Thread by @usnehal

Doctors, especially female doctors, are rushing to defend Dr. Birx

“male-centered” world is problem = latest knee jerk “feminist” defense

Men cause female doctors to not speak on scientific facts in public?
Huh?

Why isn’t female doctors saving lives of WOC part of “feminism”?

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1376516368007364615

The same doctors who will jump on the “racism!” bandwagon vs @JAMA_current if vs a *man*

will rush to cover up for a woman/peer who *operationalizes* structural racism

The face of structural & medical racism is female

And women will defend women rather than be held accountable

@DrJRMarcelin published this in @JAMA_current. Women of color, specifically black women, need to be leading the conversation on #COVID19 in America because when #publichealth systems fail on top of medical racism, you get exactly the results we got.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

Racism in policy is racism. Same for ageism, ableism. At a federal level it kills half a million.

#MedTwitter #academicchatter @JAMA_current @MeghanaKarande are we really saying only men harm?

Listen to Dr. Birx’s OWN WORDs. Crystal clear which deaths are “reassuring” to her.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1243583231200542721

If she were in active clinical practice in the U.S. she would likely be sued for her words and behaviors, appropriately so.

Which family is “reassured” that a loved one who died was >50?

Let’s look at whose deaths fall into “reassuring” per Dr. Birx’s definition:

https://twitter.com/CTZebra/status/1376708254013784066

Another “reassuring” death per Dr. Birx’s definition.

https://twitter.com/ctzebra/status/1376647856463970307

Also a “reassuring” death per Dr. Birx. Literally #womeninleadership & #womeninstem writing in @cnn are defending bureaucratic & leadership failure that killed their own peers

to help a higher ranking woman repair “reputation”

Look at priorities:
Life of a peer
vs
Reputation

https://twitter.com/ctzebra/status/1375851860368613378

Look at Dr. Birx’s own words: “reassuring”
Look at who died
Look at @meganranney’s defense:

“As a female physician-scientist myself, I am familiar with implicit and explicit misogyny and the big and small ways in which it changes one's decisions.”

cnn.com/2021/03/28/opi…

What is the obvious conclusion on #womeninleadership and #womeninstem if one believes that @cnn opinion: Don’t hire women as men in their environment will cause them to fail. Women lack backbone, integrity, and ethics, are too weak to speak in public.

Are women really that weak?

Well, to borrow words “As a female physician-scientist myself, I am familiar with implicit and explicit”

...ageism, ableism, racism all OPERATIONALIZED by Dr. Birx.

Dr. Birx took ACTIONs to harm

She actively destroyed #data reporting by the @cdc.

sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/i…

Lack of #ethics, #integrity, #accountability = harm on system & individual level

Dr. Birx HERSELF harms, regardless of men in the room

Women ARE adults
Women ARE accountable for OWN actions, words, choices

#womeninstem are not this weak
Women CAN lead
#WomensHistoryMonth

I say this all as a former #Medicaid medical director & Chief Medical Officer in the #FQHC space. I held both women & men accountable. Yes, of course sexism exists.

Is NEVER okay to pass your challenges on to patients as patient mortality.

AND women harshly judge patients too.

Further, listen to Birx’s own words - this is not male bullying causing her to say she deaths in age >50 are “reassuring” (to all - who all?)

These are her OWN beliefs AS A DOCTOR

Please acting like women have no brains of their own

She communicates clear disregard for life.

Dr. Birx worked in #globalhealth prior to this.

Why EXACTLY did she have such a “respected” reputation?

Is it because acting EXACTLY THIS WAY is “acceptable” for lives in African countries, like:

Were people afraid to speak up to a white woman?

#BLM

cnn.com/2020/04/07/afr…

I have worked & trained in #globalhealth

@meganranney, your “I have no doubt that she is a good person.” defense of Dr. Birx’s failures as a scientist, doctor, public servant

props up racial disparities, inequity, and dehumanization

in the name of “feminism”

WOC are women too

I cannot accept that we descend on @JAMA_current for a #podcast then give a pass to Dr. Birx for *death*

This #womeninleadership & #womeninSTEM “club”? Revoke my membership ASAP

My values are humanism, not “jettison ethics to get ahead” “feminism”

#MedTwitter #AcademicChatter

AS A DOCTOR
when your patients die (direct care or public health)

the most marginalized, vulnerable - elderly, chronic conditions, POC, frontline workers

Don’t you center yourself as “victim” & use a “male-centered” cop out - you can only harm or be party to harm that way

I have had much better female & male role models than many other #WomenInMedicine may have

perhaps this explains the bizarre rationales given to support female doctors who act without integrity or humanism

Excuses don’t save lives
Actions do
Fix systems

The rationale given by Dr. Birx herself
to explain her mindset
about how “reassuring” it was
that people > age of 50 were dying
= same as this
amp.usatoday.com/amp/2905990001

She was not in a space different from her own beliefs. Per her own words, she does not value all human life.

Why does the @wef have more ethics & concern in regards to the value of lives >age of 50 than doctors?

Should not the people, doctors,
who took an oath
to protect life
be first in line
to defend & save lives

not defend policy that kills?

weforum.org/agenda/2020/10…

@meganranney says a “male-centered” environment was “toxic” to Birx as a justification of impaired judgement

Are we to believe that when #WomenInMedicine are near men
they lose their professional judgment become an impaired physician?

Birx was toxic to elders, POC, marginalized

I do agree with @meganranney that leaders without courage pass on toxicity

I do not agree it is “not her fault”

Dr. Birx was described as
-creating toxic spaces, especially in African countries
creating a culture of “fear” resulting in falsified data
-destroying @CDCgov #data

Colonial attitudes common towards black & brown countries & communities in #publichealth & #globalhealth

They contribute to killing women of color, POC worldwide

all in the name of “saving” them, often tied to religious beliefs & political systems

cnn.com/2019/03/29/asi…

Which gender is more prevalent in #publichealth #globalhealth #communityhealth?

Women

Women are the ones who are perpetuating Colonial & imperialist policy & harm in the modern day

They are not doing so because they are “bullied” but acting from own cultural/religious beliefs

There is absolutely nothing new about this, is as old as America (and before that)

“Feminist” soldiers close ranks to protect & shield women
from any accountability

when POC harmed

= next generation of women perpetuates imperialist systems & culture

npr.org/2011/03/25/134…

Am currently studying at @MIT & published a chapter on #businessmodel of #AI in #healthcare including racial #disparities

description of Dr. Birx on #data deeply concerning
&
predicts her #data & #systems failures on the job in #COVID19 #pandemic

Rx Target > cases?!?

In regards to #data #artificialintelligence and #ethics, who keeps their job and gets promoted and who gets fired?

Read the articles on Dr. Birx. She knew best. She was an autocrat. She would not listen to locals. She rules by fear.

#AI #DataScience

vice.com/en/article/epd…

In fact, it’s very interesting that Dr. Birx has now gone on to lobbying on behalf of private industry for technology sales.

Best practices in product development, including developing countries, is co-development.

Listen, not force.
Understand context.

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

To protect & serve communities

that have not historically had a seat at the table

who have died at disproportionate rates in #COVID19

👉🏿leaders who respect all of humanity & create a positive culture

stop excusing toxic leaders who are cut of same cloth as their toxic bosses

Doctors have a lot of cleaning up to do internally - not about one #podcast by @JAMA_current

Some who believe selves to be at the forefront of #healthcare #equity #healthcare, including women, actually prop up the very toxicity that kills elderly, those w/ chronic illness, POC