Perspective: Education, Patients, and Politics

Zara M. Patel, MD, on behalf of the Rhinology and Allergy Education Committee

Zara M. Patel, MDOne may not immediately draw the connection between how we educate our patients and what is going on in our national politics these days, but it is something I consider often.

September is World Sinus Health Awareness Month, and awareness is commonly the first step in education. If the public is not aware of how prevalent a health issue is, how many other people are being impacted, and how that could be affecting their daily lives and hopes for a healthy future, we will be unable to garner attention, empathy, or funding to help those patients. The same could be said of any issue, on either side of the political spectrum.

Raising awareness is only the first step, though. True education is based on good evidence and a communicator who can present that evidence in a kind, understandable, nonjudgmental way. We, as physicians, are met with this challenge daily in our clinics. Patients may come to us with preconceived ideas of what disease they have and what the appropriate treatment is, and that does not always align with our expert opinions. Of course, a good physician does not blame the patient for thinking the way they do or accuse them of being liars or “sheep” for believing what another physician or health provider may have told them. They simply try and educate the patient as to why their opinion is different.

This daily practice of understanding should have created an army of empathetic physicians in our country, ready to consider evidence rationally, and collegially debate our differences, whether in science or politics. Yet, somehow, we cannot even agree on what “good evidence” is, or what “facts” are anymore, outside of our medical practices. Doctors, like every other profession, are spread across the political spectrum, and the rhetoric surrounding politics in this country has insidiously leaked into how we treat each other. A whopping 80% of doctors recently surveyed reported they had seen physician colleagues on social media platforms leaving angry comments on others’ posts, calling people names, and generally behaving in ways that tarnish this great profession of ours.¹

I believe most of us want what is best for our patients, for our families, and for our country. I believe the same characteristics that make us superlative physicians and surgeons are what can make us amazing citizens for our country and for each other. I believe what makes us excellent educators are the same qualities that can help us heal this country’s great divide, even in a time when we appear so far apart.

In this election year, with media constantly broadcasting the conflicts of a nation about to enter the most heated phase of this presidential and congressional battle, it may seem impossible to relate to those across the political spectrum from yourself. But we do not blame our patients or accuse them when we think they are misinformed. We try our hardest to be kind, understandable, nonjudgmental communicators.

Let’s do this with each other, with our neighbors, with our family members, and with everyone we interact with, both in person and online. Let’s educate and allow ourselves to be open to education from others. Let’s lead by example, and expand our amazing ability to heal, from patients to politics.

Reference:

1. Naomi Shammas. From Selfies to Slurs: Physicians Behaving Badly On, Off the Job. August 02, 2021. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/955815?form=fpf#vp_2 Accessed 8.5.2024.