Meriden.,Connecticut.,Usa

The Connecticut General Assembly’s Fight Against Systemic Racism in “Endo…What?”

The Connecticut legislature wants to ensure its school nurses can detect systemic racism in students’ uteruses.

Rep. Jillian Gilchrest of the Connecticut General Assembly has been busy during the 2023 legislative session, including co-sponsoring legislation prohibiting the sale or barter of dead kangaroos, mitigating climate change, and introducing a bill promoting “equitable holidays” for state employees. But one proposed bill recently gained attention on social media: An Act Concerning Endometriosis Training for School Nurses.

HB 6297 says that school nurses and those serving in school-based health centers must be required to receive “(1) Endo What? School Nurse Training and Toolkit” and “(2) training on endometriosis that includes information on systemic racism, explicit and implicit bias, micro aggressions, racial disparities, anti-blackness, and experiences of transgender and gender diverse youth.”

Figure 1. HB 6297, Connecticut General Assembly 2023.

Moving past the fact that one must be trained and certified as an advanced practice nurse to diagnose and treat a medical condition, the provisions of this bill are facially absurd. Having spent several years of my nursing career in rural New Mexico, I gained a wide variety of experience in the field, including school nursing. I can confidently state that none of the students who came into the office said that their tummy aches or menstrual cramps were due to systemic racism or implicit bias. Working as an operating room nurse during many hysterectomies, there was no way to distinguish the race or ethnicity of the uteruses once they were in the specimen container. And, during multiple medical and surgical treatments for endometriosis as a young woman, my doctors never attributed the problem to “anti-blackness.”

Said one tweet about the Connecticut bill: “All that oppression in one uterus.”

Let’s demand more from our lawmakers who are proposing legislation in the name of public health. School nurses have more important topics to study for their continuing professional development. Most of all, children need protection from radical ideologies, not the promotion of them.  

Laura L. Morgan MSN, RN is the program manager for Do No Harm.

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The UT Health Long School of Medicine Cleans Up Its Discriminatory Scholars Program

We recently reported that the University of Texas Health (UT Health) Long School of Medicine (LSOM) in San Antonio was under investigation for its racially discriminatory Diversity in Medicine Visiting Elective Scholars Program. The program’s eligibility restrictions required applicants to “identify as one or more of the following underrepresented backgrounds: Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.” Discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is prohibited under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After being informed that a federal civil rights investigation was opened by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), UT Health LSOM scrubbed the website, claimed the program no longer exists, and “that any mention of the Program on its website was inadvertent.” An archived version of the web page can be accessed here.

OCR dismissed the case on February 7, stating:

The University provided OCR documentary evidence reflecting that the scholarship at issue in this case has been changed so that it is now available for visiting students, regardless of gender or race. Specifically, the webpage for the scholarship indicates that it is an opportunity for “individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are committed to working with underserved populations, or are interested in working with issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

The evidence provided to OCR by UT Health Long School of Medicine is not publicly available. A search of the UT Health LSOM website and its Office for Inclusion and Diversity failed to locate any reference to the program, and the link to the original posting still shows “page not found.”

Do No Harm continues to fight back against discrimination in academic scholarships and programs. If your school offers a scholarship with eligibility criteria that are based on race/ethnicity or sexual orientation/gender identity, please let us know.

California,State,Logo,,Emblem,,Label.,The,Golden,State.,Print,For

UCSF Fresno Responds to Civil Rights Investigation of a Discriminatory Scholarship

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation into The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Fresno for its racially discriminatory Obstetrics and Gynecology Scholarship for Visiting UiM Students – 2022 (archived page here), as we reported last December. The scholarship’s application confirmed that the program was intended to support students who are “underrepresented in medicine,” and asked for the applicant’s race/ethnicity.

Figure 1. UCSF Fresno OB/Gyn Scholarship for Visiting UiM Students application (archived version, September 28, 2022).

In response to OCR’s federal civil rights investigation, UCSF Fresno changed the name of the program to “Obstetrics and Gynecology Scholarship for Visiting Students 2023,” which is reflected on its webpage. The original eligibility requirements stated:

To qualify for this scholarship, you must identify as UiM** (** UIM includes a member of the LGBTQ+ communities or underrepresented minorities as described by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development which includes: Black, African Americans or Africans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians, Native Americans or Alaskan natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, and Asians (other than: Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Malaysians, Pakistanis, Asian Indian, and Thai).

The updated eligibility requirements now state:

To qualify for this scholarship, you must Identify as a student from a Disadvantaged Background** (**Family with an annual income below established low-income thresholds AND/OR from a social, cultural, or educational environment such as that found in certain rural or inner-city environments that have demonstrably presented barriers to navigating admissions or access to medical careers.).

The 2023 application also contains the restructured language, and information on the applicant’s race/ethnicity is no longer collected. However, it leaves the door open for the applicant to “further explain the circumstances of your ‘disadvantaged background’” as an optional response.

Figure 2. Current application for the UCSF Fresno OB/Gyn Scholarship for Visiting Students 2023.

As a result of these changes, the San Francisco Office for Civil Rights has determined the case is resolved.

Have you been excluded from a scholarship or fellowship program due to discriminatory eligibility criteria? Do No Harm wants to hear from you.

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Meet January Littlejohn, Parent Advocate

January Littlejohn is a wife and stay-at-home mom to three children in Tallahassee, FL. She has a master’s degree in counseling and is also a licensed mental health counselor.

Her 13-year-old daughter was socially transitioned at her middle school in 2020 without her knowledge or consent. In 2021, she and her husband filed a federal lawsuit against the school district for parental rights violations.

Most of her free time is devoted to educating parents, school officials, legislators, and mental health professionals on the dangers of gender ideology and the affirmation only approach in medicine. She also helps parents whose children have fallen prey to this ideology find resources and treatment options to support their family.

Hear January’s story:

Oklahoma,(u.s.,State),Flag,Waving,Against,Clear,Blue,Sky,,Close

Why Isn’t OSMA Protecting Kids?

The Oklahoma State Medical Association doesn’t care about vulnerable children.

That’s the unavoidable takeaway of OSMA’s recent announcement that it opposes several bills in the state legislature that would protect children from dangerous transgender medical procedures by restricting so-called “gender-affirming care.” Why is the organization that represents Oklahoma physicians putting extreme gender ideology ahead of children’s health and well-being?

OSMA’s opposition couldn’t come at a more awkward time. This week, a whistleblower at a Missouri children transgender center went public with the de facto child abuse she witnessed on a daily basis:

“I left the clinic in November of last year because I could no longer participate in what was happening there. By the time I departed, I was certain that the way the American medical system is treating these patients is the opposite of the promise we make to “do no harm.” Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care.”

The whistleblowers described children being given puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and even referrals for sex-reassignment surgeries. She also saw how these treatments led to severe medical issues, including infertility, and were given without question to children suffering from major mental health issues. Such is the nature of the “gender-affirming care” that OSMA wants to maintain.

Figure 1. From “Medicine Day 2023” announcement (Oklahoma State Medical Association).

OSMA may be completely in thrall to transgender activists, but its members know better. One member sent us the following note:

“I have been an OSMA member for many years. I just got my dues renewal and I will not – I cannot – send them money this year because they’re hurting kids by opposing this legislation. They need to stop politicizing their approach to medicine without regard for patient safety or wellbeing. They are doing so without the support of the members they represent and I can no longer be a part of dangerous pseudomedicine.”

We couldn’t agree more. The Oklahoma State Medical Association should focus on medicine, not radical gender ideology. And the state legislature would be wise to restrict transgender treatments for children as soon as possible. The health and well-being of vulnerable Oklahoma children depend on it.

Is your medical association advocating extreme ideology? Please let us know – securely and anonymously.

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BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina’s Foundation is Funding a Racially Discriminatory Grant

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We received two anonymous tips about the Advancing Healthy Food Equity initiative at the BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) Foundation. This program, which is “part of an overall commitment to increase equity access to healthy food,” offers the opportunity for ten organizations to receive $300,000 over three years. But here’s the catch: Only non-profit organizations with specific race/ethnicity-based characteristics are eligible. Here’s what the BCBSNC Foundation requires of these non-profit entities to be considered for funding: “Led by, serving, and accountable to American Indian, Black, Latino, other People of Color, and members of immigrant communities that have been impacted by inequities in access to healthy food.”

To provide clarity on the grant’s background and eligibility criteria, BCBSNC Foundation held an informational webinar on January 31, 2023, which reiterated the standards that must be met:

  • The executive director or CEO is American Indian, Black, Latino, other Person of Color, or from an immigrant community.
  • The community served is primarily American Indian, Black, Latino, other People of Color, or members of immigrant communities as demonstrated by the demographic of those directly impacted by an organization’s programming.
  • The staff, board, or coalition leadership reflect the community served.

However, Healthy Food Director Merry Davis wanted to ensure that the criterion for the CEO of the applying organization was crystal clear:

We have received questions about eligibility from organizations that have a majority people of color staff, and staff leadership, and white CEO. So given the spirit of this opportunity Sheila and I shared earlier, these organizations are not eligible for this particular opportunity.

The BCBSNC Foundation further defines its commitment to promoting equity over equality in its Racial Equity Commitment for “addressing structural racism and creating more equitable opportunities for health.”  

Figure 3. BCBSNC Foundation’s Racial Equity Commitment.

The Foundation claims that health equity means “a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.” But what is fair and just about excluding specific groups of people from access to healthy food on the basis of race and ethnicity? And just because an otherwise eligible organization has a CEO whose race happens to be white, it can’t be considered? North Carolinans and BlueCross BlueShield members need to ask the BCBSNC Foundation why they are funding a racially discriminatory grant program.Have you seen healthcare-related grant opportunities with discriminatory eligibility criteria? Please let us know via our secure online portal.

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We Need More Trans Whistleblowers Like This One

Have you personally seen the disturbing reality of transgender treatments for children? A new whistleblower from Missouri did – and she’s saying this blatant child abuse needs to stop, now. Do No Harm hopes more whistleblowers will speak out and join the fight to protect vulnerable children.

The Missouri whistleblower’s story is powerful:

I am a 42-year-old St. Louis native, a queer woman, and politically to the left of Bernie Sanders… [It] led me to a job in 2018 as a case manager at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

I left the clinic in November of last year because I could no longer participate in what was happening there…Instead, we are permanently harming the vulnerable patients in our care… and what is happening to them is morally and medically appalling.

She describes how quickly her colleagues recommended irreversible treatments, without any regard for counseling or even basic medical science:

Frequently, our patients declared they had disorders that no one believed they had. We had patients who said they had Tourette syndrome (but they didn’t); that they had tic disorders (but they didn’t); that they had multiple personalities (but they didn’t). The doctors privately recognized these false self-diagnoses as a manifestation of social contagion…

To begin transitioning, the girls needed a letter of support from a therapist—usually one we recommended—who they had to see only once or twice for the green light. To make it more efficient for the therapists, we offered them a template for how to write a letter in support of transition. The next stop was a single visit to the endocrinologist for a testosterone prescription. 

That’s all it took. 

She saw the horrifying consequences constantly:

When a female takes testosterone, the profound and permanent effects of the hormone can be seen in a matter of months. Voices drop, beards sprout, body fat is redistributed. Sexual interest explodes, aggression increases, and mood can be unpredictable. Our patients were told about some side effects, including sterility.

But after working at the center, I came to believe that teenagers are simply not capable of fully grasping what it means to make the decision to become infertile while still a minor. 

This brave whistleblower deserves credit for speaking out – and surely she is not alone. If you’re a medical professional or parent who’s seen children subjected to radical gender ideology, including extreme treatments, please let us know. We’ll help you tell your story – and protect more children.

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Why Does This Medical Publisher Need To Know Your Race?

The publisher behind The Lancet, one of world’s most prestigious medical journals, wants to know the race and gender of all its peer reviewers. Do No Harm reviewed the details, which are deeply concerning. This beacon of medical scholarship is fixated on race, when it should be fully focused on medical research.

The publisher is Elsevier, and its demands for reviewers are blunt. Before a medical educator or scholar can review a study being considered for publication – the tried-and-true process known as “peer review” – they must first fill out a diversity survey. If they refuse, they are not allowed to continue with their review. Apparently, their expertise doesn’t matter if they don’t first disclose their skin color.

Reviewers can choose from a variety of racial classifications, and if you answer “White,” you are further directed to choose “Western European” or “Eastern European.” The survey states, “You are not expected to undertake DNA testing, nor to use the results of such a test as your basis for answering.” It also says: “Selecting one’s racial identity as ‘white’ should not be misconstrued with nor is indicative of white supremacy in any way.” Yet it still sends the message that white reviewers are somehow biased and therefore unwelcome as reviewers.

How is Elsevier using this racial data? Its woke bureaucracy-babble doesn’t give a straight answer. The publisher says: “Your self-reported diversity data will be used to improve diversity and inclusion across journal editorial processes,” and “if there are opportunities to further advance inclusion and diversity, such as by enhancing outreach, we aim to take action to adopt them.” This raises the question of whether Elsevier is moving to ban or solicit scholarly reviewers based on race.

Such is the nature of woke ideology in health care. It inevitably leads to racial discrimination, while sending divisive messages to scholars and experts. The Lancet and Elsevier’s other medical publications are supposed to promote the best medical research. So why are they increasingly obsessed with race?

Have you seen discriminatory woke ideology at a medical journal or in medical research? Please let us know – securely and anonymously.

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Wokeness Is Gaining a Toehold In Arkansas Medical Education

The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) opened in 2021 with a degree program “that integrates conventional medicine with holistic principles and self-care practices.” Problem is, the school is also integrating wokeness into its recruiting and hiring processes.

Prospective faculty members seeking a position at AWSOM are informed that, in addition to their curriculum vitae and a statement on their teaching philosophy, they will be required to submit a “diversity statement.”

Figure 1. From the “Join Our Team” page at AWSOM.

One of the available positions is for an Assistant Dean of Inclusive Excellence in the Office of Faculty Affairs and Inclusive Excellence:

The Assistant Dean of Inclusive Excellence will work with school leaders to build and guide a team of staff charged with building and fostering a diverse, inclusive, equitable work and learning environment such that our faculty, students and staff can thrive. Areas of responsibility include but are not limited to developing, leading and guiding the development of a DEI plan, facilitate training programs, advocate for policies, programs and processes that enhance our diversity, increase our strength, and ultimately result in excellence. In short, this person will work to create and sustain a professional and inclusive culture/climate. We are building a workplace and learning climate in which inclusive excellence and whole health principles are inextricable parts of our culture and practices.

It’s to be expected that a woke medical school would require its “inclusive excellence” dean to be “committed to diversity and inclusion.” But what about other faculty positions? A Physiology Faculty opening says the ideal candidate will be responsible for curriculum development and instruction of students with “demonstrated experience and expertise in medical education.” Yet, this position is expected to take the same DEI pledge.

AWSOM isn’t finished with infusing DEI into every corner of the school. The Director of Facilities Services, which is responsible for the management of building operation, mechanical systems, and environmental services, is also required to submit a Diversity Statement and meet the DEI commitment skills requirement.

Figure 2. From AWSOM Director of Facilities Services job posting.

AWSOM isn’t expecting its first class to start until 2025, but it is taking measures to ensure the DEI agenda is teed up and ready to go for students, faculty, and even the plant engineer. The residents of northwest Arkansas need to decide if they want wokeness or wellness in their new doctors.

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This Is What Passes As “Continuous Knowledge” at the American Board of Family Medicine

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) offers Self-Assessment and Lifelong Learning in a number of topics that many physicians use to obtain and maintain their family medicine board certification. Individual modules in the “Knowledge Self-Assessment” section also provide continuous medical education (CME) credits to maintain a medical license. One such tool is the Continuous Knowledge Self-Assessment (CKSA). Launched in 2017, the CKSA delivers 25 multiple-choice questions to the ABFM member portal on a quarterly basis throughout the year.       

Do No Harm obtained a copy of a recent practice question on the CKSA:

A 13-year-old who was assigned female at birth has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. His parents fully support their child and affirm his gender as male. One examination the patient has a sexual maturity rate of Tanner stage 3. Which one of the following steps would be appropriate for optimal support and therapy for this patient?

The appropriate approach is to conduct psychosocial assessments, followed by family counseling. None of the answer choices reflect the course of action that is aligned with a family physician’s duty to minimize the risk of harm to the child, rather than prescribing “gender-affirming” treatments. While incorrect, the most conservative response is “Recommending delaying any gender-affirming treatment until he is at least 18 years old to prevent adverse psychosocial outcomes of puberty suppression.”

Figure 1. Practice question on the ABFM CKSA.

However, the ABFM has a different idea of appropriate care for children, and the answer is appalling. The CKSA shows “recommending GnRH analogue treatment” (puberty blockers) as the correct choice for this question.        

Figure 2. ABFM’s indication of the correct answer to the CKSA practice question.

Why is the ABFM endorsing the use of puberty blockers in children? Even if commonly cited guidelines are accepted by the physician, this is still an erroneous response. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines, which the CKSA cites, lists the summary criteria for adolescents. The first intervention listed is “a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment including relevant mental health and medical professionals” (WPATH Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, version 8, appendix D).

Figure 3. From WPATH Standards of Care, Version 8.

The ABFM’s rationale for this answer says it refers to the WPATH guidelines and asserts there is “consistent evidence” in the treatment of “gender incongruence.” Adolescents who receive puberty blockers, it says, “have improved mental health outcomes,” so family physicians must “recognize the indications for timely treatment or referral.” The explanation goes on to say, “Puberty suppression is reversible,” and prescribing it “allows transgender adolescents, their families, and the care team to determine appropriate gender-affirming care as the patient approaches adulthood.” Plus, the references they use are flawed, as noted by the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) in a recently published study.

Figure 4. Rationale for the ABFM’s correct answer.

But it gets worse. The final paragraph of the rationale states:

It is unethical and against recommended guidelines for a physician to attempt to convert a person’s gender identity to the sex assigned at birth.

Figure 5. Rationale for the ABFM’s correct answer.

In other words, the ABFM is compelling family physicians to agree with prescribing so-called “gender affirming care” to minors as the correct answer on its practice exam and self-assessment for members.

Doctors who are taking advantage of the continuing education resources the ABFM is giving them are being coached with incorrect information regarding the safest course of treatment and advocating for preventing harm to their adolescent patients with “gender dysphoria.” The ABFM holds all the power with family physicians who are seeking the credential of board certification. They, and others who are committed to protecting children from potentially catastrophic harm, are the ones who must fight back against this alarming stance by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Is your accrediting or certifying organization pushing gender ideology? Please let us know via our secure portal. You may remain anonymous if you wish.

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A Truly Disgusting Display in a Nursing Continuing Education Webinar

In November 2022, Dr. Stanley Goldfarb published Maternal Mortality in the U.S. – Media Narratives and Reality to explain the metrics and reporting systems used in the United States that contribute to maternal mortality rates that are higher than in other developed nations. But not all presentations on this topic are intended to bring clarity to maternal health concerns.

Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, in collaboration with the Rochester Black Nurses Association (RBNA), hosted a virtual discussion for Black Maternal Health Week titled Unpacking Racial Disparities in Maternal Health Outcomes and Identifying Solutions. However, it quickly became clear that “identifying solutions” wasn’t even close to being on the agenda.

Celia McIntosh, one of the founders of the RBNA, presented “Black Maternal Health: The Tragic Truth.” McIntosh, who is a neurology nurse practitioner, set the tone early by quoting a statement from Malcolm X about “the most disrespected…unprotected…neglected person in American is the black woman.” Her response was, “Fifty years later, that still rings true.”

Figure 1. From “Black Maternal Health: The Tragic Truth” by Celia McIntosh.

In addition to the “social determinants of health” that are commonly cited, McIntosh included “other community factors that play here: Police, laws, property, racism.” When discussing education as a contributing factor, she stated, “Higher education still does not improve racial differences in maternal mortality, and is not protective for black mothers in the way that they are for white women.”

Figure 2. From “Black Maternal Health: The Tragic Truth” by Celia McIntosh.

McIntosh went on to list other problems in the care of black mothers, such as “nurses not answering call bells” and “making slick, smart remarks, not responding to their questions.” And, of course, “structural racism” is included, because “all roads essentially lead to racism when you start looking at the literature.”

Figure 3. From “Black Maternal Health: The Tragic Truth” by Celia McIntosh.

She continued by providing examples of “women impacted by maternal mortality,” such as:

  • Felicia West died in 2019 of a stroke and she was told by a provider, “Ok, we will…it will be a while before I can see her because I have a lot of patients.”
  • Kira Johnson died in 2016, leaving two children and a husband behind; died of postpartum hemorrhage and basically her husband was told, “Sir, your wife just isn’t a priority right now.”

McIntosh followed those statements by declaring “the system is rigged” because education and improved access to healthcare are not viable solutions. “There’s something inherently wrong with the system that’s not valuing the lives of black women equally to white women,” she said.

Near the conclusion of her presentation, McIntosh displayed “a little picture I found on Facebook” which depicts doctors in white coats and hoods standing over a woman in a bed. “We talk about the KKK with the police,” she explained, “but we need to also talk about the KKK in the hospitals and the doctors.”

Figure 4. From “Black Maternal Health: The Tragic Truth” by Celia McIntosh.

Is this really what maternal health professionals are looking for in continuing nursing education? Is a nurse practitioner who doesn’t even practice in the field of obstetrical nursing qualified to present the “evidence” related to maternal health? Is displaying a repulsive KKK cartoon an effective method for opening a dialogue and “identifying solutions?” Of course not. Activists like McIntosh are using their platforms to promote divisive and inflammatory messages that only contribute to the pool of misinformation.

Have you seen an over-the-top presentation in your healthcare continuing education courses, virtual discussions, or professional seminars? Do No Harm wants to hear from you – securely and confidentially.

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These Civil Rights Violations Are Shocking – Even for the University of Washington

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A federal civil rights complaint has been filed against the University of Washington School of Medicine (UW Medicine) for illegal discrimination and segregation with its Affinity and White Antiracism Groups. By offering this affinity group program, UW Medicine is violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights by Mark Perry, senior fellow for Do No Harm, and included an email from Dr. Paula Houston, Chief Equity Officer in the UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity. The email, addressed “To the UW Medicine Community,” invites faculty, staff, and students to join one or more of six new groups. Membership to five of the groups are based on race/ethnicity or sexual orientation/gender identity. The “White Antiracism Group (WAG)” session are “for white colleagues who want to support our collective work to become a more equitable, inclusive, and antiracist organization.”

Figure 1. Information regarding Affinity and White Antiracism Groups at UW Medicine.

Additional information and registration for the WAG is available from the Office of Healthcare Equity on its website.

Figure 2. White Anti-Racist Groups information from UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity.

The WAG groups are scheduled to meet several times through mid-June, with the first meeting on February 15, 2023. “WAGs are important as an explicit opportunity for our white colleagues who want to stand in solidarity with and support our BIPOC colleagues,” the description states. The description also confirms the intent to segregate group members based on race/ethnicity or sexual orientation/gender identity:

The Office of Healthcare Equity will be convening affinity groups for our Black, LatinX, Asian and Pacific Islander, and LGBTQIA colleagues, to provide supported and protected spaces for members of different groups to connect and support each other.

In the complaint, Perry cites Title VI regulation section § 100.3 (b iii) Discrimination prohibited, which expresses that “Subject[ing] an individual to segregation or separate treatment” on the basis of race, color and/or national origin is strictly prohibited. The “White Antiracist Groups” are a clear violation of federal law. Perry’s complaint calls for an investigation of UW Medicine for this violation, as well as the Title IX violation for segregating faculty, students, and staff on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Have you seen affinity group activities at your school or workplace that support segregation of students or employees in violation of federal law? Do No Harm wants to hear from you – securely and confidentially.

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The Governor’s Institute in North Carolina Pushes Wokeness Onto Addiction Medicine Professionals

The Governor’s Institute in Raleigh is a non-governmental organization founded by former North Carolina governor James Martin. It serves as a continuing medical education (CME) resource for healthcare professionals in the discipline of addiction medicine. One of those resources is a bi-annual Addiction Medicine Conference, funded by state and federal health services administrations. Do No Harm obtained a copy of some of the materials presented at the April 2022 conference, and you won’t believe what passes as “top-notch” CME in North Carolina.

Dr. Jessica Isom, clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University and owner of Vision for Equity, LLC presented Can You See Us? Providing Equity-minded Treatment for Racialized Minorities at the April 2022 Addiction in Medicine conference. After “naming the elephants in the room” by explaining terms such as “social positionality” and “the centering of a subjugated counternarrative,” Dr. Isom ventured into “the taboo nature of the topic of race, racism, and whiteness.”

Figure 1. From “Can You See Us? by Dr. Jessica Isom.

Dr. Isom provided examples of “the wisdom and insight that can be found” on social media with the images titled What White Privilege in Addiction and Recovery Looks Like and Racism Experienced in Addiction and Recovery. In this illustration, she claimed that racialization in substance use disorder means you are “vulnerable to criminalization if you are not white,” whereas “white opens up doors to medicalization.” She equates the impact of “racialized minorities’” relationship with drugs to “oppression” and “specifically racial trauma.” These include “current race-based manifestations that affect their behavioral health.”

Conference on Addition Medicine, video 1.

Dr. Isom explained that Americans are “socialized” into concepts that are inaccurate, “such as colorblind racial ideology.” CBRI, as she puts it, “will convince you we are in a post-racial society,” but she countered that the roots of the nation’s problems are in structural and cultural racism. “A whole PhD – probably multiple – could be obtained on structural racism,” she stated. “Cultural racism” refers to things like “implicit bias and microaggressions.” She referred to “really big topics” at the bottom of her slide, which are shown as “white supremacy” and “racialized inequities.”

Figure 2. From “Can You See Us? by Dr. Jessica Isom.
Conference on Addiction Medicine, video 2.

The second half of Dr. Isom’s presentation centered on “equity-mindedness.” This concept, coupled with an “organizational commitment to equity,” provides a solution to inequities in the treatment of addiction. This means working on individual “implicit and explicit biases we hold” and “growing our equity muscles” so issues of race and bias issues can be tolerated “without having a meltdown,” she explained.

Figure 3. From “Can You See Us? by Dr. Jessica Isom.

Equity-minded people are “race-conscious, not in race denial,” such as “that colorblind stuff” Dr. Isom previously mentioned. “Race is there. It’s always there,” she said, adding that discrimination “is happening all the time. Every single day.”

Conference on Addiction Medicine, video 3.

In addressing “organizational equity-mindedness, Dr. Isom discussed “racial anxiety and racial stereotype threat” when working with clients. One party might be concerned about experiencing racial discrimination and is experiencing anxiety about that, while the other party might be concerned about confirming “the stereotype that all white people, for example, are racist.” She advised the participants to prepare clients who “don’t have a choice about where they go” that it’s possible that they will receive some “discriminatory treatment.”

Finally, Dr. Isom used an image that suggests racism has an impact on every element of addiction and treatment. “If you want a condensed, concise summary of this topic, this is a good place to start:”

Figure 4. From “Can You See Us? by Dr. Jessica Isom.
Conference on Addiction Medicine, video 4.

The April 2022 Addiction Medicine conference is not the only symposium to promote topics in medical wokeness. The November conference included plenary sessions on “Clinical Strategies that Address Equity” and “Addressing Reproductive Health in Substance Use Disorder Treatment through a Harm-Reduction and Trauma-informed Lens.” The spring Addiction Medicine Conference in March 2023 continues these themes and offers a 90-minute workshop titled “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Focused Topic.”

Why is the Governor’s Institute promoting and hosting discussions and speakers with materials that push anti-racism and radical ideologies? Addiction medicine professionals and the residents of North Carolina who seek their services won’t benefit from a constant spotlight on racial identity politics as part of the treatment plan.

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S1E7: The Healthcare System’s Two Paths

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Dr. Stanley Goldfarb and Dr. Benita Cotton-Orr examine the two paths that our healthcare system can take as we move ahead to the future, including considerations for access and how improving access leads to better outcomes. 

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The Latest Transgender Study Is Fatally Flawed

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A recent and well-publicized article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) declares that juveniles begun on sex-characteristic altering hormones experience increased satisfaction with their physical appearance and improved psychosocial functioning. Yet this isn’t the full story. An accompanying editorial outlines the continued uncertainties about the potential adverse effects of these drugs on adolescents going through puberty. In fact, there are many uncertainties and weaknesses of this study that should be addressed.

The researchers and four clinics featured in this study have a well-publicized history of radical activism and advocacy for the medical transition of children. For example, Boston Children’s Hospital posted and later removed a video on its YouTube channel that endorsed the idea that some children know their gender identity “from the womb.” As we noted in our recently released study, the UCSF website endorses the idea that naturopathic providers are well-suited to prescribe gender-affirming hormones. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has disseminated “educational” materials to local schools that recommends that schools “automatically ‘affirm’ students who announce sexual transitions, and ‘communicate a non-binary understanding of gender’ to children in the classrooms…to disrupt the ‘entrenched [gender] norms in western society.'” One co-author of the paper based at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles told CNN in 2014 that “We’re definitely in the middle of a gender revolution and it’s exciting.” 

Given this obvious bias, there is a high likelihood that study participants were steered toward responses that align with the activism promoted by these clinics. This phenomenon – known as “demand characteristics” – is a remarkably well-documented threat to the validity of survey-based scientific inquiry, even for researchers who do their best to conduct studies dispassionately and objectively. 

The study suffers from other major flaws, as well. Its results indicate that the only meaningful improvement over time was participant scores for “appearance congruence.” Improvement in positive affect, life satisfaction, depression and anxiety only improved by the smallest margins. Notably, their study does not include comparison groups that received psychotherapy or no intervention, so whether these modest improvements are superior to alternative approaches is impossible to assess. 

The researchers observe extremely modest self-reported mental health improvement among participants who began taking gender-affirming hormones later in puberty, but static measures among those who started taking these hormones early in puberty. They explain that “These observations align with other published reports that earlier access to gender affirming medical care is associated with more positive psychosocial functioning.” In other words, they assert that the lack of improvement among this subsample constitutes evidence in support of their radical worldview. It’s a “heads I win, tails you lose” proposition.

This study, despite the headlines it has received, is fatally flawed and borderline unscientific. Like other studies on the topic, it obfuscates rather than clarifies questions around the medical transition of children. Policymakers must accept that elite gatekeepers have become cheerleaders and that their recommendations on politicized topics warrant healthy skepticism. Rather than follow their lead, policymakers should emulate European countries that increasingly prohibit access to these experimental treatments for minors, largely due to acknowledgement that the evidence base fails to establish that these treatments are beneficial on balance.

American children deserve better than risky medical treatments justified by activism cloaked as research. Until reform comes, the “adults in the room” might just be on another continent.

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The AMA’s Woke Litmus Test for Future Physicians

The American Medical Association (AMA) promoted its January 28-29, 2023 “Physicians of the Future Summit” as an opportunity “to learn essential skills to become leaders in organized medicine.” So why did the summit help medical students “promot[e] equity”?

The opening speaker of the plenary session was Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones, who is “well-known for her allegories on race and racism.” Her presentation, Achieving Health Equity: Habits of Mind for Social Justice Warriors, promised to give medical students the skills and tools necessary “to navigate valuing and prioritizing social justice work.” Apparently, that’s essential for the physicians of the future.

Figure 1. Registration flyer for AMA’s “Physicians of the Future Summit” 2023.

She has written about this topic in other publications and has presented it in various venues. The “Dual Reality” allegory refers to the two-sided nature of the “open/closed” signs seen at restaurants everywhere. Dr. Jones claims that “racism creates two-sided signs in our society” and therefore, a dual reality. She states, “It is difficult for White people in the United States to recognize white privilege and racism.” How is this information helpful to medical students?

Figure 2. From “Actions and Allegories” by Dr. Camara P. Jones.

The AMA needs to return to its stated mission “to promote the art and science of medicine.” Leave the woke indoctrination out of professional development events for medical students – present and future alike.

Have you received promotional materials from professional healthcare associations that promote wokeism? Let us know via Do No Harm’s secure portal.

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In a DICE Inventory Clean Sweep, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine Scores a “Perfect” 100%

Just how woke is the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine (HSU COM)? The wokest of all, as it just confirmed to Do No Harm.

Here’s the background. In November 2022, the Association of American Medical Colleges released a report showing that the vast majority of medical schools have embraced identity politics, despite their divisive and even discriminatory nature. The report was based on surveys of specific medical schools, which the AAMC didn’t name.

For the sake of transparency and accountability, Do No Harm submitted freedom of information requests to public medical schools nationwide, including SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. We asked for a copy of its survey response, so that New York taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.

Here’s what the SUNY Downstate HSU COM has self-reported:

  • It has adopted racially discriminatory admissions practices under the guise of “affirmative action.” This means it’s potentially lowering standards in the name of diversity, thereby threatening patient health. “The COM has a comprehensive plan for promoting diversity and inclusion in the medical admissions process,” the school reported to AAMC. “There is also an extensive tracking process.”
  • It has a “dedicated office, staff, or resources” dedicated to DEI. This means there’s a permanent woke bureaucracy pushing ideology on faculty and students. The College of Medicine proudly noted that there is “an established Office of Diversity Education and Research,” as well as an Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The school’s website lists the Office for Institutional Equity as “the central hub for unifying and coordinating” all the DEI initiatives at SUNY Downstate HSU. Plus, SUNY has proven its devotion to DEI and social justice with its recently announced mandate for racial equity courses as a condition of graduation.
  • It lobbies for woke policies at the federal, state, and/or local levels. This means it’s wading into toxic public debates instead of fully focusing on educating future physicians. The COM also works closely with the Association of Medical Schools in New York “to advocate for DEI policies.”
  • It offers tenure and promotion to faculty who prove their commitment to extreme identity politics and woke priorities. This is a litmus test that requires faculty to toe the party line instead of teaching medicine at the highest level. The COM has an established “plan for diversity recruitment that is based on our mission-driven needs for diversity.” Department chairs regularly report to the Dean on “faculty hiring, retention, and promotion and tenure.”
  • Its administrators are active within local, regional, and national forums to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. This means it’s wasting resources that would be better spent on real medical education. The College of Medicine “is very supportive” of its faculty’s national presence and presentations at national meetings of its DEI efforts.
Figure 1. SUNY Downstate HSU College of Medicine DICE Inventory overall score.

All told, the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine has instituted 100% of the divisive and discriminatory woke policies listed by the AAMC – the first perfect score we have seen. And you can bet it will respond to pressure from activists and outside groups to go even further down the radical rabbit hole – doing even more damage to faculty, medical students, and ultimately, the millions of patients they’ll see.

New York taxpayers help fund the SUNY Downstate HSU COM. They, and the policymakers who represent them, should ask why they’re giving so much money to an institution that’s putting divisive and discriminatory ideology at the heart of medical education. More importantly, they should ensure the COM stops, and soon.

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A New Study Exposes Flaws In the Dutch Research on Pediatric Gender Medicine

The Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) recently announced the publication of a new study titled The Myth of Reliable Research in Pediatric Gender Medicine. This research examined two well-known Dutch studies that strongly influenced the practices that came to be known as “gender affirming care” for minors.

The Dutch studies contain “three methodological biases” that undermine the research, the authors said. First, only the “most successful cases” were included in the outcomes. Second, the finding of “resolution of gender dysphoria” was based on faulty measurement methods pre-/post-treatment. Finally, the authors noted that the simultaneous use of psychotherapy, hormone therapy, and surgery “made it impossible to separate the effects” of each intervention.

SEGM says that the new study “demands urgent attention from the medical community” due to the risk of harm to youth in the United States and worldwide, particularly in the Western world. “The authors highlight how far the field of gender-medicine has drifted from the core principles of evidence-based medicine,” the organization said in a statement published on its website. “The gender medicine field has a limited time to self-correct before public health authorities, and increasingly, elected officials who do not understand medicine but do understand the risks of harm to youth, step in to curb the damage.”

Because the circumstances are so critical, Do No Harm recently launched its Protecting Minors from Gender Ideology initiative. This effort serves to educate policymakers, healthcare professionals, and the public on the disastrous consequences of inflicting unproven interventions onto children in the name of “gender-affirming care.” We are fighting back against the narrative of misinformation and attempts to discredit the actual scientific evidence that gender ideologues engage in. Exposing the errors and defects of long-accepted “research” is an early step in protecting children from these dangerous practices.

SEGM is a non-profit organization and a group of more than 100 clinicians and researchers with a mission to raise the bar on the quality of evidence in gender medicine, with a focus on children, adolescents, and young adults.