Physician Feature: Dr. Michael Ready

Physicians often ask us: How can I fight woke ideology? Dr. Michael Ready, a physician out of Temple, Texas, shows the answer.
 
Dr. Ready is a long-time member of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), serving for many years on its Council of Medical Education. He’s seen firsthand how divisive ideas like “systemic racism” and “implicit bias” have crept into medicine in service of diversity and equity.  This runs the risk of many unintended consequences such as lowering of academic standards. But more importantly this ideology divides us, focusing on our differences and not our humanity and what unites us.
 
Faced with these threats, Dr. Ready is using his voice to help the Texas Medical Association steer clear of identity politics. Here’s how he puts it:
 
“I’m a proud member of the TMA and I want it to continue advocating for patients and physicians. Medical associations are important for keeping medicine principled and patient focused. Identity politics will corrupt our mission as it focuses on immutable characteristics – which is an unfalsifiable premise that is ultimately divisive.”
 
Most notably, he’s introduced a resolution that would ensure the TMA remains a forum where free speech is welcome. This matters because activists want to stifle physicians and medical associations from speaking out. They don’t want anyone to push back on their claim that physicians are racist and healthcare is broken beyond repair.
 
But Dr. Ready knows that pushback is essential. Under his resolution, the TMA would always allow free and unfettered debate on these issues, so that false woke claims can be challenged with medical facts.
 
Dr. Ready is also criticizing the “Implicit Association Test,” which is creeping into medical education to show future physicians their supposed “bias.” He knows the test lacks any grounding in medical science, while sowing distrust between physicians and patients of different colors. He’s urging the TMA to keep it from influencing medical care.
 
Dr. Ready is committed to this cause for the long haul:
 
“Someone has to speak out, because what’s happening in healthcare isn’t right. I know many of my peers share my concerns and we owe it to patients and society to protect medicine for future generations. When we don’t speak up the public believes that the activists are speaking for all of us.
 
With activists and ideologues targeting healthcare from every angle, physicians are key to pushing back and protecting the practice of medicine. People listen when physicians talk, and their voices are heard far and wide. Dr. Michael Ready is a model, and we hope his example inspires even more physicians to stand up for their convictions and to speak out against what we know is not true.