Having sat in classrooms with my fellow doctors-to-be, I can confidently say that the skill set needed to become a cardiothoracic surgeon (4 years of monklike living through medical school followed by five years of brutal, dehumanizing residency) does not naturally translate into institutional leadership. This is a narcissistic personality looking for a brighter spotlight.
This, 1000% percent. It also says so much that he achieved such success there and still needed to fly higher in terms of fame and prestige -- sorry, was saving patient lives not fulfilling enough??
1000% The controlled eating brings back PTSD from studying next to these people. While the rest of us were eating free Little Cesear’s off paper towels like animals, they were dieting themselves into ketogenic stupors and hogging the weight machine in our basement “gym.”
Medicine was not a calling; it was a competition. What is the most competitive, grueling residency? I’ll take that. And on and on. For these guys it’s never about the patient and it’s never enough. Almost always surgeons - Oz, Makary, Carson, even Gupta.
I knew most of this about Dr. Oz already, and yet reading it all enumerated here was so much more depressing than I expected.
(You should still read this. It's critical to understanding how this will affect health care and, more broadly, our conception of what it means to be well.)
I'm terrified for my disabled friends and those that live with chronic illness. This administration is shockingly eugenicist and seems hellbent on targeting the most vulnerable. The whole "illness is a personal failure" idea is to get people thinking of sick people as inferior, less deserving - a drain on society as he testified to before Congress. Those are dangerous ideas that lead to dangerous policies. That's why I get very angry when I hear doctors say that fat people cost the medical system X amount of money. It is a ploy to get people to see us as bad, less worthy - a drain on society. So, add that to what we know about fatphobia and race and we have another coordinated effort to target Black Americans as a drain on society.
I have two public health degrees and have worked for 15 years on Medicaid policy and the community health center care model. It's so bleak out there. "Patriotic duty to be healthy" makes me want to barf.
Ugh, yes, seeing this all written out in one piece is 🤯🤬. This is good reference for me to send to anyone who says "but he just wants us to eat better food, isn't that a good thing?"
I totally got snookered by Dr. Oz in the early days of his Oprah appearances, and I remember being excited when I found out his daughter was going to my alma mater for college. And then she wrote a diet book for students called "The Dorm Room Diet." I guess that was just the first of many diet books, but the specific targeting of college kids makes my blood boil. She even did a second edition of that one (adding two more steps to her initial "8-step plan"). Sigh.
I'm still annoyed with Oprah for platforming shucksters line Oz and "Dr" Phil. The 90s/00s alt wellness trend is a direct ancestor of the current horrors. Has she ever expressed regret or revisited it?
Oz has been nothing less than a nightmare to anyone who studies, cares about, and takes actual health seriously for decades. I can't believe he's still around, much less about to have *more* power. Of course, the same thing can be said for our president and many others. I'll be sharing this article and making my phone calls.
This is COMPLETELY BESIDE THE POINT but: One of my worst-ever freelancing snafus was for his magazine. I spent a frantic week thoroughly reporting and writing what was assigned as a huge feature story — it was cut down to like 200 words (truly!) and they paid me about $200 for it. It's been 12 years and I'm still bitter!
Having sat in classrooms with my fellow doctors-to-be, I can confidently say that the skill set needed to become a cardiothoracic surgeon (4 years of monklike living through medical school followed by five years of brutal, dehumanizing residency) does not naturally translate into institutional leadership. This is a narcissistic personality looking for a brighter spotlight.
This, 1000% percent. It also says so much that he achieved such success there and still needed to fly higher in terms of fame and prestige -- sorry, was saving patient lives not fulfilling enough??
1000% The controlled eating brings back PTSD from studying next to these people. While the rest of us were eating free Little Cesear’s off paper towels like animals, they were dieting themselves into ketogenic stupors and hogging the weight machine in our basement “gym.”
Medicine was not a calling; it was a competition. What is the most competitive, grueling residency? I’ll take that. And on and on. For these guys it’s never about the patient and it’s never enough. Almost always surgeons - Oz, Makary, Carson, even Gupta.
I knew most of this about Dr. Oz already, and yet reading it all enumerated here was so much more depressing than I expected.
(You should still read this. It's critical to understanding how this will affect health care and, more broadly, our conception of what it means to be well.)
I'm terrified for my disabled friends and those that live with chronic illness. This administration is shockingly eugenicist and seems hellbent on targeting the most vulnerable. The whole "illness is a personal failure" idea is to get people thinking of sick people as inferior, less deserving - a drain on society as he testified to before Congress. Those are dangerous ideas that lead to dangerous policies. That's why I get very angry when I hear doctors say that fat people cost the medical system X amount of money. It is a ploy to get people to see us as bad, less worthy - a drain on society. So, add that to what we know about fatphobia and race and we have another coordinated effort to target Black Americans as a drain on society.
I have two public health degrees and have worked for 15 years on Medicaid policy and the community health center care model. It's so bleak out there. "Patriotic duty to be healthy" makes me want to barf.
Thank you for your work, I am so sorry this is the state we’re in!!
Ugh, yes, seeing this all written out in one piece is 🤯🤬. This is good reference for me to send to anyone who says "but he just wants us to eat better food, isn't that a good thing?"
Yay! I know it's a major info dump piece, but that was my goal.
It's truly terrifying.
I totally got snookered by Dr. Oz in the early days of his Oprah appearances, and I remember being excited when I found out his daughter was going to my alma mater for college. And then she wrote a diet book for students called "The Dorm Room Diet." I guess that was just the first of many diet books, but the specific targeting of college kids makes my blood boil. She even did a second edition of that one (adding two more steps to her initial "8-step plan"). Sigh.
I'm still annoyed with Oprah for platforming shucksters line Oz and "Dr" Phil. The 90s/00s alt wellness trend is a direct ancestor of the current horrors. Has she ever expressed regret or revisited it?
I don't think even a little bit, though it is interesting she explicitly said she'd vote for Oz's opponent in his Senate race (which he lost).
Oz has been nothing less than a nightmare to anyone who studies, cares about, and takes actual health seriously for decades. I can't believe he's still around, much less about to have *more* power. Of course, the same thing can be said for our president and many others. I'll be sharing this article and making my phone calls.
The attitude towards him from the medical and scientific research community is SO CONSISTENT, it's wild to me that he's gotten this far!
This is COMPLETELY BESIDE THE POINT but: One of my worst-ever freelancing snafus was for his magazine. I spent a frantic week thoroughly reporting and writing what was assigned as a huge feature story — it was cut down to like 200 words (truly!) and they paid me about $200 for it. It's been 12 years and I'm still bitter!
Oh I am SOMEHOW NOT SURPRISED. But annoyed on your behalf for sure!!!
I just went and dug up the story in my email and it was so good and thorough! Mad all over again.
Thanks a lot Oprah. You gave this idiot a platform and he has run with it!
What a nightmare. Thank you for continuing to recommend calling our reps.
I actually think a blunted disposition sounds amazing. That's what I'm going for!