measure all the mistakes doctors catch in those "outcome" studies. It's crazy that the public thinks nurses care when many could not give a s*** less about pts or their families

I agree with you. I'm just saying the public in general doesn't know any better. The public in general thinks well of nurses. Like they're all saints. Like they can do no wrong. Even though we know that's not the case.

 

[LutGholein]

By the way, OP, these are not "common" myths. These are lunatic ravings of far-left crazy people. Most normal people don't think hospitals are dens of patriarchal oppression. So don't worry about it. Darwin will sort them out.

Words to live by.

There is also comfort in knowing from what standpoint the author comes from---"Marea Goodman is a homebirth midwife practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She strongly believes in the liberatory power of homebirth and midwifery care, and imagines a world where each person gets complete choice over every aspect of their reproductive experiences."

Right off the bat people can see that she has something to gain from writing this dribble and if you search around her previous writing samples across similar outlets she describes herself as a radical who attempts to discredit the western medical model.

 

[Spectre of Ockham]

The article is pure insanity - to combat this type of lunacy is the job of those in charge of prevention and we should not waste time giving delusional masochists any time.

 

[ab84fan]

I've noticed this a lot, especially in our highly-politicized society today. Doctors are viewed by a lot of folks as the "problem" and are easy to scapegoat.

I view myself as a pretty objective individual who isn't very biased politically, but I must say that these negative articles and media attention about Physicians are coming from liberals. They want us to work for free. What I find amazing is how at least 70-80% of my class is liberal. When we had a lecture on Obamacare so many were surprised by how bad it has been for the profession. To them the idea of "free healthcare" sounded amazing and anybody who opposed it obviously hates the poor.

 

[BehindBlueEyes]

To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi (lol) - "Who is more foolish, the fool or the one who argues with them?"

 

[caramelbear]

I've noticed this a lot, especially in our highly-politicized society today. Doctors are viewed by a lot of folks as the "problem" and are easy to scapegoat.

I view myself as a pretty objective individual who isn't very biased politically, but I must say that these negative articles and media attention about Physicians are coming from liberals. They want us to work for free. What I find amazing is how at least 70-80% of my class is liberal. When we had a lecture on Obamacare so many were surprised by how bad it has been for the profession. To them the idea of "free healthcare" sounded amazing and anybody who opposed it obviously hates the poor.

My class is about 90 percent liberal to the point where we're turning into sad old bullies. It's sad to watch. We now have conservative students called names on Facebook, and people will gang up on them. I deeply respect the good intentions of my fellow classmates in fighting for their beliefs, but we seem to be forgetting the basic rules of interpersonal relationships.

 

[caramelbear]

That's terrible. And ironic how they still don't understand that this overly PC crap and identity politics is part of why they lost the election.

They mean well and want to fight for justice and equality for all. The problem is that we're taking this smug sense of moral superiority and proclaiming that we are so much more educated. It turns into people trying to "educate" conservatives in such condescending ways. Then they throw in the buzzwords such as "white privilege, mansplaining, misogyny, etc," and it gets nauseating. When the other person doesn't end up sharing their views, they get called a racist redneck.

We have to do better if we want to grab the next election.

 

[ananasmed]

They mean well and want to fight for justice and equality for all. The problem is that we're taking this smug sense of moral superiority and proclaiming that we are so much more educated. It turns into people trying to "educate" conservatives in such condescending ways. Then they throw in the buzzwords such as "white privilege, mansplaining, misogyny, etc," and it gets nauseating. When the other person doesn't end up sharing their views, they get called a racist redneck.

We have to do better if we want to grab the next election.

lol @ anyone who is trying to play the moral superiority card while using the word 'mansplaining' seriously.