I learned to trust my own discomfort as an indicator of the toxic power dynamics that breed abuse for both patients and health workers. I became even more attuned to the pitfalls of professionalism because of my membership in Put People First! PA (PPF-PA), a human rights organization made up of working-class people building power to win universal health care.
"At the same time, as people working in this system get more clarity about its exploitative nature, we’re telling new stories about the emotions of health-care work and the structures of health-care work. The discourse on resident wellness and physician burnout, for instance, is blossoming. 'Resident Wellness Is a Lie' was a popular and widely resonant take. In it, Jennifer R. Bernstein poignantly describes how working conditions in residency crushed her partner’s spirit, and she decries superficial 'wellness' remedies like yoga and free ice cream. In a widely circulated video on his YouTube channel, Dr. Zubin Damania joins others in calling for the use of moral injury to describe a sort of health care PTSD. Moral injury is a phrase borrowed from the military used to describe the suffering caused by unresolved psychological conflicts arising in situations that erode a person’s integrity. He argues this alternative to 'burnout' avoids blaming the victim."
Internal medicine resident Karim Sariahmed, MD, writes about class consciousness while referencing Jennifer Bernstein's viral "Resident Wellness is a Lie" series, new on in-House, the online peer-reviewed publication for residents & fellows.
https://in-housestaff.org/class-consciousness-for-american-doctors-1757
