Politics in the Waiting Room

Posted on August 21, 2004 in Anxiety Medical Ethics

I’m still reeling over the whole business of yesterday, the blatant propagandizing in the waiting room and the attitude of my doctors that it was okay for a physician to corrupt the patient-physician relationship with politics. I am angry and I am bitter about the whole affair. Can I trust the physician that Bristol Park assigned to me while my regular doctor is on sick leave? What do I do?

There’s not much on the net about the issue of doctors politicizing the practice, but I found a few links which spoke to experiences:

• A Strange Checkup
• Keep checkups free of politics
• Keep Politics Out of the Waiting Room

The last article brought tears to my eyes as I read it. Here is a gentleman who understands both sides of the issue. I am not asking any doctor to change his or her politics to suit me: just to keep it out of the medical office. This free country bullshit is trumped by reasonable expectations of neutrality in the medical office.

I am in tears and feeling anxious now because of this dimwit — evidentally one of those who got through medical school in those days when only grades mattered and the chief reason for entering the profession was to make a lot of money.

I do miss my regular physician and hope that his health improves so that he can return to practice. I went through several years of being scared of dentists because of a jerk. I don’t want to jeopardize my health again because of this.

So I am asking what can I do to protect myself?

From the Victoroff article:

When a professional advertises a political position with an emblem such as a button, it changes the terms of the professional relationship (teacher-student, doctor-patient, etc.). Such relationships are inherently unequal, because the “learned” party is held — rightfully — in a position of superior regard, at least in the subject matter concerned. So, the effect of a political button can vary.

If you don’t have a position on the issue the button addresses, your respect for the wearer might persuade you that its message is credible. This is the intent of slogans. They are not arguments, but telegraphic symbols of arguments that save recipients from having to think things out for themselves. On the other hand, if you oppose the button-on position, you might lose some respect for the wearer. Psychologists (and lawyers who get called in these cases) call this a “boundary violation.”

This occurs when a professional relationship becomes contaminated by material that is irrelevant or inappropriate. Examples are when your gym teacher invites you to the prom, or your psychiatrist asks you for a stock tip. These intrusions threaten the bubble of trust that makes professional relationships work.