I’m beginning to feel like the medical community is getting taken advantage of from every angle possible.
First it was from the healthcare entities that are making our lives miserable. They’re expecting us to see larger numbers of patients and making it feel like we’re just a piece in a conveyor.
Then it was from the insurance companies, who push our patience to the max by questioning our every decision and making us jump through hoops to actually give care to patients.
But now, as was pointed out by a recent anonymous article on SoMeDocs that has inspired me to write my own piece, doctors are eating their own.
Because we’re so burned out, we’re organizing in online spaces that seem to be run by one or two individuals and with zero clarity on what’s promoted and how.
I’ve spoken to friends, for example, who have literally been singled out, their comments erased where organizers of groups felt they were impeding.
I've spoken to friends, for example, who have literally been singled out, their comments erased where organizers of groups felt they were impeding. Click To Tweet
This happened in an entrepreneurial-focused group, where the admin was profiting, and where the recommendation (left innocently and honestly in a comment section) was erased. No one knew it had been there, so her, “no harm done”.
Is this really what we’re all supporting?
Tell me how this is any different than an existing dictatorship.
In the case above, an admin literally gets to control the narrative of his or her online space. And since there are tens of thousands of physicians in these groups, there is sway. When a comment or two get deleted from threads, no one (except the silenced person) knows. Most of the time, they don’t know either, because they post the comment and move on, expecting that it’s still there.
The “dictator” will literally swoop in for the kill, and they quite literally go for the jugular. The “dictator” thus gets to thrive, and succeed, because they so cleverly arrange what’s seen (and even more importantly, what isn’t).
The 'dictator' thus gets to thrive, and succeed, because they so cleverly arrange what's seen (and even more importantly, what isn't). #MEDed #socialmedia Click To Tweet
So tell me, my physician friends, that we’re not our own worst enemies. Please open your eyes and tell me that there isn’t “influence” being exerted, and by a very few who have learned to milk the system, and take advantage of our profession’s situation.
Please open your eyes and tell me that there isn't 'influence' being exerted, and by a very few who have learned to milk the system, and take advantage of our profession's situation. Click To Tweet
Unsuspecting physicians are currently regularly being taken advantage of by these predatory dictators and instead of using our brains and calling them out on it, we’re praising them and giving them awards.
Wisen up. Open your eyes.
I hereby call for an end to any ongoing online dictatorships.
