Doctors Have Been Working Hard In This Pandemic And Do Not Appreciate Being Slandered: A Thread
First, @ACEPNow, which represents my specialty of emergency medicine:
“ACEP is appalled by President Trump's reckless and false assertions that physicians are overcounting deaths related to COVID-19. Emergency physicians and other health care workers have risked their lives...
“...day in and day out... battling the greatest public health crisis in a generation—all while watching countless patients die alone, going to work without sufficient protection equipment, and struggling with crushing anxiety about getting sick or spreading the virus...”
(I had to take a break reading this before finishing it. These are my career-long friends, my work family; we’ve had a rough year, to say the least. And still... we’re there for you.)
Next, @ACPinternists, the largest medical specialty organization, representing internal medicine.
“To suggest that physicians would misstate the cause of death for financial gain is false, and represents a reprehensible attack on our profession and ethics.”
“...several recent studies suggest that the actual number of people who have died from COVID-19 is much higher than the terrible toll of 220,000 deaths officially attributed to the virus. Alleging that COVID-19 deaths instead are overcounted...
“...undermines the work by physicians and public health authorities to remind the public of the seriousness of the pandemic and to recommend steps to reduce transmission of the virus, cases, and deaths.”
Now @CMSSmed, an umbrella organization representing 45 medical specialties:
“These baseless claims do a disservice to all health professionals and promulgate misinformation that hinders our nation’s efforts to get the Covid-19 pandemic under control.”
“Every American deserves a strong public health response to the pandemic.”
A simple, strong statement from the @AmerMedicalAssn, the largest physician organization in the US:
“Let’s be clear: physicians are not inflating the number of COVID-19 patients...”
“Physicians and patients are making remarkable sacrifices and we continue urging all to wear a mask, physical distance, and wash your hands to reduce suffering, illness, and death.”
It’s not just physicians - it’s all healthcare workers and scientists who daily watch their hard work, data, and messaging dismissed and integrity questioned. Let’s support each other in every way possible as we continue the fight.
There are always people who will argue against science and public health. Medical treatments for addiction, vaccines, speed limits, seatbelts, smoking bans, condom use ... all of these had and have die-hard opponents with their individual rationales for opposition.
I guess I’m saying this for those of you who feel frustrated and hopeless against the loud voices of those who oppose public health measures. There is always an uphill battle to diffusion of health innovation. Most times, the actions that save lives advance over time.
I definitely feel that frustration... I'm shopping for punching bags for my home (seriously). Stay in the part of the ecosystem you believe in, be steady, and focus on being a helper.
Probably on anticoagulants too. Sometimes old fragile papery skin does that when the veins are elusive. But the lip argues anticoagulants.
Also clinically possible that he touched the cursed horcrux as others are suggesting on this thread. Just spitballing here so may as well keep the differential broad.
Scientists are trained to look for evidence of their own biases, and to consider the possibility that their hypotheses are wrong. In fact, hypotheses are framed in terms of the "null" - the baseline assumption that the thing you think is true is not.
In every grant, you have to:
- lay out your safeguards against bias, point by point
- discuss what happens if your initial hypothesis is wrong
- guard against linked Aims that rely on assumptions that your hypothesis is right
You basically can't get funded unless you show rigor and an ability to roll with unexpected findings.
Medicine fails to acknowledge the depth of these losses from academia ... we lose talent, the leadership stays what it is, we reinforce the status quo. What is best for our patients? What is best for the science? statnews.com/2020/10/21/map…
Here's the direct link to the brave open letter from @AnuAnandaraja
After yesterday's Zoom session with @thenephrologist@kdc_md@DrAyanaJordan and @DrOniBee I am in mourning for what is lost when Black women and other WOC cannot stay and thrive in academic medicine. And I see all of you who stay but at cost to your own health and well-being.
I took care of a patient who lived in a small apartment with a large family. They pasted together garbage bags to make tunnels through the hallways to try to isolate COVID+ family members. When we all do our best to keep rates low, we help those vulnerable to exposure.
If I get COVID, I have the luxury of isolating in an extra room or the basement. I have few comorbidities and access to healthcare. I have the financial reserve to take time off.
People with these privileges need to have enough imagination to see those who don’t have them, and enough compassion to act on their behalf.