When I wrote the article on the confusion between Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) and Do Not Treat (DNT) that was eventually published on KevinMD, I had no idea this problem would resonate with so many physicians. Dr. Edwin Leap, an emergency room physician, who also found himself struggling to deal with this distinction with his patients contacted me that he had the same concerns with his emergency room patients. What’s more, Dr. Leap has a long history of writing engaging, thoughtful, well-written articles about life in what he calls Emergistan.
Since I was already doing regular podcasts about safe pregnancy with Neil Haley for Rural Doc Alan, interviewing physicians and healthcare workers about the changes we face as medical decisions was a Eureka moment for me.
The public clearly shows a lot of disdain for physicians in the media. Talking with other physicians and healthcare workers seemed like a great way to try to undo some of the media prejudices against physicians. Plus it provides an arena for physicians to talk about their concerns with other physicians.
Neil arranged for a Zoom launch party for Doctales.
I have now interviewed six physicians and a midwife and will be posting these interviews here on Doctales.