Medicine Degrades When It Becomes Politicized

American Thinker ^ | 3 Jul, 2024 | Michael Applebaum, M.D.

[MtnClimber]

How can Americans trust the medical establishment when it openly engages in openly ideological bias?

Together with 51,269,999 others, I watched the Trump-Biden debate on Thursday, June 27, 2024. I also paid attention to the obligatory spin from both sides. In addition to the usual talking head commentary, the Biden side released information about Joe’s health during his encounter with Trump. Based upon that narrow, self-serving information, one medical publication embarked upon an entire essay of uniformed Biden apologetics.

The Hill: “President Biden has a cold, a White House official told The Hill amid the first presidential debate.”

The Wall Street Journal: “A Biden campaign source familiar with the president’s health said that Biden is suffering from a cold. Biden’s voice is hoarse and he coughed a bit as he began the debate. He has been in Camp David for the past week preparing for the debate.”

Predictably, the moment health is mentioned, some within the medical profession pipe up and opine. This is not dissimilar to (although it’s different from) the irresponsible (IMHO) armchair psychiatric speculations from some alleged health professionals regarding Trump.

MedPage Today published an opinion piece on June 29, 2024, titled “Did Cold Medications Affect Biden’s Debate Performance? – How the American people assess the debate hinges on the answer.” The first author is “a professor of leadership practice,” and the second is “a cardiologist and a professor of medicine.”

There is a clear bias to the article. It begins:

Early last week, Donald Trump suggested that Joe Biden would be on performance-enhancing drugs for the presidential debate and demanded a drug test. The claim was widely laughed off as Trumpaganda, creating another fact-free conspiratorial haze. Still, perhaps Trump was onto something. The country is struggling to reconcile Biden’s cognitive impairment...

[MtnClimber]

The DEI programs seem to be succeeding in the (I)ndoctrination part.

[PGalt]

Side effects can cause death.

[Dr.Deth]

The “cold” narrative began about a half hour into the debate when POTATUS was verbally faceplanting.

When you lie all the time about everything anyway, what’s one more?

[momincombatboots]

If you work in the medical field, you are astounded at the path of medicine.
I still hear doctors, administrators, your mom’s sweet nurse talk about denying care to those who refused the covid vax.
They are more of them who think that.. they also think a baby in the womb is part of a woman’s body.
Any woman who has simply carried a son, knows that it is true.

[Blueflag]

Missing a word in your last two sentences? Just trying to correctly infer meaning.

[SMARTY]

EVERYTHING Degrades When It Becomes Politicized

[rlmorel]

How right you are.

On a related note, a lot of medical schools no longer subscribe to the Hippocratic Oath or have new MDs take it.

That is a bad thing, because there is a lot to admire and like about the Hippocratic oath. If they trashed the old one and didn't require them to take an oath of any kind, it might be less damaging.

But the NEW oaths many are taking are disgusting. They are wholly Leftist indoctrination:

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Class of 2024 Oath

As the entering class of 2020, we start our medical journey amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and a national civil rights movement reinvigorated by the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. We honor the 700,000+ lives lost to COVID-19, despite the sacrifices of health care workers.

We recognize the fundamental failings of our health care and political systems in serving vulnerable communities. This oath is the first step in our enduring commitment to repairing the injustices against those historically ignored and abused in medicine: Black patients, Indigenous patients, Patients of Color and all marginalized populations who have received substandard care as a result of their identity and limited resources.

Acknowledging the privilege and responsibility that come with being a physician, I take this oath as a call to action to fulfill my duty to patients, to the medical profession and to society.

Thereby, I pledge as a physician and lifelong student of medicine:

I will support and collaborate with my colleagues across disciplines and professions, while respecting the patient’s vital role on the health care team.

I will honor my physical, mental and emotional health so as to not lessen the quality of care I provide.

I will carry on the legacy of my predecessors by mentoring the next generation of diverse physicians.

I will recognize the pivotal role of ethical research in the advancement of medicine and commit myself to endless scholarship with the ultimate goal of improving patient care.

I will care for my patients’ holistic well-being, not solely their pathology. With empathy, compassion and humility, I will prioritize understanding each patient’s narrative, background and experiences while protecting privacy and autonomy.

I will champion diversity in both medicine and society, and promote an inclusive environment by respecting the perspectives of others and relentlessly seeking to identify and eliminate my personal biases.

I will be an ally to those of low socioeconomic status, the BIPOC community, the LGBTQIA+ community, womxn/women, differently-abled individuals and other underserved groups in order to dismantle the systemic racism and prejudice that medical professionals and society have perpetuated.

I will educate myself on social determinants of health in order to use my voice as a physician to advocate for a more equitable health care system from the local to the global level.

I will restore trust between the health care community and the population in which I serve by holding myself and others accountable, and by combating misinformation in order to improve health literacy.

In making this oath, I embrace the ever-changing responsibilities of being a physician and pledge to uphold the integrity of the profession in the clinic and beyond.

[rlmorel]

You wrote: "...They are more of them who think that. They also think a baby in the womb is part of a woman’s body. Any woman who has simply carried a son, knows that it is true...

Perhaps you were trying to say this?

"...They also think a baby in the womb is simply a part of a woman’s body. Any woman who has carried a son, knows that it is not true..."

If that was not your intention, I apologize. I don't want to put words in your mouth.

[RoosterRedux]

• The practice of medicine is based on science.

• Science requires the application of the scientific method.

• The scientific method requires objectivity (i.e., the absence of bias).

• Politics is loaded with bias.

Ergo, political bias is destructive to the medical profession.

Here's what ChatGPT had to say about the above:

The statement presents a logical argument.

Analyzing each part:

1. The practice of medicine is based on science.: True. Effective medical practice relies on scientific principles and evidence.

2. Science requires the application of the scientific method.: True. The scientific method is fundamental to scientific inquiry, ensuring the reliability of findings.

3. The scientific method requires objectivity (i.e., the absence of bias).: True. Objectivity is crucial to ensure that scientific findings are accurate and not influenced by personal or external biases.

4. Politics is loaded with bias.: Often true. Political decisions and processes are frequently influenced by various biases, interests, and agendas.

5. Ergo, the invasion of political bias (into the practice of medicine) is destructive to the medical profession.: This conclusion logically follows from the premises. If the practice of medicine is based on science, and science requires objectivity, then the introduction of political bias, which is inherently biased, can undermine the objectivity and reliability of medical practice. Thus, political bias can be destructive to the medical profession by compromising the scientific basis on which it relies.

In conclusion, the statement is logically coherent and highlights the potential negative impact of political bias on the practice of medicine.

[9YearLurker]

Medicine has already severely degraded itself otherwise. Of course, the politics doesn’t help, but that’s the least of it.

[bk1000]

At one point in time, the most brilliant, best educated, and most highly respected physicians believed one could be treated by bleeding or drilling holes in the skull. Centuries later there was electroshock therapy. There has been so much quackery through the ages, I guess this is just what’s next.

[so_real]

Yes, but back then the quackery was niche ... today it has gone main stream to the point of canceling those who won't embrace the delusion.

[rktman]

Yup! Extremely leary of “med authorities” these days.

[Blueflag]

That’s what I was wondering as well.

[Blueflag]

That’s just sad and disgusting.

[glennaro]

Damn straight!

During the Fauci Flu debacle it was the Medical Industry with their medical "political science".
Now it's the Legal Industry with their sham trials and government-run gulags.

[SunkenCiv]

So does equal protection under the law.

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[RoosterRedux]

What is sad and disgusting?

[rlmorel]

I suspect, based on the content of her whole post that was what she was trying to say, but lack of morning coffee gets me like that occasionally, so I suspect it happens to others as well…