Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

It’s time for physicians to unite, not tear each other down

Anila Bindal, MD
Conditions
March 24, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

One of the many reasons I’m proud to be American is that we truly identify as being American. We aren’t Illinoisans or Californians. Our pride comes from being part of this nation. Why is it different in our careers?

As I watch the coronavirus multiply, both in number and as fear in people, I also watch it unravel the divide among physicians.  Instead of bonding together, physicians are spending time and energy devaluing their colleagues. I have seen many physicians look down on other physicians that have asked for safety (for themselves, for their families, for other patients), sometimes finances, for respect, and even for fairness.  Yes, we took an oath, and we should stand by that oath. Being a physician is a privilege, and I intend to treat it as such. However, “do no harm” applies as much to do no harm to others as it does to do no harm to ourselves. The overwillingness to be available has led to being exploited and has reduced us to being told to “use bandanas” in the face of crisis by our own CDC.

Where there is a divide, others will win. Many news sources have already spent years mostly bringing physicians down and highlighting publicly the errors that glimpse physicians to be human. Yes, we should strive to be better and make sure we and our colleagues are absolutely respect-worthy. No, we shouldn’t expect every physician to fulfill a God-like persona we’ve created in our own heads.

It’s time for physicians to unite, not tear each other down. I’d like to request that as a physician, you stop calling out your colleagues because you think you’re more humble, more giving, more important or more altruistic. This is a fundamental divide that has long caused physicians to self-harm as a group. If you want to give physicians a voice, to earn physicians respect, and to demonstrate the value of our degrees and training, then work together to uplift one another rather than focusing on what you think makes you better or what you think physicians are “supposed to be like.” Burnout is very high. This was true even before this all started, so throwing around rhetoric about “remembering your calling” only disempowers and shames your teammates.

Physicians are a group of people who are designed to help by virtue of who we are, and are trying to survive with dignity. If we keep looking for examples of the physicians who are doing things “wrong,” we’ll find those, but we’ll also be disgracing the degrees we’ve all worked very hard for, while bathing in the ego push we get when we tell ourselves we’re more altruistic than them. If we look for what our physician colleagues are doing right, of which we can find plenty of examples, maybe we can actually honor our profession and move forward in a way that’s cohesive.

Let’s stop tearing down our physician colleagues.

Let’s make the U.S. proud by standing together.

Anila Bindal is an endocrinologist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Cocktails during COVID-19

March 24, 2020 Kevin 1
…
Next

Life on the frontlines and surviving the emergency department (with the help of social media)

March 24, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Cocktails during COVID-19
Next Post >
Life on the frontlines and surviving the emergency department (with the help of social media)

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Doctors: It’s time to unionize

    Thomas D. Guastavino, MD
  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • It’s time for physicians to be less “productive”

    Anonymous
  • The risk physicians take when going on social media

    Anonymous
  • When it comes to pay cuts, it’s time to look beyond physicians

    J. DeWayne Tooson, MD
  • Beware of pseudoscience: The desperate need for physicians on social media

    Valerie A. Jones, MD

More in Conditions

  • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

    Frank I. Jackson, DO
  • How are prostate exams done and why you shouldn’t avoid them

    Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD
  • Airlines’ policy ignores your do not resuscitate (DNR): Discover why and some ways to protect yourself

    Althea Halchuck, EJD
  • How coaching transforms care for people with multiple sclerosis

    Jessica Singh, MD and Liz Kiniry
  • Integrating vitamin education in mental health care

    Scarlett Saitta
  • Mumps orchitis still causes infertility years after childhood

    Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Confronting the return of measles and vaccine misinformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden reason your vacations never feel like enough

      Kent DeLay, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • When medicine surrenders to ideology

      Anonymous | Physician
    • How just culture can reduce burnout and boost health care staff retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • How AI, animals, and ecosystems reveal a new kind of intelligence

      Fateh Entabi, MD | Tech
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Confronting the return of measles and vaccine misinformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden reason your vacations never feel like enough

      Kent DeLay, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • When medicine surrenders to ideology

      Anonymous | Physician
    • How just culture can reduce burnout and boost health care staff retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Affordable postpartum hemorrhage solutions every OB/GYN should know

      Frank I. Jackson, DO | Conditions
    • Why kratom addiction is the next public health crisis

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Meds
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...