Today is the day President Donald Trump will be experiencing his first medical evaluation in the White House. Yesterday, I discussed with BBC TV's anchor Matthew Amroliwala the many misperceptions and falsehoods that have abounded in the media surrounding such an event.
With such vitriol in our current public sphere whether it be throughout the presidential campaign or post-election, an unsettling weaponizing of health has taken hold and distorted the perception of the role and duty of the physician, the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship, the status of innumerable disease states and created a pathway for unapologetic ageism. Such discrimination ran the bipartisan spectrum.
Armchair diagnosing has run amok--whether it be in regard to the President or Secretary Hillary Clinton or whomever-- and reflects more of an indictment of the level of professionalism and commitment to excellence of the accuser than the subject of their disdain.
Medicine and its practice should be and in the real world is immune to political expediency. To clarify some wrong notions, please view the accompanying video.
To appreciate how a physician systematically assesses a patient and to what scope, please read these articles (click on blue links):
- Who's NOT Medically Fit To Be President? details the thought process of a doctor in performing the task.
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President Trump To Have Customary Physical Exam In January. But, Does It Matter?
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I was interviewed for this piece for Metro U.S. entitled "What will we learn from Trump's physical?"
