By Katie Herzog (with insertions by this author Gary M. Levin M.D.)
Whole areas of research are off-limits. Top physicians treat patients based on their race. An ideological 'purge' is underway in American medicine
That’s one of the lessons I have learned over the past few years as the institutions that have upheld the liberal order — our publishing houses, our universities, our schools, our non-profits, our tech companies — have embraced a Manichean ideology that divides people by identity and punishes anyone that doesn’t adhere to every aspect of that orthodoxy. This duality creates bias and inaccuracy in scientific studies.
I always thought that if you lived through a revolution it would be obvious to everyone. As it turns out, that’s not true. Revolutions can be bloodless, incremental and subtle. And they don’t require a strongman. They just require a sufficient number of well-positioned true believers and cowards, like those sitting in the C-suite of nearly every major institution in American life.
You see C-suite members rarely know what is going on in the basements of their corporations, tending to observe from 50,000 feet what is happening at sea level. The higher the level, the less granular is the data. Whether intentional deceitful or accidental the outcome can be misinformation and dangerous.
That’s one of the lessons learned over the past few years as the institutions that have upheld the liberal order — our publishing houses, our universities, our schools, our non-profits, our tech companies — have embraced a Manichean ideology that divides people by identity and punishes anyone that doesn’t adhere to every aspect of that orthodoxy.
This is wrong when it happens at a company Apple or Condé Nast. But there are sectors where the stakes of the ideological takeover are higher. Like K-12 education.The rapid explosion of communication via the internet and the digital age presents certain new challenges.
But if any area is more urgent, it is the world of medicine, where the ability to speak truthfully is quite literally a matter of life and death. Without being able to discuss reality and take intellectual risks, it’s impossible to get to the truth. No truth, no medical progress.
Doctors who are alarmed at what they are witnessing in some of the top medical schools and hospitals in the country. It was clear that this is a story that deserves to be told. In my time (that dates me) scientific research was a secretive secretive industry. There were fewer journals and it was common policy to be secretive about one's research. Believe it or not I was told by a senior scientist to not discuss our work for fear it would give advantage to our 'competitors'.
There is significant competition for grants, awards, the number of articles one had published and the Nobel Prize. It took considerable time to do research, write the results and get it published in a reputable peer reviewed journal. At times this can consume several years and require resubmission. At times the research scientist will not resubmit his article due to the effort. He/She may decide to submit to a lesser known journal as an alternative.
Benefits of Peer-Reviewed Literature
Peer-review process ensures that the quality of the research and validity of the findings are high.
Information on highly-detailed subject matter and complex analyses
Easy to search through millions of articles with online databases.
Limitations of Peer-Reviewed Literature
Highly-detailed and complex analyses may be irrelevant for users who are simply searching for descriptive statistics and basic measures of public health
May require a subscription to journals or databases to access articles (can be costly for individuals, although many universities and other organizations provide access to students and faculty)
In 2022, this literature is easily accessed in Pubmed, Medline, or Google Scholar. Previously, non-scientists were not aware of Pubmed or Medline, both of which are hosted by the National Institute of Health and its subsidiary National Library of Medicine.
The categories of literature range from basic sciences (such as chemistry, physics, organic chemistry to clinical articles organized by medical or organ specificity. There are also review articles which summarize advances in each category. These articles are not about original articles and are written by experts in each category.
Articles published in media such as news sites, new media and social media are often not researched adequately.
The review committee for each journal is the GATEKEEPER. (According to Urban Dictionary, gatekeeping is defined as, "when someone takes it upon themselves to decide who does or does not have access or rights to a community or identity". Essentially, gatekeeping is an ongoing practice that a hierarchy of power within the community and further excludes others.One cannot overemphasize the importance of the editorial advisory board.) (more about this later)
In this age of accelerated knowledge gain, communication and a control mechanisms which were overloaded by the COVID pandemic an atmosphere of anxiety and fear was rampant among the public. Social media added to the chaos because anyone can publish fake news or misinformation. Most posts do not include references.
It is the social media author's responsibility to provide this in their post. A failure to do so is akin to. yelling "FIRE" in a crowded theater.
Transparency and informed patient consent have become a foundational part of healthcare.
Some journals publish article on the internet, which are open access.
PLOS Medicine is a nonprofit, Open Access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication.
https://www.thefp.com/p/what-happens-when-doctors-cant-speak
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