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

Activism is a part of medicine and we cannot remain neutral

Yuemei (Amy) Zhang, MD
Physician
July 16, 2022
Share
Tweet
Share

From a new attending and the former resident and fellow physician union president, congratulations on starting your residency! You’ve dedicated decades of your life to medicine, and your years of studying and extracurricular achievement have brought you to this moment.

As you are well aware, residency will be tough. You will likely work long hours while being exploited by your employer as cheap labor, but you’ll be expected to drink from a firehose of knowledge simultaneously. You may struggle at times, but you’ll learn and amaze yourself with the things you accomplish, and at some point, residency will end. You’re expected to make mistakes, and the system is built with redundancies, so they’re safe. At some point(s), perhaps much sooner than you’d think, you’ll be the one to make the catch or save someone’s life. Although others may try to denigrate you as “just an intern,” you earned that degree and are a “real doctor.”

As you may expect from a former union leader, I want to add a few words on activism.

For better or worse, we are living in unprecedented times. When a once-in-a-century pandemic started in the middle of my residency, we thought things couldn’t get more unprecedented, but the “historical” events kept occurring. Now, you are entering residency as yet another new “historical” era begins.

Nowadays, even scientific fact has been politicized. Even though many of us may wish to stay out of politics and stick to our “nobler” lane of medicine, the reality is even your clinical practice could be considered “picking  a side.” Do the right thing. If you’re up for it, advocate for what is right too — for your patients, colleagues, yourself, your family, or this country. You are the face of the future, and your MD/DO/MBBS makes you more qualified to shape it than the many voices using their platform to broadcast untruths.

If your program has a union, I highly encourage you to join it because your union will fight for fair working conditions, and strength lies in solidarity. The benefits you’ll receive from joining a union will far exceed the cost of dues. If you’re considering forming a union or becoming a union leader, that’s even better.

Regardless of your path, activism is becoming a part of medicine, and we cannot remain neutral.

So keep learning, take care of yourself and each other, and work toward making the world a better place.

Yuemei (Amy) Zhang is an anesthesiologist and can be reached on Twitter @yzhangmd1.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Top 10 things new interns should do

July 16, 2022 Kevin 0
…
Next

Fat acceptance is a human acceptance movement

July 16, 2022 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy, Residency

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Top 10 things new interns should do
Next Post >
Fat acceptance is a human acceptance movement

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Yuemei (Amy) Zhang, MD

  • More than a “bad day”: Asian-American medical trainees need your support

    Yuemei (Amy) Zhang, MD
  • Health care workers need policy changes, not just applause

    Yuemei (Amy) Zhang, MD

Related Posts

  • How social media can advance humanism in medicine

    Pooja Lakshmin, MD
  • Why academic medicine needs to value physician contributions to online platforms

    Ariela L. Marshall, MD
  • The difference between learning medicine and doing medicine

    Steven Zhang, MD
  • Medicine rewards self-sacrifice often at the cost of physician happiness

    Daniella Klebaner
  • Medicine won’t keep you warm at night

    Anonymous
  • Delivering unpalatable truths in medicine

    Samantha Cheng

More in Physician

  • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

    Clayton Foster, MD
  • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
    • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Education
    • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

      Vaishali Jha | Education
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

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

View 3 Comments >

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 are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

      Deborah Lafer Scher | Conditions
    • Why judgment is hurting doctors—and how mindfulness can heal

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Education
    • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

      Vaishali Jha | Education
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

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

Activism is a part of medicine and we cannot remain neutral
3 comments

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

Loading Comments...