Do politics have a place in medicine?
“In addition to being a pediatrician, I am Jewish and the granddaughter of a sole Holocaust survivor. My grandfather’s family perished in Auschwitz, a concentration camp in Poland. My grandfather alone escaped, skiing through the night, to his safety and ultimate survival.
The request from my hospital, the presidential debate, and the seeming dismissal of parentless children reminds me of a quote from Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning writer, and Holocaust survivor.
“What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.”
I will not tone it down.
I will not be silent.
I believe a medical institution that is dedicated to the well-being of all people would not ask me to do otherwise.”
Ariana Witkin is a pediatrician.
She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, “Why politics has a place in medicine.” (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/10/why-politics-has-a-place-in-medicine.html)
