A Physicians’ Workshop
I was one of twenty-two RC doctors who attended an online weekend workshop last November led by Steve Bromer, the Information Coordinator for Physicians.
Steve set a warm, relaxed, welcoming, and non-judgmental tone. This was a contradiction to the oppression we had experienced in medical training. Our training had included being humiliated in front of our peers and having to compete. It had been a culture of hiding and not admitting to, correcting, or apologizing for mistakes.
The following topics were packed into the weekend:
- The increasingly dysfunctional “health care” system under capitalism, in which large insurance and pharmaceutical companies are all about profits rather than people’s health
- Racism and sexism in the system
- Our own mistreatment, even though we are workers at the top of the rigid hierarchy
- Having to choose between self-care, rest, and sleep and providing good patient care
- Being subjected to “speed-up”—being forced to see more patients in less time while administrators look at our “metrics” to see if we are “measuring up” [doing a good enough job]
We also looked at our triumphs, even if they seemed small. They included times we had stood up to [opposed] racism and sexism and times we had forced the institutions to provide N95 masks and PPE [personal protective equipment] to those of us caring directly for COVID patients.
We also did some things for fun, not related to medicine.
Physicians have been meeting regularly for support groups. Support groups for other health care workers have been meeting as well. Steve said he hopes to do a yearly workshop like this one.
Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list for RC Community members interested in health care workers
(Present Time 202, January 2021)