In Palmer’s article, “The resident could not give her charges the attention they needed; she later described herself as “feeling ‘overwhelmed’ by the responsibility of caring for so many patients” (Palmer, 2007, p.8). “What kept her playing her role as an obedient underling in this tragedy instead of speaking truth to power?” (Palmer, 2007, p.8). I decided to explore factors (separate from hospital operations) that influence the judgment of doctors. I found an article about doctors treating patients complaining about pain. According to it, doctors “want to make sure a person isn’t trying to scam them for painkillers” (Ulene, 2010). The article also states that “Doctors judge by gender, race, occupation and income level” (Ulene, 2010). I believe the judgment of other professionals can also be influenced by these factors.
Palmer, P.J. (2007). The Aims of Education Revisited. Change, 39(6), 6-12.
Ulene, V. (2010, July 5). When patients complain of pain, treatment depends on many factors. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/05/health/la-he-the-md-20100705
Thanks for the post! Pain treatment is a really weird issue today, it’s super subjective, judgement called based, and hard to escape implicit biases.
Wow. Thanks for this, Ernesto. I wonder how things have changed in the last few years, as physicians have come under increasing pressure to prescribe fewer opioid painkillers and reframe their perceptions of acceptable pain / discomfort?