I know this article is half tongue in cheek, but the points are vital.
I work with the Admissions Committee and the basic tenor of that is essentially (and I wish I were exaggerating): we do not really care too much about your ability to care for patients or to learn the material -- we just care for "how far you have traveled in your life journey" and your demographic and social justice warrior scores. I wish I were exaggerating but I am not. The Admissions Committee is not even privy to MCAT scores or GPAs...might cause some people to be screened out. This is generally LCME (the accrediting body for medical schools) driven (talk about a far-left cesspool) but the entire educational matrix is suffering. We have now gone to pass/fail for everything (including national boards) because everyone is less competent (no surprise) and we do not want to illustrate it. The eventual outcome is the deprecation of medical care -- and no one ever speaks to this even though it is the elephant in the room.
It really does not matter what your political stance/affiliation is (I am a fierce independent, but far from a Bernie Sanders supporter.) -- In medicine only two things matter: 1) Do you have the intellectual capacity to learn the massive amounts of material and to apply it to each individual patient who appears before you? and 2) Do you have the passion/resolution that your calling in life is to take the best possible care of the person for whom you have assumed such responsibility? There is a reason that for so many years medicine has been considered a profession, not a job. Every distraction from these two elements (including virtually all of the "doctors need to think this way about race/sex/whatever) is bad for doctors, bad for the health system and worst of all, bad for patients.
The group of us that worry primarily about what is best for the next patient you see seems to be shrinking radically. Every admission request is about how "I want to get into medicine to help my victim group". I can think of nothing more wrong nor more toxic.
This entire discussion is getting like the conversation about CA2098 that says "you can only say/think about COVID what the diktats of the State tell you to say/think or we will cancel you (and your license)". This is just the same thing, writ larger.
When I was in med school, considering the controversial nature of the topic, they let us opt out of abortion related procedures during our OB rotations if it violated our conscience. I don’t know if that’s still an option.
But what about the trans controversy? From everything I hear about the med school experience today, they won’t let you “opt out” of participating in that issue, and good luck to anyone, student or lecturer, who dissents from that orthodoxy.
So it’s not a question of whether they’ll let a “conservative” (if that’s what we now call people who think castrating children is wrong) *into* med school, it’s a question of whether a conservative can make it through med school without getting a) mobbed or b) losing their soul/conscience/self-respect by constantly living a lie.
Eventually they’ll just build conservative friendly med schools, the med school version of Hillsdale, is my guess.
You can be a doctor who is a Democrat but take a side against masking children and get called out as a Tea Party MAGA thumper. The left has become irrational.
I was a Lifelong Democrat who will NEVER vote for another Democrat. The left supports medical tyranny, and supported AB2098. They even tried to get a bill in California that would have required you to be vaccinated for any job. The left NEVER spoke up about people losing their livelihoods due to the mandates. They didn't care about our children, elderly and our poorest communities. I worry in the future that they will try to deny treatment to people on the right. I am team humanity and compassion.
I am a staunch conservative. America was founded on the Christian principle of religious liberty (particularly religious liberty within the Christian faith). Believe it or not, I'm in internal medicine...so that puts me in the minority per the graph above. My point? If politics is downstream of culture, culture is downstream of religion. America's "religion" is now secularism: its government, its academic institutions, its media, etc. The American academic medical environment is a microcosm of this, so it stands to reason people like myself (conservative) are finding themselves on the outside of the secular looking glass...looking in. The trouble is, a major part of conservatism (at least in the academic realm) is rooted in true liberalism: grappling, contending, and reasoning with differing opinions. If the medical schools want to oust conservatives, they will be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They will not allow the medical universities to be true universities with the free flow and exchange of ideas, theories, and perspectives. They will not be training physicians equipped with the faculties of reasoning, logic, or patience in the presence of trials (and differing opinions). They'll be training lobbyists with extensive medical vocabularies...not doctors.
I very much admire your critical thinking and analysis on a variety of subjects and I would love to see you write an article describing why you support Bernie Sanders. I support legitimate liberal ideals, however, Bernie is more of a socialist than a liberal and his policies are not only naive, they are often ludicrous.
Definitely makes me worry about the future of medicine and the quality of doctors in ten years. I'm not sure how I feel about affirmative action. I don't want a surgeon operating on me or my family who only got into med school/residency/practice because of affirmative action. But, I also see that many kids don't have the educational opportunities to get into med school. Seems like the solution would be to fix our educational system so that ALL kids have the chance for a better education that prepares them for med school (or any other career).
Political party should never come into play in medicine. We must simply provide unbiased care. The progressive left indoctrination of medical education needs to be balanced and must take into account merit while we try to create opportunity. Dr Calhoun is entitled to his opinions. Personally I think the equity and diversity issue is skewed too far left. Like many issues we face it needs to be rebalanced. Full disclosure I am an independent physician. I believe we need to stop carving up our country with polarizing definitions. Political party is one of them.
What an interesting graphic, I had no idea!! And is it not totally consistent that the two specialties which are consistently most front and center supporting the vaccines - infectious diseases and pediatrics - are in fact number 1 and number 3 most Democratic-leaning?
Your first mistake is supporting progressivism. Progressivism is a disease. Progressivism is a inherently authoritarian fascist ideology . It’s anti-human.
Human flourishing ingenuity innovation invention can only thrive under conditions of liberty. A regulatory state or administrative state is an anathema to human flourishing
When I see my providers, I don't know nor care about their politics. When I see my patients, I don't ask or care about their politics. It is sad that one's personal political beliefs should even enter into the relationship.
Are you anti-abortion? Don't do them.
I want a surgeon that can do the operation, and a medical provider who keeps up with the literature. I'm buying expertise, not a friend.
I think it’s dangerous to ban anyone because of their political beliefs. Period. What talent do we lose? Is it so threatening that someone disagrees with you? If your opinion is based on solid fact and careful consideration, do you crush so easily under an opposing view? Is it not healthy to debate with civility? Is that scary? It is a dangerous stance to separate half our society no matter what side you’re on. Or at least it frightens me. Do I like it when people agree with me? Damn straight. It validates me. Do I hate people who disagree? No. It’s their right to do so. And maybe, just maybe, I can learn something ... or teach something in the process.
Everyone has opinions, a unique set of values, personality characteristics, intelligence and decision making strategies. One can lump them into one of two camps. But given the variability among individuals in each camp, this won't go very far before there is disagreement within each major camp, setting up numerous factions. Confusing one's opinion with facts is a mistake as something as completely relative as an opinion seems to by definition not be absolute. How does one conclude that an opinion, for example affirmative action, has only one correct perspective? Even if we decide that, then there are numerous other issues where progressives might take issue with and weed people out and at some point, no one will be left in medicine. But then again, I have learned that reality is stranger than fiction these last few years.
At first I thought it was 100% a joke - and I’m certain there’s an element of that in here but WOW…
I am SO GLAD the majority of my medical issues are in the rear view now. I do not think there’s a chance in hell to get quality care within the next 10 years; in fact I’m pretty sure that’s the case in many ways already.
I had never cared much about politics (still don’t in many ways, as the left and the right wings are attached to the same bird).
I DO know that had I gotten sober today, I would have been given an opioid like methadone or buprenorphine to remain on for life, little if any headshrinking on how to actually LIVE sober, and likely had my feelings catered to so I could live in a bubble. Thank goodness there were psychiatrists that held my feet to the fire, forced me to grow up, and helped me become a responsible, productive member of society. I have no clue as to their politics, but I do know they weren’t “politically correct” and would have scoffed at the current way of doing things. None of them would have been corporate. I sit nowhere on the political beam as I only vote locally - and haven’t trusted “Big ANYTHING” in decades. I’m sad to report my faith in medicine, as good as it’s been to me, has been shattered. The decline in the world is sad to me. The decline in medicine sickens me, but not enough to go get seen today. Maybe it’s desired by whoever pushes this “white savior” agenda.
I know this article is half tongue in cheek, but the points are vital.
I work with the Admissions Committee and the basic tenor of that is essentially (and I wish I were exaggerating): we do not really care too much about your ability to care for patients or to learn the material -- we just care for "how far you have traveled in your life journey" and your demographic and social justice warrior scores. I wish I were exaggerating but I am not. The Admissions Committee is not even privy to MCAT scores or GPAs...might cause some people to be screened out. This is generally LCME (the accrediting body for medical schools) driven (talk about a far-left cesspool) but the entire educational matrix is suffering. We have now gone to pass/fail for everything (including national boards) because everyone is less competent (no surprise) and we do not want to illustrate it. The eventual outcome is the deprecation of medical care -- and no one ever speaks to this even though it is the elephant in the room.
It really does not matter what your political stance/affiliation is (I am a fierce independent, but far from a Bernie Sanders supporter.) -- In medicine only two things matter: 1) Do you have the intellectual capacity to learn the massive amounts of material and to apply it to each individual patient who appears before you? and 2) Do you have the passion/resolution that your calling in life is to take the best possible care of the person for whom you have assumed such responsibility? There is a reason that for so many years medicine has been considered a profession, not a job. Every distraction from these two elements (including virtually all of the "doctors need to think this way about race/sex/whatever) is bad for doctors, bad for the health system and worst of all, bad for patients.
The group of us that worry primarily about what is best for the next patient you see seems to be shrinking radically. Every admission request is about how "I want to get into medicine to help my victim group". I can think of nothing more wrong nor more toxic.
This entire discussion is getting like the conversation about CA2098 that says "you can only say/think about COVID what the diktats of the State tell you to say/think or we will cancel you (and your license)". This is just the same thing, writ larger.
If you are a patient, be very afraid, I fear.
When I was in med school, considering the controversial nature of the topic, they let us opt out of abortion related procedures during our OB rotations if it violated our conscience. I don’t know if that’s still an option.
But what about the trans controversy? From everything I hear about the med school experience today, they won’t let you “opt out” of participating in that issue, and good luck to anyone, student or lecturer, who dissents from that orthodoxy.
So it’s not a question of whether they’ll let a “conservative” (if that’s what we now call people who think castrating children is wrong) *into* med school, it’s a question of whether a conservative can make it through med school without getting a) mobbed or b) losing their soul/conscience/self-respect by constantly living a lie.
Eventually they’ll just build conservative friendly med schools, the med school version of Hillsdale, is my guess.
Sad state of affairs!
https://gaty.substack.com/
You can be a doctor who is a Democrat but take a side against masking children and get called out as a Tea Party MAGA thumper. The left has become irrational.
I was a Lifelong Democrat who will NEVER vote for another Democrat. The left supports medical tyranny, and supported AB2098. They even tried to get a bill in California that would have required you to be vaccinated for any job. The left NEVER spoke up about people losing their livelihoods due to the mandates. They didn't care about our children, elderly and our poorest communities. I worry in the future that they will try to deny treatment to people on the right. I am team humanity and compassion.
I am a staunch conservative. America was founded on the Christian principle of religious liberty (particularly religious liberty within the Christian faith). Believe it or not, I'm in internal medicine...so that puts me in the minority per the graph above. My point? If politics is downstream of culture, culture is downstream of religion. America's "religion" is now secularism: its government, its academic institutions, its media, etc. The American academic medical environment is a microcosm of this, so it stands to reason people like myself (conservative) are finding themselves on the outside of the secular looking glass...looking in. The trouble is, a major part of conservatism (at least in the academic realm) is rooted in true liberalism: grappling, contending, and reasoning with differing opinions. If the medical schools want to oust conservatives, they will be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They will not allow the medical universities to be true universities with the free flow and exchange of ideas, theories, and perspectives. They will not be training physicians equipped with the faculties of reasoning, logic, or patience in the presence of trials (and differing opinions). They'll be training lobbyists with extensive medical vocabularies...not doctors.
I very much admire your critical thinking and analysis on a variety of subjects and I would love to see you write an article describing why you support Bernie Sanders. I support legitimate liberal ideals, however, Bernie is more of a socialist than a liberal and his policies are not only naive, they are often ludicrous.
Definitely makes me worry about the future of medicine and the quality of doctors in ten years. I'm not sure how I feel about affirmative action. I don't want a surgeon operating on me or my family who only got into med school/residency/practice because of affirmative action. But, I also see that many kids don't have the educational opportunities to get into med school. Seems like the solution would be to fix our educational system so that ALL kids have the chance for a better education that prepares them for med school (or any other career).
Political party should never come into play in medicine. We must simply provide unbiased care. The progressive left indoctrination of medical education needs to be balanced and must take into account merit while we try to create opportunity. Dr Calhoun is entitled to his opinions. Personally I think the equity and diversity issue is skewed too far left. Like many issues we face it needs to be rebalanced. Full disclosure I am an independent physician. I believe we need to stop carving up our country with polarizing definitions. Political party is one of them.
I think there is only one way you are allowed to think in medical school now. Is there a faculty member who gets hired without a DEI statement?: https://www.city-journal.org/the-corruption-of-medicine
What an interesting graphic, I had no idea!! And is it not totally consistent that the two specialties which are consistently most front and center supporting the vaccines - infectious diseases and pediatrics - are in fact number 1 and number 3 most Democratic-leaning?
Your first mistake is supporting progressivism. Progressivism is a disease. Progressivism is a inherently authoritarian fascist ideology . It’s anti-human.
Human flourishing ingenuity innovation invention can only thrive under conditions of liberty. A regulatory state or administrative state is an anathema to human flourishing
When I see my providers, I don't know nor care about their politics. When I see my patients, I don't ask or care about their politics. It is sad that one's personal political beliefs should even enter into the relationship.
Are you anti-abortion? Don't do them.
I want a surgeon that can do the operation, and a medical provider who keeps up with the literature. I'm buying expertise, not a friend.
I think it’s dangerous to ban anyone because of their political beliefs. Period. What talent do we lose? Is it so threatening that someone disagrees with you? If your opinion is based on solid fact and careful consideration, do you crush so easily under an opposing view? Is it not healthy to debate with civility? Is that scary? It is a dangerous stance to separate half our society no matter what side you’re on. Or at least it frightens me. Do I like it when people agree with me? Damn straight. It validates me. Do I hate people who disagree? No. It’s their right to do so. And maybe, just maybe, I can learn something ... or teach something in the process.
So my question is "is diversity more important than skill"?
Asking or using political affiliation should be illegal for now obvious reasons. This is getting ridiculous and dangerous.
MIT canceled the zoom seminar by a noted climate science expert during Covid, because he had expressed support for the idea of meritocracy.
The Woodrow Wilson center at Princeton, then offered to host his zoom seminar.
Shameful behavior by MIT.
Everyone has opinions, a unique set of values, personality characteristics, intelligence and decision making strategies. One can lump them into one of two camps. But given the variability among individuals in each camp, this won't go very far before there is disagreement within each major camp, setting up numerous factions. Confusing one's opinion with facts is a mistake as something as completely relative as an opinion seems to by definition not be absolute. How does one conclude that an opinion, for example affirmative action, has only one correct perspective? Even if we decide that, then there are numerous other issues where progressives might take issue with and weed people out and at some point, no one will be left in medicine. But then again, I have learned that reality is stranger than fiction these last few years.
At first I thought it was 100% a joke - and I’m certain there’s an element of that in here but WOW…
I am SO GLAD the majority of my medical issues are in the rear view now. I do not think there’s a chance in hell to get quality care within the next 10 years; in fact I’m pretty sure that’s the case in many ways already.
I had never cared much about politics (still don’t in many ways, as the left and the right wings are attached to the same bird).
I DO know that had I gotten sober today, I would have been given an opioid like methadone or buprenorphine to remain on for life, little if any headshrinking on how to actually LIVE sober, and likely had my feelings catered to so I could live in a bubble. Thank goodness there were psychiatrists that held my feet to the fire, forced me to grow up, and helped me become a responsible, productive member of society. I have no clue as to their politics, but I do know they weren’t “politically correct” and would have scoffed at the current way of doing things. None of them would have been corporate. I sit nowhere on the political beam as I only vote locally - and haven’t trusted “Big ANYTHING” in decades. I’m sad to report my faith in medicine, as good as it’s been to me, has been shattered. The decline in the world is sad to me. The decline in medicine sickens me, but not enough to go get seen today. Maybe it’s desired by whoever pushes this “white savior” agenda.