How physicians can share health information and manage dissent online

"In the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am both hopeful and inspired as well as disappointed. I see those angry that their ideas or opinions conflict with science. Instead of the steady path and hard work of building bridges, they create division. I see many capitalizing on fear and uncertainty, weaving a compelling story and drawing in the desperate ones who need a scapegoat, an explanation, or some form of certainty.

It’s OK to be a dissenter.

It’s OK to challenge what seems to be the status quo.

It’s OK to ask questions about why we do things the way we do them.

But if you really want to see a meaningful conversation, you must go about it in the right way. The right way is usually slow and painful but full of the promise of refinement that only comes through allowing our work and our perspectives to pass through the filters of those who see the world differently. Only then can the purest form of our questions be answered, and our message be heard."

Jaclyn Lewis Albin is an internal medicine-pediatrics physician.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Dissent in the time of COVID-19." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/dissent-in-the-time-of-covid-19.html)