jmj11 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Okay, this post is not about candidates so if it starts to go that way, I hope the moderator quickly pulls the plug and deletes the whole thread. There is no question that we are in the midst of a very contentious political season. How has the contentiousness (not candidates, one better than the other etc.) influenced your job site? I ask this simply because what I have observed in my own practice. We have roughly nine employees including 4 providers. In this practice seven people are very vocal about one candidate. Only myself, and a younger MA are not in that candidate's camp (actually I consider myself of no political affiliation). I would also add, based on state-wide surveys that the candidate supported by the majority of this practice is not a candidate that is supported by the majority of our patients. There are no visual signs, literally, on the premises. However, the conversation is somewhat intimidating for the one employee besides myself, who does not support that candidate. I try not to talk politics at work. I am old enough to take care of myself. Also, I work in my own little world and I don't have to listen to the conversation at work. However, the MA has to work in the middle of it and I sense her frustration if hearing the rhetoric all day.. Have any of you found yourself as a political minority at your place of employment with a somewhat hostile atmosphere? Of course politics should be kept out of the work place (and the PA forum). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgriffiths Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 As a student, I had an attending physician ask me a few months ago who I supported in the election. I avoided the question by stating my that I would need to gather more information during the rest of the campaign. My day immediately became much more laborious, as did the rest of the week - plus I never touched another patient while with this attending. Thankfully, it was only 3 days (the first two with this individual were actually pretty great!) and I was able to request to be transferred to a different attending on the same service and the rest of my experience was overall positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 We have 10 employees - 3 providers plus staff. We too have no signage or open affiliation. My doc is open about being an atheist but never insults our patients of faith. He is quite liberal and so I am. One MA has STRONG feelings for the candidate currently receiving a great deal of mocking and she is defensive about it. I have not yet heard her open a conversation with a patient and I hope not to hear that. One patient heard the doc and I discuss a particularly cringe worthy moment in the news and she is a staunch supporter of the candidate. She lambasted the doc for not supporting her candidate. His response was "Well, regardless of who is President, I am here to take care of you and that won't change". So, we avoid the political discussions pretty much at all costs. Sometimes we have to tiptoe more than others. Trying to redirect the conversation to the elevated BP, the high blood sugar or anything else has become a bit more difficult this time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogLovingPA Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I am definitely in the minority where I work and live in terms of who I support. I do not discuss politics or religion at work although the conversations are frequently going on around me among support staff. I just tune them out best as I can. So far has not seemed to affect patient care and relationships among staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrsmurf Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Just 1 more month, I'll be glad when it's all over... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted October 18, 2016 Administrator Share Posted October 18, 2016 I try and build on common ground, agree with the frustration everyone feels with the current election cycle, and when comments are required, make them things that don't tend to alienate my patients or staff: "While the Democrats and Republicans were squabbling over Obamacare, the hospital corporations and insurance company lobbyists wrote all the rules...." things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndpa09 Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Okay, this post is not about candidates so if it starts to go that way, I hope the moderator quickly pulls the plug and deletes the whole thread. There is no question that we are in the midst of a very contentious political season. How has the contentiousness (not candidates, one better than the other etc.) influenced your job site? I ask this simply because what I have observed in my own practice. We have roughly nine employees including 4 providers. In this practice seven people are very vocal about one candidate. Only myself, and a younger MA are not in that candidate's camp (actually I consider myself of no political affiliation). I would also add, based on state-wide surveys that the candidate supported by the majority of this practice is not a candidate that is supported by the majority of our patients. There are no visual signs, literally, on the premises. However, the conversation is somewhat intimidating for the one employee besides myself, who does not support that candidate. I try not to talk politics at work. I am old enough to take care of myself. Also, I work in my own little world and I don't have to listen to the conversation at work. However, the MA has to work in the middle of it and I sense her frustration if hearing the rhetoric all day.. Have any of you found yourself as a political minority at your place of employment with a somewhat hostile atmosphere? Of course politics should be kept out of the work place (and the PA forum). This description alone is actually really interesting. I think the attitude amongst your colleagues says a lot about them as well as the candidate they support. I also feel, with great certainty, I can assume which candidate it is they support, which speaks to the sad, sad state of our society and political state in general. With that said, as a student I recently had a doc as a preceptor who was very vocal about a particular candidate. He would go off in the doctor's lounge and didn't even care who was listening. Ironically enough, he was trying to convince a middle eastern physician to support his candidate even though that physician had said he was afraid he'd be kicked out of the country if he won lol. One day my preceptor actually referred to the opposing candidate as a "see you next tuesday" and complained about them raising his taxes. I was pretty shocked and lost a lot of respect for him. Unfortunate though because he was a great teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator True Anomaly Posted October 18, 2016 Moderator Share Posted October 18, 2016 Thankfully the ER is a fairly apolitical place- at least where I work. I'm extremely old school in that asking about someone's political affiliation is downright rude. If, however, I am to be asked about politics, I counter would be "So who are you voting for as your state representative and your state senator? Your city councilperson? Because those folks have far more influence in your life than the president". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBanner Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I agree it's super rude. It's like asking someone pointed religious questions without knowing anything about them. People who are that vocal about a political candidate usually have an opinion about everything, so it's easy to change the subject. "Well what do you think about THIS??" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 I try to keep my advertised support to medical issues. I wear the Pink shirts in October for breast health and try to wear red on Fridays for heart health. Supporting a medical cause that doesn't seem to harbor political leanings seems safe enough and keeps me on target for what the office is supposed to be supporting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 Thankfully the ER is a fairly apolitical place- at least where I work. I'm extremely old school in that asking about someone's political affiliation is downright rude. If, however, I am to be asked about politics, I counter would be "So who are you voting for as your state representative and your state senator? Your city councilperson? Because those folks have far more influence in your life than the president". I have one more day on my ER rotation and with one exception it has been an apolitical experience. That exception is a doc who says "I make three right turns to avoid making a left". He walked into a patients room the other day and asked "what, are you one of those sissy leftists?", and then went on to extol the virtues of Rodrigo Dutertes extra judicial killing of drug addicts. Go back 90 years and this guy would be catching a boat back to Germany to sign up as one of Hitler's brown shirts. My last rotation was a rural family med practice and that was a far more politically charged group. Two days in I was half jokingly asked if I was "one of those puffs from the city" by one of the MAs because I was avoiding a conversation about how great one candidate is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpRegulated Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Okay, this post is not about candidates so if it starts to go that way, I hope the moderator quickly pulls the plug and deletes the whole thread. There is no question that we are in the midst of a very contentious political season. How has the contentiousness (not candidates, one better than the other etc.) influenced your job site? I ask this simply because what I have observed in my own practice. We have roughly nine employees including 4 providers. In this practice seven people are very vocal about one candidate. Only myself, and a younger MA are not in that candidate's camp (actually I consider myself of no political affiliation). I would also add, based on state-wide surveys that the candidate supported by the majority of this practice is not a candidate that is supported by the majority of our patients. There are no visual signs, literally, on the premises. However, the conversation is somewhat intimidating for the one employee besides myself, who does not support that candidate. I try not to talk politics at work. I am old enough to take care of myself. Also, I work in my own little world and I don't have to listen to the conversation at work. However, the MA has to work in the middle of it and I sense her frustration if hearing the rhetoric all day.. Have any of you found yourself as a political minority at your place of employment with a somewhat hostile atmosphere? Of course politics should be kept out of the work place (and the PA forum). We convince ourselves we are objective. Nonsense. It just so happens our views on healthcare happen to align with our preference for left (Democrats) or right (Republicans). Which side we align with is driven mostly by where we stand on social issues -- not objective analysis. Period. Simply put, if you are socially liberal (a leftist/Democrat), you think single payer is best. If you align politically with conservatives/Republicans, you want a different solution. Quit playing that you (all of you) have separated your ideas as an objective provider from your personal political views. You (and I) are supposed to be trained in evidence and science. Start acting like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katera Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 We convince ourselves we are objective. Nonsense. It just so happens our views on healthcare happen to align with our preference for left (Democrats) or right (Republicans). Which side we align with is driven mostly by where we stand on social issues -- not objective analysis. Period. Simply put, if you are socially liberal (a leftist/Democrat), you think single payer is best. If you align politically with conservatives/Republicans, you want a different solution. Quit playing that you (all of you) have separated your ideas as an objective provider from your personal political views. You (and I) are supposed to be trained in evidence and science. Start acting like it. removed due to not being on topic - no political statements allowed, just reflections on the environment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper-PA Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Political conversations in the work place are totally inappropriate. Luckily if someone brings stuff up around me I can just remind them that the DOD policy is that you don't show support of political affiliation and that usually shuts them up. I don't care if I agree with them or not. It's just not something I'm willing to talk about in the work place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted November 3, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 3, 2016 In the military, very much in the minority. My candidate has long been out of the presidential race, but these guys are so staunch in their support it difficult to be around. After seeing the treatment of people who are on the against their candidate, not even for the opposite, I just keep my mouth shut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpRegulated Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 removed due to not being on topic - no political statements allowed, just reflections on the environment Rereading my post, I hope I didn't sound harsh. I didn't mean to, especially to the OP. removed due to not being on topic - no political statements allowed, just reflections on the environment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Career politicians need to go. We need term limits for everyone from the president to the dog catcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted November 4, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 4, 2016 LESS THEN ONE WEEK TO GO YEAHHHHHHH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsman89 Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 I have always thought these four things would solve many of our problems. -Term limits for all in power. -Eliminate all lobbying (Sadly, because of the bad, we must eliminate the good). -Reduce campaign finance contributions to something like 500 max per person. -All bills must be three pages or less. None of this will happen, so I don't even know why I worry about it. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 I have always thought these four things would solve many of our problems. -Term limits for all in power. -Eliminate all lobbying (Sadly, because of the bad, we must eliminate the good). -Reduce campaign finance contributions to something like 500 max per person. -All bills must be three pages or less. None of this will happen, so I don't even know why I worry about it. :/ Yes on all counts above. Until government service is regarded as "service" instead of "becoming wealthy suckling at the government teat" nothing here will ever improve. Following the Great Depression the government the government created the Public Works Administration and got people back to work building airports, bridges and other infrastructure. Following the 2008 Recession the government continues to give out EDC cards so people can buy junk food and watch TV all day. Both political parties are at fault. What we need is a third party that can integrate the few, rare, good ideas that both repubs and dems come up with and run with them. Our two party system is a failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted November 4, 2016 Administrator Share Posted November 4, 2016 -Term limits for all in power. If a wrapped sterile band-aid expires in 4 years, why shouldn't a politician? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 The adage was company and fish - both go bad in 3 days.............................. Oops - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumsden Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 When my patients bring up politics, I tell them my job is to reduce their nausea and malaise, not increase it. They laugh, and then I change the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 I am sooooo ready for this to be over. This is the worst election in my lifetime and the ramifications are so important. I don't talk politics with my patients but have sensed for several months that this is affecting everyone in a negative manner. Our local paper front paged today with a story on local counselors and psychologists being inundated with folks upset about the election and the negativity. It has to be bad when my patients usually won't see a counselor about other life altering issues but will seek one out on their own based on a national event. There aren't enough PPIs to deal with my acid right now........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Our office should have closed today for the election. We are slow. BUT the folks who are showing up are angry, mean and generally being turds. My MA got her ass chewed for asking a social question about what kind of work a patient does. The patient glared at her and told her it was none of her business. SERIOUSLY - get a grip folks. I am in Washington. What if you work at Hanford? What if you work in a paper mill with chemicals and particulate exposure? What if you work in a profession with a high suicide rate? What if I am just humanly interested in what kind of work you do and how it affects your life? What if I am just asking because I care? I could give a crap about govt meaningless use and answers. This day needs to be over already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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