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Here are a few questions I anticipate I will be asked frequently. I plan on updating this
FAQ based on the feedback you send me.
0) Why didn't you bring your grievances to the attention of your superiors while you were still on active duty? A: Oh, I did. Boy, did I. I also dutifully filled out multiple mandatory Climate Surveys and USUHS feedback surveys. No one listened...because, as these documents indicate: "Clearly, negative input from a subordinate does not reflect adverse policies/practices of the institution, but rather deficiencies in the personality of the subordinate, which must be ruthlessly suppressed, utilizing the full power of military command authority, before he/she infects others with the desire to interact honestly and forthrightly with superiors appointed to mentor and guide junior officers along the Air Force career path."
1) Why hasn't anyone else spoken out about the tragic state of military anesthesiology? A: Other people have...but their voices have yet to be heard. Here is one website which documents the firing of CAPT Alvin Manalaysay, M.D., for refusing to allow the R.N. Commanding Admiral of Naval Hospital Bethesda to implement the dangerous independent practice of CRNAs at the Navy's "Flagship" hospital. Here's the late, great Col. David Hackworth's take on this same subject. Aside: Note that the firing of Dr. Manalaysay occurred during the exact time period of the Civil War at Travis AFB, CA, which is covered extensively in my book, Military Medical Corpse. Update 5 July 06: Was just hit in the head with a clue by four-- I had totally missed this most excellent and accurate Letter to the Editor of U.S. Medicine, Feb 2001. Also, the Semmelweis Society documents the chilling stories of many physicians whose careers have been ruined for speaking out as patient safety advocates, as I did (see especially the case of Dr. Voge). Civilian and VA physicians also get the shaft for pointing out serious threats to patients' lives. So, I am not alone, after all...
2) Why did you leave the military after 15 years toward retirement? A: This is the point of my books and this website.
3) Are you a liberal Democrat swine? A: I have been a registered Republican since I turned 18 in 1981. I am still a registered Republican. In my naivete, I continue to hope that the party of Lincoln and Reagan (whom I still admire greatly) will one day repudiate the non-conservative, radical, theocratic, Fundamentalist Christian wing which has hijacked a party that USED to stand for individual rights vs. the government; small vs. big government; strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution vs. unconstitutional, unlimited power of an imperial Executive; valuation of Liberty above Security; and legitimate protection of America's homeland vs. Wilsonian crusades to remake the entire world in our (increasingly tattered) image. From the above, you may conclude that I am an unrepentant idealist. You would not be wrong.
4) Aren't you afraid that the government is going to get back at you for telling the truth, whether by denying you VA benefits, suing you for (false) allegations of promulgation of non-classified but "sensitive" information, or other general harrassment that will make your life hell? A: Yes. I am afraid of that. But I am more afraid of dying without the truth having been told.
5) Don't you think it's the duty of patriotic Americans to shut up and support our President and our troops during time of war? A: No. First, patriotism means doing what one sees as best for the nation, not a President (and certainly not a corporation, such as Halliburton). Second, I tried for years to work within the system to improve medical care being delivered to our wounded troops, their families, and our honored retirees; all I received for my efforts were Letters of Reprimand and other reprisals. Finally, at the rate the Neocons are going, I cannot foresee a time during the next DECADE when we will not be at war. All signs point to the truth that we are about to attack Iran, in complete denial of the lessons of both Iraq and Vietnam. Moreover, the President has declared that we are involved in a "Global War On Terror" (GWOT). As a student of military history, and a graduate of the Air Force's Air Command and Staff College, I assert that this is tantamount to declaring "war" on bullets, knives, and sharp sticks. Such a "war" is not only intellectually disingenuous, it would be laughable...if our sons and daughters weren't RIGHT NOW dying in the sand to support this flawed vision, and the war profiteers behind it.
6) Do you hate CRNAs, PAs, Nurse Practitioners, and other non-physician health care professionals?A: Certainly not. I have worked amicably (for the most part) with nurse anesthetists since 1994, according to the Anesthesia Care Team model. For six years, I taught CRNA students/nurse anesthesia "residents" at Travis AFB, CA. I got into heated discussions with my anesthesiologist colleagues, some of whom felt that teaching CRNA students was tantamount to "slitting our own throats", given that CRNAs compete with anesthesiologists in the civilian world. I vociferously argued FOR teaching aspiring military CRNAs regional block techniques, etc., so that they may be as proficient as possible when treating our wounded soldiers/sailors/airmen. HOWEVER, As a board-certified physician, I expect to be the "captain" of the anesthesia team-- regardless of military rank. What I cannot and will not stand is when someone with less knowledge and training than myself puts himself/herself above me *clinically* based merely on military or political rank. Note: this is different from accepting *administrative* command by pinheads; while frustrating and annoying, it does not directly endanger patients. With regard to PAs, NPs, and other non-physicians, I find that 90% are very comfortable working WITH physicians rather than AGAINST them. It is the latter group I cannot stand: the annoying 10% who feel that they know as much as any physician anywhere on the planet, and will therefore (mal)practice independently to prove it.
7) Are you going to include a "blog" on this site so I can write my own opinions in real time? A: Maybe some day. Right now, I am sufficiently cognizant of internet security, and Americans' exquisite sensitivity toward foul language, that I would rather set myself up as an editorial filter between the voices in your head and the words on my website. Send me rational e-mail, and I'll probably publish it on my "Responses" page. Send me orthographically-challenged "flame" mail questioning my birth legitimacy, sexual orientation, and communist/terrorist sympathies, and you can be assured your bits will be consigned to /dev/null. If you don't know what that means, well, perhaps you should just stick to AOL.
8) You sound like an arrogant snob? Are you? A: No. I was raised to speak out for what
I think is right, based upon the knowledge and experience I have gained in my 42 years on this Earth. Some people
do not like to hear the truth. Some people think that everyone should only say what people want to hear. That has
never...never...been my way. Deal. If that makes me seem "arrogant" to you, so be it.
9) Hay, u mispeled tha worrd corps...it shuld bee Medikal Corps, not Medikul Corpse, k????
A: Blink. Blink.
If you would read the extensive verbiage on my website, you would perhaps understand
that I am mourning the DEATH of U.S. Military Medicine as I knew it between 1981 and
2005. I *intentionally* chose the domain medicalcorpse.com as a critical commentary
on the intentional MURDER of what was once a proud institution. I would ask you to
read this page on my website:
http://www.medicalcorpse.com/memorialdaymessage.html
...and then e-mail me back to tell me whether:
1) I am guilty of an egregious orthographic peccadillo, or
2) you did not understand the gravity of my objections to the
systematic dismemberment of what was once THE critical
support system for the health and well-being of our warfighters,
their families, and our honored military retirees
