#doctorsaredickheads

[stevieboebi]

Doctors are murderers. Tips on how to get diagnosed.

[annieelainey]

I love when doctors are good enough listeners that when I express my frustrations about injustices in the medical field; mostly regarding how doctors mistreat their patients, their response is to agree. This usually comes from doctors who have children with chronic illnesses, who have chronic illnesses themselves, or best of all have earned the trust of their patients who relay their stories to them. They know about conversations like #DoctorsAreDickheads and do not derail the dialogue with wounded egos or semantics; they agree that there is a power imbalance that gets abused and that systemic injustices that keep patients from accessing quality healthcare. Good doctors who treat their patients, particularly those with chronic illnesses, like people, and not disposable numbers are harder to find. If you are a self-proclaimed "good" doctor, make sure you're listening to your patients, listen to the dialogue that is happening regarding medical abuse and #MedTrauma, be willing to say "I don't know", "Allow me to look that up", and check in with where your patients are at on their journey with their health, not just the stats but how they're feeling, what they're up to, what they've learned, and what questions can you seek answers for together; to work as partners together for the best possible outcome. . . . . [Annie sits in an examination room wearing a heart monitor, peering through a pink button up shirt and blue overalls] https://www.instagram.com/annieelainey/p/Bwp3DnSASVC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11qyuobkcxvfm

[endometriosissucks]

Medical people online often deride those with chronic illness adding their diagnoses to their profile and comparing horror stories. What they fail to see is that these sufferers of chronic illness (and I do mean sufferers) are told by abled people, especially doctors, that what they are feeling is something they should be used to by now. The effect of this is to minimise the lived experiences of those suffering chronic illness.

So when we search our illness on social media, what we see are real live people, suffering, feeling happy when in remission, advocating for the chronically ill, educating and caring. We hear their stories and hear they suffer as we do. The effect of THAT is hope, society, togetherness, shared experiences. Our lived experiences are validated in this simple process.

[rebelwheelssoapbox]

#DoctorsAreDickheads vs #PatientsAreDickheads : Social Media & The Consequence Of Language

#DoctorsAreDickheads is a classic example of #'s that uses language that could (for some) imply that all people in a particular group (in this case Doctors), are this one thing, (in this case dickheads.)

However, the truth is, hashtags of this nature, whether it's in regard to sex, race, sexuality, gender, disability etc., created by people in a marginalized community impacted by the oppression in question, is rarely actually intending to say that all people in this group are the same.

“Oh my god. It's like [Not All] Men. In 2018, people are still Not Alling” commented one Twitter user, responding to how some doctors were taking offense to the trending #DoctorsAreDickheads hashtag, and replying with “hey, not all doctors”.

[photo of a statue doing placing their head in their hand] Those who have plenty of social media experience dealing with these hashtags, know what the hashtags are implying (and what they're not) but to a less experienced person, because the language is not #SomeDoctorsAreDickheads or #WhenDoctorsAreDickheads (as an example), one could easily argue that it's just not realistic to expect all people to get it.

In communication, one can achieve one of two goals. One can either tell “the other side” to go to hell, or they can try to start a conversation and exchange of ideas. It is important to note that, these kinds of hashtags, are not created with the intention of having a nice conversation between the two groups. To be clear, they are not created with the intention of having a conversation with the “other group” at all. They are created (sometimes in a moment of frustration) so that the oppressed demographic in question can get together, compare notes and let each other know, you are not alone. Hashtags of this nature can be very healing for the marginalized demographic in question, thus making them incredibly important.

[image of two cat hugging / cuddling and thus being adorable]

And while I agree it is not realistic to expect people to always get it, it is also not realistic to expect the marginalized demographic to be super mindful of their choice of language, so not to offend (what is often referred to as) “fragility” of the other side. While perhaps ideally (since this is done in a very public forum) there would be an awareness of language, it is not fair to put that on the marginalized group of people, who are already dealing with the toll of trauma & oppression.

So what does one do when you find yourself coming across a hashtag of this nature, and you start to feel that knee jerk defensive reaction rising up within you? Well, what not to do is start a response hashtag, such as the destructive and highly egoic #PatientsAreDickheads .

[image of a doctor looking up at the viewer while folding a chart in his hands]

One could argue that if patients can start a hashtag venting their feelings, with little regard to the consequence of language then why can't doctors do the same? Technically, doctors can (and some did) but that statement, implies that both groups (in this case, the patient/doctor dynamic) are on equal footing in regard to privilege and power, when that is simply not the case. In the end, the demographic who has more authority (in this case, doctors) should be the ones to make it easier for patients (in general but particularly in this situation), that often experience medical based oppression (and/or ableism), regardless if the doctors (in this case) are the ones directly contributing to the oppression.

And while some doctors took offense to the hashtag, responding with the knee jerk reaction of “not all doctors!”, citing the toll of high student loans, long hours and working within a system that leads to #DoctorBurnOut (which I do not doubt is a thing), it was the doctors who used the hashtag as an opportunity to really listen and educate themselves regarding patient experiences and the problems that need to be tackled in their field, that got it right.

Dr. Philip Lee @drphiliplee1 and Dr Clomoween @SezClom are examples of two doctors who got it. Photo of Dr. Philip Lee wearing doctor scrubs and looking at the camera No one is negating the struggles of being a doctor, but this does not excuse the incredibly harmful treatment of patients. Furthermore, a doctor chooses to be a doctor. A patient has no choice.

In the end, this isn't some petty hashtag because patients don't like their doctors choice of facial hair (if applicable) or even just about doctors being late (which actually isn't petty to complain about, as that is highly annoying). Below are just a handful of stories being shared (including some of my own.)

[image of Alexandra who is wearing a black top, black eyeliner and has dark hair] I was sent to an inpatient psychiatric facility because I was told that my chronic pain and POTS symptoms were due to an “undiagnosed mental illness” #DoctorsAreDickheads - @AlexandraJurani

After being 3 hours late, the neurologists asks me questions. Age, height etc then inquires re: my marital status. "I'm Single." "You've never been married?" "No." "You've NEVER been married?" "No..." "Ever see a psychiatrist?" #DoctorsAreDickheads - @RebelwheelsNYC

once a doctor told me that my depression would be cured if I just stopped talking about feminism #DoctorsAreDickheads -@emilyhoven

[image of Eman who has curly hair, is wearing a gray top and is smiling at the camera] #DoctorsAreDickheads I emailed my old Rheumatologist to tell him I'd no longer be seeing him since he didn't believe me about the pressure/pain in the left side of my torso (which turned out to be a bleeding ulcer that I was in ICU for 6 days)- @Eman_Rimawi

I can't even count the times I heard #Psychosomatic & that I was just doing this for attn. Yes, I have nothing better to do with my life than to be sick & get attn from you dr, who I so thoroughly enjoy spending time w/. (p.s. had brain cyst and spine damage) #DoctorsAreDickheads - @RebelwheelsNYC 

I have too many #DoctorsAreDickheads stories to share and it's too traumatic to even start. Point being, it's not rare and the effects last forever. Listen to all who are sharing here. It may hurt to hear this, but it hurts more to experience it. - @GilmerHealthLaw

My mobility was to where I could barely get around my apt. I ask my neurologist for a motorized wheelchair referral & she says "Oh, you don't want a wheelchair, do you?" (as if wc = bad thing) No, I prefer to be trapped in my own home for the rest of my life. #DoctorsAreDickheads - @RebelwheelsNYC

[image of Asher who is wearing retro cat eye glasses. the photo is B&W.]

I spent 20 years with both chronic and acute pain. My right hip and shoulder dislocate on a daily basis. I have a dozen comorbidities. I was told it was my weight, anxiety or all in my head. It was undiagnosed Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. #DoctorsAreDickheads - @Asher_Wolf

Lastly from @crippledscholar who (along with @stevieboebi ) is being credited as started the now trending hashtag conversation, wrote

kinda want to see #DoctorsAreDickheads trending with stories of medical gaslighting and abuse.

because in the end, these stories are not rare or a fluke.

[image of Kim who wears retro eyeglasses, dark lipstick and short hair. the photo is B&W] 

[image of Stevie who had brown and purple hair. They are wearing an open black furry coat and are looking right at the camera]

(Author’s Note: There was an abundance of tweets and stories to choose from, many powerful stories that did not make it into this article. However, by the time I wrote this article, the top tweets were not stories as much as responding to the backlash. Personally, I lacked the spoons to go through all of them, so I chose the ones that were the easiest to find.)

[trauma-in-blue]

1 reblog = 1 slap for every doctor who whines about and tries to tone police #doctorsaredickheads

[kayvsworld]

the #doctorsaredickheads hashtag on twitter is both upsetting and deeply validating to read and experience

[physichotic]

this is such a callous response to something that happens to be a serious problem in the medical community. i don't even know where to begin.

almost every response on this post is a story about how someone was failed by a doctor. as harsh as it was the #DoctorsAreDickheads hashtag trended for a reason.

a lot of doctors and nurses happen to be compassionate and caring and good at their jobs. a lot of them aren't. it can really go either way. when you're able to accept that medicine is a profession like any other and that doctors are human beings a whole new world opens up. because then you can understand that they're as capable as everyone else of being racist or homophobic or transphobic or misogynistic or ableist like any other human being. they can be uncaring or bad at their jobs or lazy or biased like any other human being.

the only thing you're right about here is that you have to take care of yourself. and sometimes that includes speaking up for yourself or outright dropping a doctor and getting a new one if possible.

i feel a lot of people don’t understand the mistrust that many mentally ill/chronically ill/disabled people have towards healthcare practitioners.

it’s something that comes from years of misdiagnosis. the multiple doctors you meet who just don’t care. who accuse you of faking. who don’t take you or your symptoms seriously. whose own prejudices blind them to your plight. who belittle you. mock you. condescend to you. who don’t listen to you. who are lazy, cruel, uninformed.

i think it is so worth it to keep looking for doctors until you find the right fit because when you (finally) meet a doctor who gets it, who understands, and can treat you and help make things better or at least manageable and bearable, it’s a breath of fresh air.

but even so i really think we need to stop being so hard on people who are wary of doctors. sometimes they’re wary for a reason.

[rsrsbabe420]

#doctorsaredickheads

[inventivaindia]

#DoctorsAreDickheads is hashtag activism at its most ineffectual

#DoctorsAreDickheads is hashtag activism at its most ineffectual

People tend to talk about doctors in respectful, often referential terms. I can think of few other professions besides Medicine which command immediate, universal respect. Except for the past couple of days, when the hashtag #DoctorsAreDickheads trended across Twitter.

As hashtags go, it’s an extremely uncomfortable one to read, but scrolling through my Twitter feed, I couldn’t help but feel a…