Friday, February 28, 2020

Medical Schools Recruiting Members Of The LGBTQ Community


                A recent article by Lindsey Tanner of the Associated Press sported the headline, “More medical schools seeking out LGBTQ students.” The article chronicled the burdens members of the LGBTQ community had to bear in days of yore when some doctors simply assumed that their patients were heterosexual and/or identified as either male or female. It noted that the roughly 4% of folks who “identify otherwise” often felt marginalized by these bizarrely unfounded assumptions and were therefore less likely to seek treatment and were often driven to abuse alcohol and drugs, or even fall victim to deep depression or suicidal behavior.
                But things are looking up, as Tanner noted that many medical schools are dramatically expanding education on LGBTQ health issues and are specifically pushing to recruit LGBTQ medical students. She also reported that the American Medical Association is pushing for a federal ban on gay conversion therapy. (Because that would be illogical and cruel. But hormone therapy and removing and adding body parts for “sex change” operations is a good thing!)
                The piece says this is being done because of “research showing that patients often get better care when treated by doctors more like them.” More like them? Really? Yes. Jessica Halem, Harvard Medical School’s LGBTQ outreach director, said: “We know that doctors need to look like and be a part of the communities they serve.”
   Doctors need to look like those they serve? God forbid a woman doctor treats a man-- or vice versa. We wouldn’t want a Lutheran doctor to treat a person of the Catholic faith, would we now? Can’t have a Jew ministering to an Arab! That would be bad. How could anyone expect a straight white woman to have her heart into diagnosing a bisexual person of color? And don’t even think of having an Ohio State fan operate on someone from Michigan!

 Where does this end?

 But, who am I to disavow research? If it is better for a doctor to look like his or her patient, I myself will henceforth only seek treatment from good-looking, conservative doctors who are straight, Capricorn, and sport inordinately large penises.


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