Posted on 05/24/2024 9:16:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
When I woke one recent morning to severe pain from a bout of kidney stones, I knew I had an excruciating day ahead of me. I didn’t realize how excruciating until I arrived at George Washington University Hospital’s emergency room where one of the ER’s resident physicians greeted me wearing a pin: “Ask Me About My Pronouns.” The remainder of my morning became a real-life demonstration of how woke physicians prioritize ideology over patient care.
The bloodwork taken upon my arrival showed a high white blood cell count, and during my stay, I complained of pain in both my kidneys. A CT scan taken in the emergency room likewise showed stranding (i.e., scarring) in both kidneys.
The next day, my primary care practitioner grew concerned that a kidney stone had caused an infection that had spread through my urinary tract. She asked me whether I had received intravenous antibiotics in the ER as a precautionary measure; I had not.
For all her outward concern about pronouns, the George Washington resident did not act concerned about a possible infection. She (they?) did not order a urine culture to check for infections, nor send the stone I passed while in the ER for laboratory analysis. She and her supervising physician also questioned the need for a CT scan, which had been standard practice during prior bouts of kidney stones, claiming that a scan would only be needed if I had a blockage or infection — an odd claim, given that I had yet to provide a urine specimen for analysis.
As a health policy analyst, I recognize that over-treating patients can cause complications such as anti-microbial resistance, not to mention raising health care costs for all of us. But when my primary care practitioner, who also happens to moonlight in another emergency room in the nation’s capital, identified basic precautions that the staff at George Washington failed to take, I became concerned not just that I had received poor care, but that the resident’s attire — one button referencing pronouns, another supporting the SEIU affiliate union representing the hospital’s resident physicians — suggested a focus on things other than patient care.
I contacted George Washington University Hospital about the care I received, but its press office did not respond to multiple calls and emails. Had hospital officials responded, I would have asked first why the hospital subjected me to a combination of questionable care and woke propaganda, and second why it billed my insurer nearly $21,000, of which my insurer expects me to pay nearly $3,000, for the privilege of receiving both.
My experience suggests that physicians should heed two lessons. For starters, leave the ideology at home. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, others don’t necessarily want to hear them, particularly in a place like a hospital.
Rather than engage in ostentatious virtue signaling that alienates as much as it attracts, doctors should spend more time listening to patients than talking at them. Ensuring patients feel heard regardless of skin color, political beliefs, and yes, pronouns, will prove far more meaningful than putting a button on one’s scrubs.
I don’t believe that the staff at George Washington University Hospital listened to me and my symptoms, and my experience makes me fear that the low-income patients the hospital treats — the kinds of individuals my ER resident likely wants to help — may suffer from poor care and not even recognize it. Rather than injecting cultural Marxism into medicine in a way that politicizes the entire health care system, perhaps this generation of woke medical students should understand that the best type of social justice involves them simply doing their jobs.
Tell them that if they don’t cut it out with the woke stuff their pronouns will be was/were.
Kidney stones are really bad. Having to deal with medically incompetent but politically correct staff must be the worst!
I’ve dealt with many medical issues, kidney stones being among them but even though I could detect their political and gender preference I’ve gotten only professional care from them.
Of course this could be because I live in the South and the virus hasn’t taken over here ... Yet.
Inner city hospitals are going totally woke.
Obviously, this guy is a hater, anti-hamas, probably doesn’t deserve medical care. Didn’t get it. So...obviously. But the honor of a 21K bill to help the less fortunate so the fed wont be billed and the hospital still makes its profit.
When I had a kidney stone I went to the small town hospital where I was spending the weekend and was immediately admitted. All I knew is I was in extreme pain and had nausea. I had never been to an ER before, so going to a hospital was a new experience for me. I don’t recall giving a UA sample, although I may well have. I did get a cat scan, which revealed the kidney stone. Since I was six hours from home they gave me some pain meds and sent me on my way. This was on a Friday. On Monday morning I went to my doctor. He set me up with a specialist on Tuesday and on Wednesday the stone was laser blasted. Everything was fast and efficient and insurance covered it all so I had no out of pocket costs for anything.
Then walk out and find a doctor who actually cares about the proper practice of the art.
I have a long history of kidney stones, and I won’t fault the ER doctor for their treatment as described, although the pronoun BS would be annoying.
The ER doc had a passed-stone in hand, so they knew the cause of the pain. Infection is caused by blockages, rarely by the scratching/scarring of a stone passing. They gave a CT scan (not cheap) to see if any other stones remained. If they were scrimping on treatment, they wouldn’t have done that.
For better or worse, the ER’s job is to get you out of the ER alive, and pass you back to your primary care doctor or specialists.
Dude ... he’s clearly a White Supremacist, and probably a Nazi. They should have euthanized him on the spot ...
Slightly off topic, but I’ve never heard my doctor at Kaiser even say the word “COVID” let alone pressure me about getting booster shots. I told how much I appreciated that and he was receptive to my comment. I’m keeping that doctor.
What race was she?
Take your magnesium. This is just one more reason to stay the hell out of the medical system
made the mistake of going once after a doc said “If you pass any more stones, go to hospital, they have help to ease the pain-
I went on my next stone— had to wait in emergency room for hours- They gave me nothing! Waste of time- I sat in the room praying it woudl pass quickly- it didn’t- it became obvious that they were not going to do anything so i walked out- I coulda stayed home and not had to deal with the pain from bouncing around for 40 miles to get to hospital and 40 back-
In the decadent phase of Western Civilization, all standards are continuously lowered.
I’ve got a “Ask Me About My Gonads” pin.
i have long history too- had a blockage once that caused really bizarre thing- blood cells would back up behind the stone- and woudl take on the shape of the tube they were goign down through, and every now and again, they owudl let loose and come out past the stone bockage i guess when the pressure gto strong enough to drive them out, and they looked like worms when they came out
I’ll post a link to a photo- it’s pretty gross though- I must have passed several dozens of them over the time i had the blockage- took some to the urologist who determined they were just blood cells that formed- but wow was it unnerving to go through not knowing what the heck was happening
They put a catheter in for a few weeks, and when they took it out, stones had attached to the outside of the catheter, which felt like yanking barbed wire out when they finally removed it- Doc had the nerve to say “Hold Still!” Then he saw the catheter exterior, and said- no wonder you had so much pain- sorry”
The link of the clots is again kinda gross- as it had bloody urine too- so just be warned-
P.S i found out that salty snack foods was a huge contributor to stones- since cutting them out and going on allopurinol i haven’t had and more pass, although there are still a few in the kidneys that attempt to pass every now and again- but so far, no more blockages-
Ouch. Just reading your post makes me wince.
Time for new doctor.
Find another Doctor.
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