lapel pin on white coat: appropriate? tacky?

[VA Hopeful Dr]

see my above post. queer health is a personal and academic interest. being visibly gay is not my primary objective in wearing a rainbow pin, but it seems to be the thing that bothers most other posters.

Slightly off topic, when you're a doctor get on this list: GLMA - Find a Provider

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted980662]

Slightly off topic, when you're a doctor get on this list: GLMA - Find a Provider

this is awesome! thanks for sharing. maybe i'll go find a PCP on here

 

[nimbus]

Ideally, a physician is supposed to offer the same quality of care to an LGBT person as he would to a fundamentalist Christian. Wearing an LGBT Pride pin serves to alienate the large segment of the US population whose religious convictions cause them to disagree with the LGBT lifestyle.

Now, you might say, "Who cares? They're bigots, and their opinions shouldn't matter." That's a valid case to make in your personal life, but your job as a physician isn't to respond to and influence people's theological and political convictions. Your job is to offer medical treatments to your patients and to improve their health. Anything you do that serves to alienate patients whose personal (non-health-related) beliefs differ from yours is detrimental to your practice as a physician and is unprofessional.

So because we are doctors, we need to go through life trying to be as inoffensive as possible? Jump back in the closet while at work? Do openly straight doctors have to do this too? That time is long past.

 

[Osminog]

So because we are doctors, we need to go through life trying to be as inoffensive as possible? Jump back in the closet while at work? Do openly straight doctors have to do this too? That time is long past.

The point is to avoid creating unnecessary controversy and divisiveness in your workplace over something that really has nothing to do with your job.

You date other dudes? Great. You think it’s morally okay to be lead an LGBT lifestyle? That’s totally fine. But if your job is strictly to medically help people—some of whom may very well strongly disagree with your moral opinions and lifestyle choices, then keep that stuff to yourself when you’re at work. Outside of work, visit gay bars, attend pride parades, walk up to random strangers and tell them about your romantic life, do whatever you want. But don’t let things from your personal life get in the way of your effectiveness at your job.

 

[Lawpy]

The point is to avoid creating unnecessary controversy and divisiveness in your workplace over something that really has nothing to do with your job.

You date other dudes? Great. You think it’s morally okay to be lead an LGBT lifestyle? That’s totally fine. But if your job is strictly to medically help people—some of whom may very well strongly disagree with your moral opinions and lifestyle choices, then keep that stuff to yourself when you’re at work. Outside of work, visit gay bars, attend pride parades, walk up to random strangers and tell them about your romantic life, do whatever you want. But don’t let things from your personal life get in the way of your effectiveness at your job.

Except part of doing the job is taking care of patients, which include LGBT patients who feel marginalized. I don't see anything wrong in wearing LGBT lapel pins showing solidarity. It's something patients can feel a lot more comfortable when they see physicians who can understand and empathize with their situation better.

What you're suggesting is for healthcare professionals/trainees/students to suppress their solidarity for fear of getting rebuked by patients who don't agree with them. Why? I just think that's unnecessary, because the benefits of taking care of patients who are marginalized outweigh the risks of facing patients with discriminatory views. There will be patients who have racist, sexist, homophobic etc. views and part of the challenge involves maintaining and upholding the standards of professional care when encountering difficult patients. I don't think suppressing solidarity with marginalized communities is the right approach.

 

[Osminog]

see my above post. queer health is a personal and academic interest. being visibly gay is not my primary objective in wearing a rainbow pin, but it seems to be the thing that bothers most other posters.

I don’t know why you would think that wearing an LGBT Pride pin would make you “visibly gay.” I know people who are heavily invested in gay rights issues without being gay themselves.

LGBT Pride rainbow pins aren’t representative of an academic interest in queer health; they’re representative of the LGBT Pride movement, which happens to be controversial in many religious circles in America. I think you’re being disingenuous here.

 

[nimbus]

I don’t know why you would think that wearing an LGBT Pride pin would make you “visibly gay.” I know people who are heavily invested in gay rights issues without being gay themselves.

LGBT Pride rainbow pins aren’t representative of an academic interest in queer health; they’re representative of the LGBT Pride movement, which happens to be controversial in many religious circles in America. I think you’re being disingenuous here.

Many religious circles in America are controversial too. People still wear crosses. At some point we need to accept that controversy is a part of life. We must always act professionally but if who we are makes somebody uncomfortable, that’s really their issue.

 

[libertyyne]

only on SDN would you have two pages on the harms / benefits of wearing a lapel pin.
If you want to wear the pin, wear it . If it draws too much attention, or negative attention take the thing off.

 

[radsisrad]

Here's my friendly advice: if your goal is to promote health in the sexual minority communities, wear your pin to an HIV clinic or the like.

Wearing it anywhere else (especially to a white coat ceremony that takes place before you even know what a murmur sounds like or how HAART tx works) is a political statement, and is unprofessional.

 

[mehc012]

If it's not social activism, what's the purpose of advertising that you're gay?

If your purpose in wearing the pin on your white coat to to be "visibly gay", how on earth would it be professional?

Again, the rainbow pin does not mean that you're gay. It just shows an interest in/support for LGBT health. At my school, the rainbow cadeuceus was given to everyone who attended additional training on queer health advocacy and topics, and plenty of people who participated were straight. The organization did this because it's a visual display of interest in that field and patient population.

Honestly, it seems like most of your objections to the pin stem from meanings that you're adding to it beyond what it actually says. I agree that wearing an "I am gay" sticker would be inappropriate. But that's NOT what a pride pin means. A better translation would be "I will not react negatively if YOU are gay", which is a much more understandable message to be sending to your patients. It's the LGBT equivalent of hanging a "Se habla español" sign in the office.

 

[deleted980662]

I don’t know why you would think that wearing an LGBT Pride pin would make you “visibly gay.” I know people who are heavily invested in gay rights issues without being gay themselves.

LGBT Pride rainbow pins aren’t representative of an academic interest in queer health; they’re representative of the LGBT Pride movement, which happens to be controversial in many religious circles in America. I think you’re being disingenuous here.

that's fair. i suppose it would confirm that i'm gay as there are other aspects of my appearance and personality that suggest so – but that's not necessarily the case.

the rainbow is a universal symbol of the LGBTQ community, and is used as such by countless organizations that are not affiliated pride parades or the pride movement. it does not exclusively represent pride. i think a rainbow caduceus implies an interest in queer health pretty explicitly.

 

[MisterKitty]

**** it I’m getting a MAGA pin

 

[Avulse]

I have 3 small pins on my coat. Two provided by the school and one from a humanities elective. I didnt realize that many people care about having more than one pin on your coat. I've been wearing mine with the 3 pins and have had no issues (so far)

 

[mehc012]

I have 3 small pins on my coat. Two provided by the school and one from a humanities elective. I didnt realize that many people care about having more than one pin on your coat. I've been wearing mine with the 3 pins and have had no issues (so far)

It's SDN, where if they can make it too big of a deal, they will.

 

[Avulse]

It's SDN, where if they can make it too big of a deal, they will.

FOREAL THO

 

[RangerBob]

My patients are already making assumptions about me the minute I walk into the room. I’m a while male. I dress professional and wear a white coat. I am fairly young. I am not a black female. I am not an undocumented immigrant. Those groups, and more, may not be as comfortable with me as someone who looks more like them and better understands their struggles. But, through my words and behavior, I can make it clear that regardless of who they are, I will listen to them and take care of them without reservation.

Would a pin help patients feel more at ease? Maybe. It could help with the initial judgement and reaction, or maybe it could hurt-just because we want to convey a certain message doesn’t mean that message will be interpreted that way by others.

Learn to foster a behavior and bedside manner that shows everyone they can talk to and have faith in you, regardless of your similarities or differences.

 

[ScubaV]

Appropriateness aside, as a practical matter for medical students, and less so for residents, a lot of your career potential depends on those above you (subjective evaluations, letters of recommendation, advice/word of mouth opportunities). As you can see by the responses to this thread, most people are totally fine with a rainbow pin or something similar. But some are not. What if someone like that is your main preceptor on the rotation you're most interested in pursuing? They may not explicitly share those thoughts, but it could influence their overall opinion of you and affect their evaluation (consciously or not).

Maybe that doesn't matter to you and you're willing to take that risk for something you believe in. But it's something to be aware of and think about.

 

[OrganRepo]

Now you guys are making me nervous because I was planning on wearing a lapel pin of my former military rank.

 

[mehc012]

Appropriateness aside, as a practical matter for medical students, and less so for residents, a lot of your career potential depends on those above you (subjective evaluations, letters of recommendation, advice/word of mouth opportunities). As you can see by the responses to this thread, most people are totally fine with a rainbow pin or something similar. But some are not. What if someone like that is your main preceptor on the rotation you're most interested in pursuing? They may not explicitly share those thoughts, but it could influence their overall opinion of you and affect their evaluation (consciously or not).

Maybe that doesn't matter to you and you're willing to take that risk for something you believe in. But it's something to be aware of and think about.

There are always going to be pricκs in the rank above you.
Most of them won't like me either way, and frankly I don't give a damn. I've made it through all of third year and 2/3s of my AIs with a rainbow pin on my lapel and without sucking up to @-holes, and the only ones who gave me less than glowing honors were the nicest bunch of the lot.

SDN seriously overestimates how much effort even the jerkiest of preceptors are going to put into blasting you. The biggest issue you face in 3rd year won't be someone overanalyzing your lapel pin, it will be someone not even noticing your presence even when you're in the same room with them for a week straight. You know what's easier than dealing with whiny med students who don't get the grade they want? Not turning in an eval, or turning in such a generic, bland one that it makes no difference to the grade in either direction. Most of the αssholes stick to that.

 

[RangerBob]

Now you guys are making me nervous because I was planning on wearing a lapel pin of my former military rank.

Had I been in the military, wearing a lapel of my rank or branch seal/emblem is something I would do-both as a med student and as an attending. It could be my own biases talking, but I would never interpret a (genuine) military insignia lapel as flare. It is the one exception to my personal preference against lapel pins. Most likely because it represents a sacrifice one took in the name of others.

I suppose by that logic a peace corps pin would be fine too.

And NASA Astronaut Corps. If I'd been a member, I'd have a mission badge or some kind of Astronaut Corps insignia on everything--a lapel pin, my pen, shirt, a trucker's hat, my coffee mug (I don't even drink coffee--I'd just walk around with water in it), and obviously some kind of tattoo. Everything.

 

[radsisrad]

Now you guys are making me nervous because I was planning on wearing a lapel pin of my former military rank.

That would be fine. I'm not sure why/how it belongs on a white coat, but it's not a political statement. Nobody should (or, I can only imagine, would) fault you for wearing it.

 

[Lucca]

lmao sdn

 

[deleted980662]

That would be fine. I'm not sure why/how it belongs on a white coat, but it's not a political statement. Nobody should (or, I can only imagine, would) fault you for wearing it.

what? if the rainbow pin is a political statement, a military pin is undoubtedly a political statement. after reading this thread and giving it a lot of consideration, i think both are probably okay – but there are certainly many patients who are critical of the american military-industrial complex. so in terms of potentially alienating patients, i don't see much difference between the two. the logic here is not consistent.

 

[Stagg737]

Many religious circles in America are controversial too. People still wear crosses. At some point we need to accept that controversy is a part of life. We must always act professionally but if who we are makes somebody uncomfortable, that’s really their issue.

As a talking point, would you find it appropriate if someone wore a cross pin on their white coat? Star of David? At what point does it become too controversial? People can do/wear whatever they want as long as it's within their work place's dress code, but in general I'd just feel out the work environment before I made any decisions. I also like to come across as being as much of a blank slate as possible with my patients though to the point that I actually wore an un-embroidered white coat on my medicine rotations in residency instead of my normal one (which states I'm in psychiatry) because I didn't want my patients to feel uneasy.

 

[nimbus]

As a talking point, would you find it appropriate if someone wore a cross pin on their white coat? Star of David? At what point does it become too controversial? People can do/wear whatever they want as long as it's within their work place's dress code, but in general I'd just feel out the work environment before I made any decisions. I also like to come across as being as much of a blank slate as possible with my patients though to the point that I actually wore an un-embroidered white coat on my medicine rotations in residency instead of my normal one (which states I'm in psychiatry) because I didn't want my patients to feel uneasy.

I honestly don’t care what they wear. I work in a very open-minded, Catholic, safety net hospital on the west coast. We have crosses all over the place. We also have lots of gay doctors, staff, and patients. And we also have very traditional religious doctors (one was a Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre), staff, and patients and a few nuns who roam the halls. People wear all sorts of things. No one bats an eye.

 

[radsisrad]

what? if the rainbow pin is a political statement, a military pin is undoubtedly a political statement. after reading this thread and giving it a lot of consideration, i think both are probably okay – but there are certainly many patients who are critical of the american military-industrial complex. so in terms of potentially alienating patients, i don't see much difference between the two. the logic here is not consistent.

Respect for one's country's/tribe's military and warriors is a tradition (and intuition) as old as human civilization itself. Appropriation of the rainbow for pro-sexual minority lobbying, in contrast, is merely a decades-old phenomenon.

The chasm between the two is enormous.

 

[deleted980662]

Respect for one's country's/tribe's military and warriors is a tradition (and intuition) as old as human civilization itself. Appropriation of the rainbow for pro-sexual minority lobbying, in contrast, is merely a decades-old phenomenon.

The chasm between the two is enormous.

a pin suggesting someone's personal identity and medical interests is "lobbying" while service to the largest and most powerful military on earth is somehow apolitical because... tradition? i respect the idea that we should avoid making patients uncomfortable, but clearly some personal biases have come out to play. you'll excuse me if i hit the ignore button.

in case anyone's interested, i received a small rainbow caduceus pin in the mail today. it's fairly discreet but after reading this thread, i'll feel out my program's culture a little more – and get a sense of what the patient population is like in this area – before venturing to wear it.

 

[Cheeni17]

In residency I don’t wear anything on my coat. Blank slate as possible. I doubt anyone will feel marginalized via someone wearing something but I’m not here to make any specific groups feel special at work. You get equal treatment whether I agree with your lifestyle or not but I do not go out of my way to make a particular group feel MORE comfortable than another.

Sometimes patients just need to stop being so sensitive. But it is our job to treat people equally. Equal as in not treat those who feel marginalized better than those who do not.

Perceived or real disadvantage isn’t a rationale to treat that group any better than another. We are there to help equally. If equally is not good enough then it’s reverse racism or racism on the patients part and that sucks for them but is their problem and they can go cry in a corner if they want

 

[Lucca]

a pin suggesting someone's personal identity and medical interests is "lobbying" while service to the largest and most powerful military on earth is somehow apolitical because... tradition? i respect the idea that we should avoid making patients uncomfortable, but clearly some personal biases have come out to play. you'll excuse me if i hit the ignore button.

in case anyone's interested, i received a small rainbow caduceus pin in the mail today. it's fairly discreet but after reading this thread, i'll feel out my program's culture a little more – and get a sense of what the patient population is like in this area – before venturing to wear it.

imagine thinking that nationalism is not only more basic to humanity than sexuality but that it is also as or more relevant in a healthcare setting.

 

[MSTP18]

incoming MS1 here.

pride month has prompted me to consider purchasing a small rainbow pin to wear during my school's white coat ceremony, and perhaps during preceptorships/clinicals. maybe something like this.

would that be appropriate? or are you only supposed to wear pins from student/alumni organizations? i will be attending a small, very liberal program with several other queer students, but it happens to be located in a more conservative community. would this be NBD or do i risk alienating people?

I definitely disagree with anyone who says you are only allowed to wear pins from student/alumni orgs. I wore a pin gifted to me by my PI related to the disease I studied for my PhD specially so people would ask me what the pin was for and I could tell them. My pin probably had 0 risk of bothering anyone, but unfortunately a pin like yours does run the risk of ruffling feathers not because it's a non-student/alumni org pin, but rather because a large portion of our country simply does not like LGBTQIA2S people.

 

[radsisrad]

imagine thinking that nationalism is not only more basic to humanity than sexuality but that it is also as or more relevant in a healthcare setting.

Imagine a point flying so high over your head you couldn't even see it.

 

[mehc012]

Imagine a point flying so high over your head you couldn't even see it.

We see it, we just don't agree. Which is fine.

 

[Frazier]

As long as they aren't offensive, wear some pins if you like.

I have 4, but they are basically alma maters and a professional organization that I'm happy to talk about with patients and colleagues alike. Nothing politically charged.

...Although I didn't do that as a med student or intern. But as a chief I already proved my clinical chops/professionalism/etc to colleagues and staff, they know the patient comes first.

The main comments I get are "hey Doc, no bowl game this year, eh?" And "what does that pin mean?"

Again, happy to have those conversations as icebreakers for nervous patients and their families having otherwise very bad days.

I can appreciate how others with different experiences might hold very different views on this topic (tacky, etc).

YMMV

 

[ADSigMel]

Nobody wears lapel pins of any kind at my hospital (not that I've noticed, anyway), so it would never have occurred to me to wear one on my white coat. If I did, I would try to avoid any that could be construed as controversial. But I don't really broadcast my feelings about anything to anyone at the hospital. I wouldn't call it unprofessional exactly, I just wouldn't want to offend anyone in any way while I'm at work. I don't wear my crucifix to work, either, although I generally wear it everywhere else. Of course, I'm not obligated by my religious beliefs to wear it, unlike a hijab or yarmulke, so I would put those kinds of things in a different category.

 

[mehc012]

Just as a legitimate point of confusion I've long had...why are religious beliefs and convictions deemed so much more justifiable/appropriate/important than other personal beliefs and convictions.

If I have an unshakeable, deep, personal conviction that I ought to in some way demonstrate LGBT acceptance, why is that a 'lesser' reason, or a different category, than someone with an unshakeable, deep, personal conviction that they demonstrate their faith?

 

[Osminog]

Just as a legitimate point of confusion I've long had...why are religious beliefs and convictions deemed so much more justifiable/appropriate/important than other personal beliefs and convictions.

If I have an unshakeable, deep, personal conviction that I ought to in some way demonstrate LGBT acceptance, why is that a 'lesser' reason, or a different category, than someone with an unshakeable, deep, personal conviction that they demonstrate their faith?

People who wear yarmulkes or hijabs generally do so to fulfill their personal religious obligations—to maintain their individual relationships with God. People who wear LGBT Pride pins generally do so for the express purpose of conveying their opinions to other people.

Making personal lifestyle choices that are informed by your metaphysical and theological beliefs is fundamentally different from displaying symbols in an effort to publicly advocate for your sociopolitical views.

 

[deleted407021]

People who wear yarmulkes or hijabs generally do so to fulfill their personal religious obligations—to maintain their individual relationships with God. People who wear LGBT Pride pins generally do so for the express purpose of conveying their opinions to other people.

Making personal lifestyle choices that are informed by your metaphysical and theological beliefs is fundamentally different from displaying symbols in an effort to publicly advocate for your sociopolitical views.

What if you think god tells you to love LGBTQ people and show it by wearing a pride pin on your coat?

 

[Osminog]

What if you think god tells you to love LGBTQ people and show it by wearing a pride pin on your coat?

What if you think God tells you that Trump is a divine spiritual leader and to wear a MAGA hat around all of your patients?

I'm not going to entertain arguments based on strange, peripheral situations in which God tells you to constantly promote sociopolitical causes in front of others. No mainstream religion specifically demands that people wear LGBT pride pins all the time to appease God. Let's not be silly.

 

[mehc012]

What if you think God tells you that Trump is a divine spiritual leader and to wear a MAGA hat around all of your patients?

I'm not going to entertain arguments based on strange, peripheral situations in which God tells you to constantly promote sociopolitical causes in front of others. No mainstream religion specifically demands that people wear LGBT pride pins all the time to appease God. Let's not be silly.

Exactly, what if? I've never once said that MAGA hats would be wholly inappropriate for physicians, you guys just keep assuming that I would and that my disagreement is about my political stance, not my actual opinion on whether people should be able to show any individuality at work.

People who wear yarmulkes or hijabs generally do so to fulfill their personal religious obligations—to maintain their individual relationships with God. People who wear LGBT Pride pins generally do so for the express purpose of conveying their opinions to other people.

Making personal lifestyle choices that are informed by your metaphysical and theological beliefs is fundamentally different from displaying symbols in an effort to publicly advocate for your sociopolitical views.

See, that is exactly the distinction I am seeking to explain. Why is one acceptable, but the other not? I've never understood why dropping in a religious motivation for something automatically legitimizes that thing. Likewise, I don't understand how someone else's potential bigotry makes my lack thereof unprofessional.

 

[deleted407021]

What if you think God tells you that Trump is a divine spiritual leader and to wear a MAGA hat around all of your patients?

I'm not going to entertain arguments based on strange, peripheral situations in which God tells you to constantly promote sociopolitical causes in front of others. No mainstream religion specifically demands that people wear LGBT pride pins all the time to appease God. Let's not be silly.

No, we wouldn’t want to say anything silly.

 

[Osminog]

Exactly, what if? I've never once said that MAGA hats would be wholly inappropriate for physicians, you guys just keep assuming that I would and that my disagreement is about my political stance, not my actual opinion on whether people should be able to show any individuality at work.

Okay, well, whether you think so or not, wearing a MAGA hat to work as a physician is unprofessional. Why? Because your job as a physician is to work with patients to improve their health. By constantly displaying political symbols to advocate for non-health-related beliefs with which a large segment of the American population disagrees, you needlessly alienate some of your patients and decrease your effectiveness as a physician. This reasoning also applies to LGBT Pride pins.

See, that is exactly the distinction I am seeking to explain. Why is one acceptable, but the other not? I've never understood why dropping in a religious motivation for something automatically legitimizes that thing. Likewise, I don't understand how someone else's potential bigotry makes my lack thereof unprofessional.

This is just a straw man. No one's saying this. It's obviously unprofessional for a Christian physician to approach a non-Christian patient and try to convert him to Christianity, or to hand out fliers at work for an upcoming worship event at his church. Non-health-related promotional activities of any kind, whether they are religiously motivated or not, aren't appropriate for the workplace if you're a physician who's trying to build lasting relationships of trust with a diverse range of patients.

 

[mehc012]

Okay, well, whether you think so or not, wearing a MAGA hat to work as a physician is unprofessional. Why? Because your job as a physician is to work with patients to improve their health. By constantly displaying political symbols to advocate for non-health-related beliefs with which a large segment of the American population disagrees, you needlessly alienate some of your patients and decrease your effectiveness as a physician. This reasoning also applies to LGBT Pride pins.



This is just a straw man. No one's saying this. It's obviously unprofessional for a Christian physician to approach a non-Christian patient and try to convert him to Christianity, or to hand out fliers at work for an upcoming worship event at his church. Non-health-related promotional activities of any kind, whether they are religiously motivated or not, aren't appropriate for the workplace if you're a physician who's trying to build lasting relationships of trust with a diverse range of patients.

Sooo Pride pins are trying to make people gay? I don't understand the parallel. Religious symbols were brought up as a parallel to pride symbols. I don't see how proselytizing is a parallel unless you think that a rainbow lapel pin is trying to convert people.

If someone believes that wearing a particular religious symbol is necessary to demonstrate their conviction to that belief, why is that any different than someone believing that wearing a particular NON-religious symbol is necessary to demonstrate their conviction to that belief? Why is the former magically different and excusable? I don't accept "because the latter obviously has [insert ulterior motive] which is inappropriate", because that's just projecting your own interpretation of the symbol onto that person.

 

[Dr. Rafiki]

If you need a lapel pin to announce to patients that you are "inclusive" and "open-minded" then may I suggest you work on your verbal and non-verbal people skills to make that announcement without having to actually say it.

Imagine I wore a lapel pin that said "FRIENDLY" and then got upset when people told me it was unprofessional because all I'm trying to do is show patients I'm friendly ya know?!?

It's ridiculous. Show patients you are open-minded by ..... wait for it.... being open-minded. If you need a lapel pin announcement instead well then...

 

[mehc012]

If you need a lapel pin to announce to patients that you are "inclusive" and "open-minded" then may I suggest you work on your verbal and non-verbal people skills to make that announcement without having to actually say it.

Imagine I wore a lapel pin that said "FRIENDLY" and then got upset when people told me it was unprofessional because all I'm trying to do is show patients I'm friendly ya know?!?

It's ridiculous. Show patients you are open-minded by ..... wait for it.... being open-minded. If you need a lapel pin announcement instead well then...

It would be really weird if people told you that was unprofessional. I don't disagree that people should always try to demonstrate inclusiveness through their behavior, but the question isn't whether lapel pins are necessary, but rather that they are unprofessional.

 

[Osminog]

Sooo Pride pins are trying to make people gay? I don't understand the parallel.

If someone believes that wearing a particular religious symbol is necessary to demonstrate their conviction to that belief, why is that any different than someone believing that wearing a particular NON-religious symbol is necessary to demonstrate their conviction to that belief? Why is the former magically different and excusable? I don't accept "because the latter obviously has [insert ulterior motive] which is inappropriate", because that's just projecting your own interpretation of the symbol onto that person.

A person generally wears a yarmulke to fulfill a personal obligation that he feels he has to God, and he would do so even if he were surrounded only by blind people who couldn't even see the yarmulke—because it's something that's strictly between him and God, and it is not meant to be a promotional activity. Meanwhile, a person wears a Pride pin to promote LGBT pride and to show support for the LGBT community; it is a symbolic statement, meant to convey a message and to be recognized by others.

Again, it's unprofessional for a physician to engage in non-healthcare-related promotional activities in the workplace, whether his motivations are religious or not, especially when what is being promoted is controversial and divisive in modern-day America. And if you think that people generally wear Pride pins for non-promotional reasons, then you're just being disingenuous; the point of the LGBT Pride movement is to promote public acceptance of the LGBT community.

It would be really weird if people told you that was unprofessional. I don't disagree that people should always try to demonstrate inclusiveness through their behavior, but the question isn't whether lapel pins are necessary, but rather that they are unprofessional.

It's unprofessional to not be inclusive when you're in a human-centered profession.

 

[Dr. Rafiki]

It would be really weird if people told you that was unprofessional. I don't disagree that people should always try to demonstrate inclusiveness through their behavior, but the question isn't whether lapel pins are necessary, but rather that they are unprofessional.

They are unnecessary. They are also unprofessional. Like I said, if you are wearing it to show people a part of your character, then work on your people skills. Otherwise you are showboating / peddling a political agenda as others have stated already and that is unprofessional.

 

[Dr. Rafiki]

Another point I'm seeing in this thread is "wearing it to show solidarity / be an ally is awesome!"

What about a religious patient who might find that offensive? The same logic is why I tell my colleagues not to wear a cross / star of david to work. It may offend those who think differently than you. And if you need to wear a cross to be a Christian well then I think you're missing the point...

Similarly, if you need to wear a rainbow to be queer well then..... how is that not pushing a political agenda.

Your job is to treat everyone of your patients. The gays who hate Christians. The Christians who hate gays. The non-binaries who don't care one way or another. It doesn't matter, they are all equally your patients. Publicly peddling yourself as religious is not right in this day-and-age as a physician. Publicly peddling yourself as queer / ally should also not be right.

 

[mehc012]

It's not your call whether someone feels they need to wear a cross to be Christian, or a rainbow to reflect their beliefs on that front. YOU may think someone is missing the point if they must wear a cross to be Christian, or a yarmulke to be Jewish, but your personal opinion on that front is, frankly, irrelevant, and shouldn't dictate their own personal expression of their beliefs.

Sidenote, even if you're wearing a rainbow to be queer (and there are multiple other reasons you would do such a thing other than being gay yourself)...that doesn't automatically make it political. The existence of gay people is not a political debate, it's a fact. Being gay is not a political statement. Relevant political debates include things like same sex marriage, etc., but the mere acknowledgement of LGBT people is not a controversy.

I will treat every one of my patients. If they choose to go to a different physician because they don't like something about me, that is their right and their decision. My responsibility is not to treat someone differently because they disagree with me. It's not to erase any trace of personality or identity that they might not prefer or agree with. That's not even possible, and I'm not sure it's a desirable goal to begin with.

 

[deleted407021]

It's not your call whether someone feels they need to wear a cross to be Christian, or a rainbow to reflect their beliefs on that front. YOU may think someone is missing the point if they must wear a cross to be Christian, or a yarmulke to be Jewish, but your personal opinion on that front is, frankly, irrelevant, and shouldn't dictate their own personal expression of their beliefs.

Sidenote, even if you're wearing a rainbow to be queer (and there are multiple other reasons you would do such a thing other than being gay yourself)...that doesn't automatically make it political. The existence of gay people is not a political debate, it's a fact. Being gay is not a political statement. Relevant political debates include things like same sex marriage, etc., but the mere acknowledgement of LGBT people is not a controversy.

I will treat every one of my patients. If they choose to go to a different physician because they don't like something about me, that is their right and their decision. My responsibility is not to treat someone differently because they disagree with me. It's not to erase any trace of personality or identity that they might not prefer or agree with. That's not even possible, and I'm not sure it's a desirable goal to begin with.

But what if somebody doesn’t like gay people and the therapeutic alliance is subsequently totally and irrecoverably destroyed?

This thread

 

[mehc012]

But what if somebody doesn’t like gay people and the therapeutic alliance is subsequently totally and irrecoverably destroyed?

This thread

Then I guess they're out of luck, then, because unfortunately there are very few straight, white, older men in the medical profession and...wait, what was I saying again?