Judged at the clinic

[BBArchangel]

I have a medical doctor with whom I’ve always been able to talk about anything. I am a bit less certain, though, about his reaction should anything arise involving my relatively recent pnp activities.

[fskn]

3 hours ago, tallslenderguy said:

There are plenty of people working in health care who have decided bias and judgement. Many hospitals were started by religious organizations. There are plenty of people working in health care who believe all gay people are going to hell, then others who think sex is only supposed to happen between men and women in marriage. Healthcare workers get tons of ongoing education about bias and not bringing it into ones practice, but many believe they are right and righteous in their beliefs and won't hesitate to show their disdain and present as superior. 

Yup. And unfortunately, these biases, whether overt or covert, prevent such people from applying medical science. Their scorn discourages patients from seeking care, and their lack of knowledge prevents them from rendering correct and comprehensive care to patients against whom they are prejudiced. They need to find other professions.

The persistent religious influence over healthcare is lamentable. It's especially strong here in the US. The Catholic Church has successfully objected to employer-funded insurance coverage for birth control!

One interesting reality is that sometime around the middle of the last century hospitals became sophisticated, specialized, capital-intensive operations that could no longer be managed and staffed by religious folk working on a  "charitable" basis. One by one, the religious orders that had started hospitals and provided nuns as administrators and nurses had to transfer control to health care corporations and non-religious professionals. This hasn't stopped the resulting hospital networks from appealing to their "charitable" heritage when lobbying politicians, fighting reproductive health care rights in the courts, or seeking donations.