Good insights on the Medical Council

Grant Duncan writes:

Its draft “Statement on Cultural Competence and Cultural Safety” begins with the obvious – “Aotearoa New Zealand has a culturally diverse population” – but leaps ahead to assert: “Some dimensions of identity result in power and privilege whereas others result in underprivilege, which can lead to discrimination or marginalisation”. No scientific grounds are given for that statement, and anyway it’s simply ungrammatical: it uses an abstract noun – identity – as if it were a thing with “dimensions” that can “result in power”. Unfortunately, such poor writing gets a pass in some university courses.

Assertions treated as fact by a medical body!

A good intention behind it is that people of different cultures, abilities, financial circumstances, etc. should be treated fairly and respectfully. We should all strive to make sure that happens. 

A good statement would simply say that.

Qualified and trained medical professionals are doing their best to care for our health and to do so ethically. But the draft statement is unethically bossy. It uses the word “must” five times, and the phrase “you should” also five times.

For example: “You must actively acknowledge and address your own power, privilege, biases, attitudes and assumptions that may affect the quality of care you provide.”

This is important. This is not best practice advice. This is a statement from the body that can deregister a doctor so that they never practice medicine again that they must follow this dictate.

She should identify and challenge offences that others weren’t aware they were committing.

If my GP fails to do so, could she fail her recertification?

Under such conditions, everyone is watching everyone else for the slightest deviation from non-discriminatory and equitable day-to-day behaviours. No one knows what that ideal set of practices actually is, however, because “there is no single fixed or right way to belong to a particular cultural group.”

You’re already screwed, as anyone anytime can accuse you of an offence you didn’t mean to give. And then you’ll have to undergo an ideological struggle session in order to be recertified. Yes, I’m afraid it does resemble Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Read Jung Chang’s Wild Swans.

It would be hilarious if it were not so serious.

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