An interesting article at City Journal (HT: Fred) quotes a physician who describes why physicians do not feel free to speak out in opposition to the transgender ideology that is quickly being adopted by our major hospital systems. In specific, he links the issue to all that happened during the Covid pandemic:
Normally, doctors operate by the authority of the professional societies that govern our specific practice. That worked because the individuals in those institutions were reliable, intelligent, and thoughtful. But with Covid in 2020, we started getting medical decrees without peer review or evidence—you saw this with masks, social distancing, and emergency-use authorizations. These decrees were expressed as something that everyone had to do, without justification based on sound science. The other thing was censorship. If you were to ask questions or express doubt about these medical decrees, you would be ostracized within your department, and you stood a good chance of being publicly humiliated, severely reprimanded, or fired…
Everyone within the medical community knew that if he questioned transgender ideology, he would suffer the same type of repercussions that had happened during Covid. The best way to describe the environment would be as an authoritarian, censorious culture that discourages any meaningful debate and encourages the demonization of anyone who asks questions.
If you analyze this physician’s words, you will understand that the problem is rooted in the fact that physicians are employed by the very same hospital systems that are pursuing this evil. And even some physicians not employed by the hospital systems are still dependent upon them because their livelihood is dependent upon being able to work in the setting of the hospital system.
If, in fact, these organizations had vibrant, independent medical staff structures, then the problem could be addressed. But in fact, the medical staff structures are tightly controlled by the hospital systems; and have been for many years. The “physician leaders” within hospital systems often tend to be management lackeys.
I think this was an insightful observation that was reported in City Journal. The way that Covid was handled has enormous consequences that extend far beyond Covid.
In other words shut up. Voluntarily refrain from speaking out or be involuntarily silenced. How pitifully sad .
That is the reality, Fred. And it has been for a long time. But before COVID, it was all “inside baseball”. With Covid and the transgender mess, it began to affect highly visible issues in the public square. And now everyone can see how pathetic our physicians have become, and how wildly irresponsible and corrupted our hospital systems have become.