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Take Two Aspirin and Call Me By My Pronouns: Why Turning Doctors into Social Justice Warriors is Destroying American Medicine
A lifelong physician and educator exposes the alarming takeover of healthcare and medical training by a political ideology untethered to science.
American healthcare is at risk as radical politics increasingly supplant proven methods for the admission and training of medical students. These changes in medical education and practice threaten to dramatically alter the relationship between doctors and patients.
In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020, medical schools across the country raced to adopt increased diversity mandates and anti-racism training. Based on the false charge that the healthcare system is biased against minority groups, medical deans and trustees rushed to institute sweeping reforms that will dramatically reduce the quality of medical training and upend the traditional doctor-patient relationship. According to Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a longtime medical researcher and educator with extensive clinical experience, these changes coincide with already lowered standards, such as grade inflation and demands for “socially relevant” curricula that have nothing to do with the care of actual patients. In this coruscating lament for the decline of American medicine, Goldfarb debunks the myth of a “racist” healthcare system and shows how elevating diversity above merit will produce substandard healthcare for all Americans—regardless of race.
American healthcare is at risk as radical politics increasingly supplant proven methods for the admission and training of medical students. These changes in medical education and practice threaten to dramatically alter the relationship between doctors and patients.
In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020, medical schools across the country raced to adopt increased diversity mandates and anti-racism training. Based on the false charge that the healthcare system is biased against minority groups, medical deans and trustees rushed to institute sweeping reforms that will dramatically reduce the quality of medical training and upend the traditional doctor-patient relationship. According to Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a longtime medical researcher and educator with extensive clinical experience, these changes coincide with already lowered standards, such as grade inflation and demands for “socially relevant” curricula that have nothing to do with the care of actual patients. In this coruscating lament for the decline of American medicine, Goldfarb debunks the myth of a “racist” healthcare system and shows how elevating diversity above merit will produce substandard healthcare for all Americans—regardless of race.
216 pages, Paperback
Published March 29, 2022
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69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 29, 2022
I found this book to be quite surprising. First, I would like to note how I rate my books. I rate them based on a few factors: (most importantly) how they make me think, the overall quality of the writing, my interest in the topic, and just an overall gestalt on how I enjoy it… Most notably, I do not rate based on if I agree or disagree with the thesis (e.g. Lolita is the greatest book ever written). I have found Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead to be equally influential and life changing as Piketty’s Capital. Likewise, Marx’s Capital, though massively influential, is an unsufferable bore and I truly believe Annie Lowry’s Give People Money to be one of the worst written books I have ever read, despite desperately having hoped to learn more about the subject.
Goldfarb’s overall thesis is that medical schools (as well as later training programs) should have the sole goal of training future physicians in the ability to care for patients. He is worried that standards for admission and training have drastically fallen over the preceding decades, largely due to a new focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion and wellness. As someone who was at Penn while Goldfarb was a curriculum director, I can confidently say that he has held this belief since I arrived on campus in 2017. To support his concerns, he notes academic standards have fallen (e.g. lower MCAT scores for non-white and Asian students), more coddling of medical students and residents (i.e. medical training is now too easy, is now largely “pass/fail”), and inadequacy of newly minted physicians (citing largely anecdotal evidence of first year trainees being unprepared when they start residency or <1% of primary care physicians feeling prepared to treat critical, ventilated COVID patients during the early days of the pandemic).
Essentially, he believes that physicians should “stay in their lane” and topics such as public health, racial disparities, income disparities, or gun violence not only are inappropriate in the medical classroom but actively detract from the care patients receive due to inadequate medical training and are nothing more than virtue signaling by institutions. He believes that these topics should be left solely to social workers, public health experts, and politicians. In an ideal world, yes, every physician should know every medical fact in the world, but is this reasonable? Where would we gain the most “bang for our buck”? Which detracts more from patient care, a 50-year-old primary care physician not being able to manage critical patients during a once in a lifetime pandemic or his or her lack of knowledge of social factors affecting disease? Are schools, hospitals, and politicians going to far in this “indoctrination”? Quite possibly, but to dismiss its role entirely is surely shortsighted, especially knowing how much physicians deal with gun violence, food insecurity, and the undoubtable racial divide in terms of health outcomes. As both Goldfarb and the “institutions” admit, physicians have an elevated and privileged role in society – but both disagree on whether becoming “social justice warriors” is increasing or decreasing physicians’ societal standing.
The overall question of “is medical training failing” and “are physicians less qualified” is a complicated one. He cites multiple examples of falling test scores, increased need for remediation and tutoring, lack of basic science skills, and overall, a generation of “snowflakes” compared to the previous, with these deficiencies concentrated in minority students. Is medical education different from 50 years ago – for sure. From my experience and based on everything every older physician has told me yes… it is FAR easier. Undoubtedly so. But the world has also changed. Gone are the days of working 120 hours a week with constant verbal abuse. We have the internet at our fingertips and endlessly memorizing facts is an obsolete concept, especially those facts that are rarely used and are never needed in “critical” situations. Furthermore, if, as Goldfarb claims, minorities have lower test scores and are poorer students but are still being accepted to schools, is that the end of the story? Are these tests obsolete (what doctor uses organic chemistry, anyway?) and set up for those who come from a majority background? Could those from different backgrounds bring other skills to the table? Goldfarb believes institutions’ attempted remedy leads to worse outcomes for all, especially minority patients. Are we detracting from patient care by moving to an era of more respect of trainees (not enough time training vs increased burnout, mental health problems), less unnecessary stress (or not enough stress?), and removing topics that are unnecessary for the average patient care? All of these questions are surely a matter of debate and there can be no “truth” ascribed to them.
Goldfarb covers a wider variety of topics than just medical education, such as the ever-increasing cost of medical school administrators (which I found funny given he was one), cancel culture in America and more notably in the medical establishment (which during my time in medical training, it is undoubtable that the “liberal” view is marked as truth), and challenging how much students should have sway in curricular decisions, among other topics.
One of the largest flaws I see in this book is his lack of citations on nearly every publication, especially given the fact he says, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Everyone - the right, the left, liberals, conservatives, crazy, not crazy – can find studies and anecdotes to support their view, which Goldfarb freely admits. He cites many studies throughout that he uses to support his views, most which, he notes, are never covered in the media due to the media’s confirmation bias. More notably he dismantles studies that he claims to be misinterpreted by the “woke mob,” but just expects you to take his word as gospel. As a career academician, I expected more here. To his credit, he cites lay media and twitter posts, but rarely academic papers.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this. I was quite impressed with Goldfarbs writing ability (especially for a 200 page “rage” publication that came a mere two years after he gained (in)famy with his WSJ article)… I later learned he studied English at Princeton, which really surprised me given his insistence on “hard sciences.” This, of course, is a deeply political piece, so with anything, you must come in with an open mind and use it to challenge (or confirm) your own beliefs and expect differing emotions throughout. It is quite inflammatory - calling out people by name, using fiery language, and firmly squaring him in the “conservative” camp, but is mixed with humor and logically flows throughout. It’s not going to change your or my view on anything, but if you have a day or two, might be interesting to pick up.
Goldfarb’s overall thesis is that medical schools (as well as later training programs) should have the sole goal of training future physicians in the ability to care for patients. He is worried that standards for admission and training have drastically fallen over the preceding decades, largely due to a new focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion and wellness. As someone who was at Penn while Goldfarb was a curriculum director, I can confidently say that he has held this belief since I arrived on campus in 2017. To support his concerns, he notes academic standards have fallen (e.g. lower MCAT scores for non-white and Asian students), more coddling of medical students and residents (i.e. medical training is now too easy, is now largely “pass/fail”), and inadequacy of newly minted physicians (citing largely anecdotal evidence of first year trainees being unprepared when they start residency or <1% of primary care physicians feeling prepared to treat critical, ventilated COVID patients during the early days of the pandemic).
Essentially, he believes that physicians should “stay in their lane” and topics such as public health, racial disparities, income disparities, or gun violence not only are inappropriate in the medical classroom but actively detract from the care patients receive due to inadequate medical training and are nothing more than virtue signaling by institutions. He believes that these topics should be left solely to social workers, public health experts, and politicians. In an ideal world, yes, every physician should know every medical fact in the world, but is this reasonable? Where would we gain the most “bang for our buck”? Which detracts more from patient care, a 50-year-old primary care physician not being able to manage critical patients during a once in a lifetime pandemic or his or her lack of knowledge of social factors affecting disease? Are schools, hospitals, and politicians going to far in this “indoctrination”? Quite possibly, but to dismiss its role entirely is surely shortsighted, especially knowing how much physicians deal with gun violence, food insecurity, and the undoubtable racial divide in terms of health outcomes. As both Goldfarb and the “institutions” admit, physicians have an elevated and privileged role in society – but both disagree on whether becoming “social justice warriors” is increasing or decreasing physicians’ societal standing.
The overall question of “is medical training failing” and “are physicians less qualified” is a complicated one. He cites multiple examples of falling test scores, increased need for remediation and tutoring, lack of basic science skills, and overall, a generation of “snowflakes” compared to the previous, with these deficiencies concentrated in minority students. Is medical education different from 50 years ago – for sure. From my experience and based on everything every older physician has told me yes… it is FAR easier. Undoubtedly so. But the world has also changed. Gone are the days of working 120 hours a week with constant verbal abuse. We have the internet at our fingertips and endlessly memorizing facts is an obsolete concept, especially those facts that are rarely used and are never needed in “critical” situations. Furthermore, if, as Goldfarb claims, minorities have lower test scores and are poorer students but are still being accepted to schools, is that the end of the story? Are these tests obsolete (what doctor uses organic chemistry, anyway?) and set up for those who come from a majority background? Could those from different backgrounds bring other skills to the table? Goldfarb believes institutions’ attempted remedy leads to worse outcomes for all, especially minority patients. Are we detracting from patient care by moving to an era of more respect of trainees (not enough time training vs increased burnout, mental health problems), less unnecessary stress (or not enough stress?), and removing topics that are unnecessary for the average patient care? All of these questions are surely a matter of debate and there can be no “truth” ascribed to them.
Goldfarb covers a wider variety of topics than just medical education, such as the ever-increasing cost of medical school administrators (which I found funny given he was one), cancel culture in America and more notably in the medical establishment (which during my time in medical training, it is undoubtable that the “liberal” view is marked as truth), and challenging how much students should have sway in curricular decisions, among other topics.
One of the largest flaws I see in this book is his lack of citations on nearly every publication, especially given the fact he says, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Everyone - the right, the left, liberals, conservatives, crazy, not crazy – can find studies and anecdotes to support their view, which Goldfarb freely admits. He cites many studies throughout that he uses to support his views, most which, he notes, are never covered in the media due to the media’s confirmation bias. More notably he dismantles studies that he claims to be misinterpreted by the “woke mob,” but just expects you to take his word as gospel. As a career academician, I expected more here. To his credit, he cites lay media and twitter posts, but rarely academic papers.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this. I was quite impressed with Goldfarbs writing ability (especially for a 200 page “rage” publication that came a mere two years after he gained (in)famy with his WSJ article)… I later learned he studied English at Princeton, which really surprised me given his insistence on “hard sciences.” This, of course, is a deeply political piece, so with anything, you must come in with an open mind and use it to challenge (or confirm) your own beliefs and expect differing emotions throughout. It is quite inflammatory - calling out people by name, using fiery language, and firmly squaring him in the “conservative” camp, but is mixed with humor and logically flows throughout. It’s not going to change your or my view on anything, but if you have a day or two, might be interesting to pick up.
May 29, 2022
The medical profession needs more Dr. Goldfarb’s.
This book corroborates all that I’ve experienced as a recently retired pulmonary-critical care physician. The woke bureaucracy contributed to my retirement in late 2020. The young doctors with whom I’ve worked are less knowledgeable of the basics and of physical diagnosis than I observed 20 years ago. It will take courage for more physicians to speak out against this hijacking of medical education by the woke. That must happen before this woke plague will be reversed.
This book corroborates all that I’ve experienced as a recently retired pulmonary-critical care physician. The woke bureaucracy contributed to my retirement in late 2020. The young doctors with whom I’ve worked are less knowledgeable of the basics and of physical diagnosis than I observed 20 years ago. It will take courage for more physicians to speak out against this hijacking of medical education by the woke. That must happen before this woke plague will be reversed.
September 18, 2022
It is an accepted fact that most of the university system is overrun with leftist nonsense. This has been true for a very long time, but when I was in college in the early 90s most of it was confined to the liberal arts departments where it could do limited damage. Now we are seeing it spread to the hard sciences and that is a very dangerous trend. This is especially true when it impacts the future physicians in our nation's medical schools.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb lays out for the reader how deeply the medical school system has been infected, something we as parents have seen for ourselves first hand. In a nutshell, medical schools are lowering their entry requirements for black and mestizo students (underrepresented in medicine is how they are described), giving preference to less qualified black and brown applicants at the expense of White and Asian applicants to achieve a desirable racial mix regardless of how it impacts patient outcomes. A black applicant with mediocre MCAT scores that would disqualify a White or Asian applicant is almost certain to be accepted to a medical school, often the formerly "elite" schools.
As you would expect, these less qualified medical school students struggle mightily so in response the standards within medical school have been loosened to ensure that these underqualified students make it through. From the book:
"The inarguable reality is that Blacks are preferentially admitted to medical school. Once admitted, they are virtually guaranteed to graduate. And once graduated, they are likely to find training programs more than eager to accept them in the name of diversity."
The result is a new crop of doctors who should never have been in medical school in the first place and only were admitted and pushed through in the name of "equity", a term which can be summarized as guaranteeing results for blacks and mestizos equal to Whites and Asians regardless of their actual performance, effort and ability. In the name of equity, people will receive worse medical care and people will die. As Dr. Goldfarb writes:
"Unlike other social justice programs, this program is lethal. It will tangibly reduce the quality of medical care, and almost every American will suffer its side effects."
The book is full of data and Dr. Goldfarb is doing what most woke medical school administrators refuse to do: asking questions before acting on assertions. As everyone will end up needing medical care at some point, you owe it to yourself to read this book and make your decisions about the medical providers you choose for yourself and your family with the information it provides.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb lays out for the reader how deeply the medical school system has been infected, something we as parents have seen for ourselves first hand. In a nutshell, medical schools are lowering their entry requirements for black and mestizo students (underrepresented in medicine is how they are described), giving preference to less qualified black and brown applicants at the expense of White and Asian applicants to achieve a desirable racial mix regardless of how it impacts patient outcomes. A black applicant with mediocre MCAT scores that would disqualify a White or Asian applicant is almost certain to be accepted to a medical school, often the formerly "elite" schools.
As you would expect, these less qualified medical school students struggle mightily so in response the standards within medical school have been loosened to ensure that these underqualified students make it through. From the book:
"The inarguable reality is that Blacks are preferentially admitted to medical school. Once admitted, they are virtually guaranteed to graduate. And once graduated, they are likely to find training programs more than eager to accept them in the name of diversity."
The result is a new crop of doctors who should never have been in medical school in the first place and only were admitted and pushed through in the name of "equity", a term which can be summarized as guaranteeing results for blacks and mestizos equal to Whites and Asians regardless of their actual performance, effort and ability. In the name of equity, people will receive worse medical care and people will die. As Dr. Goldfarb writes:
"Unlike other social justice programs, this program is lethal. It will tangibly reduce the quality of medical care, and almost every American will suffer its side effects."
The book is full of data and Dr. Goldfarb is doing what most woke medical school administrators refuse to do: asking questions before acting on assertions. As everyone will end up needing medical care at some point, you owe it to yourself to read this book and make your decisions about the medical providers you choose for yourself and your family with the information it provides.
January 3, 2023
Introduction:
The book is a comprehensive review of how the woke rot has infected medical academia and the profession in general and illustrates how this happened in a top-down fascistic manner. Explored in depth is how this has affected education regarding academic course content and the reimagining of merit-based systems. He thoroughly dissects the woke rot, exploring different studies and anecdotes used as bedrock excuses for these institutional changes. He also explains the new goals being aspired towards, such as socially aware doctors focusing on society rather than the individual. He explains why all this is wrong, and all have been written for the uninformed reader without knowledge of DEI or wokeness in general.
The book is a comprehensive review of how the woke rot has infected medical academia and the profession in general and illustrates how this happened in a top-down fascistic manner. Explored in depth is how this has affected education regarding academic course content and the reimagining of merit-based systems. He thoroughly dissects the woke rot, exploring different studies and anecdotes used as bedrock excuses for these institutional changes. He also explains the new goals being aspired towards, such as socially aware doctors focusing on society rather than the individual. He explains why all this is wrong, and all have been written for the uninformed reader without knowledge of DEI or wokeness in general.
0-not-to-read-or-did-not-finish
May 24, 2022Reading this review was helpful for me in deciding not to read this book. The author, Stanley Goldfarb MD, seems to have his finger on the pulse of a significant problem, one we've encountered, but I just don't have the time to think deeply about something I cannot control. If we end up with a medical school student in the family I may feel differently. In the end, while I'm glad the documentation is out there and remedies are proposed, I'm going to pass on reading this book myself.
https://freebeacon.com/culture/woke-m...
https://freebeacon.com/culture/woke-m...
June 22, 2023
Dr. Goldfarb is correct about political ideology corrupting medical science and education. He is possibly correct about its long-term consequences. A ‘5’ for his courage and astute analysis in an important area in which our academic leaders are sadly lacking in both.
June 27, 2023
This was a slow read because there was so much to absorb! I know the woke ideology is impacting many, many things in a negative way. Had no idea the extent it is impacting medicine. A must read for everyone!
November 28, 2022
Excellent info to avoid anything the “Woke” mob touches INCLUDING any Dr. That comes out of a woke med school. At this point anyone who gets their degree after 2000 DO NOT GO TO THEM!
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