Dr. M. Scott Bovelsky

Scott always knew he wanted to help others, but the patients he sees today aren’t exactly who he initially expected he would be treating. Growing up, he always thought he would enter veterinary medicine. 

That all changed in high school when he chose to become a physician with the goal of becoming a primary care doctor. After experiencing an obstetrics-gynecology program at Wake Forest University Medical School, his lifelong focus became OBGYN. 

Thanks to family and a few great professors along the way, Scott learned the value of compassion and hard work – and to never give up on your dreams. 

“I thought the world was a meritocracy where if you work hard and are qualified you can achieve anything.”

However, Scott has been increasingly concerned about the impact of so-called “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies on medical education and practice.

“You don’t fix disparity by admitting people to college and graduate school with lower credentials. We need to fix it at the beginning, to figure out why certain groups of people are not getting the education they need to qualify for these programs so that there won’t be a disadvantage in the first place. The way we’re doing it now, it’s damaging medicine from the top to the bottom.”

When Scott received a recent edition of the “The Grey Journal” – the research publication of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology – he noticed it heavily featured recommendations for the implementation of DEI mandates. 

He felt compelled to directly respond to the AJOG.

“There are so many recommendations in this document that are blatantly immoral and racist that I felt I must speak out.”

Scott sent in a letter to the editor that detailed his reasons for concern, including the lack of practicing medical professionals in the drafting of the recommendations, lower standards for select groups of students, potential repercussions when instructors give candid and necessary feedback to students, anti-racism education, Critical Race Theory, and race-based recruitment, stipend, and scholarship practices. These are all things Do No Harm has identified as harmful to the future of medicine and medical education.  

Scott says he was scared to write all of this as he was worried that he would be branded a racist, white supremacist, sexist, or something  else. But he felt that it was time for everyone to be heard and not be shut down by a few.

His letter concluded:

“I sincerely hope you view my statements not as hateful or angry but instead as concerned. I want equality. I want diversity. I want inclusivity. I want them all done fairly to everyone. I don’t want my children to be treated differently and have fewer opportunities because of their race or gender.”

Bravo, Dr. Bovelsky. 

To date, the AJOG has not responded to Scott’s letter. 

Scott recently found Do No Harm by receiving our email newsletters and did his own research to verify much of what we were sharing. 

“I was so glad to see that Do No Harm is actually trying to do something and is doing it right. We’re all scared to do something because we’re scared to lose our jobs and our reputation. But we have to stop – we need to find the solution together – you should be able to express your opinions and work through things and work together to make the world a better place.

“It feels good to have put pen to paper. Sometimes we imagine the feedback will be worse than it is. But if you are reasonable and respectful as you stand up for your beliefs, you’ll be on solid ground. The more of us that speak up, the easier it will be.”

We understand exactly what Scott is saying and commend him for speaking up, pushing back, and for fighting for all of us who seek to Do No Harm.  If you would like to join him, please let us know here.