(LifeSiteNews) — Canada’s federal medical regulatory body is being roundly condemned for suggesting that medical experts should “center” their care around woke politics rather than medical knowledge.
According to an internal report published November 23 by Dr. David Jacobs, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has proposed a new model of practice which encourages doctors to focus on “social justice” rather than providing medical expertise to their patients.
“In this internal document from the @Royal_College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, there is a proposal from the EDI group to prioritize social justice over medical expertise,” Jacobs wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This is bonkers.”
Warning ⚠️ EDI can be bad for your health!
In this internal document from the @Royal_College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, there is a proposal from the EDI group to prioritize social justice over medical expertise.
This is bonkers.#Cdnpoli @fordnation #Onhealth pic.twitter.com/9e98ZynbJo
— David Jacobs (@DrJacobsRad) November 24, 2023
The Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Interim Report, written by Dr. Ritika Goel, reads, “A new model of CanMEDS would seek to center values such as anti-oppression, anti-racism, and social justice rather than medical expertise.”
The proposal suggests that medical professionals be instructed on “equity and advocacy” to enable them to “more effectively engage in community-led social change.”
“Such a model of CanMEDS would allow medical schools to appropriately embed and infuse lenses of social justice, anti-oppression, advocacy and equity throughout their teaching, and thereby teach future physicians how to incorporate such thinking into all of their clinical, teaching and research work,” it added.
The report is part of new requirements entitled CanMEDS 2025. CanMEDS is a framework which outlines how physicians can provide patients with the care that they need. The original expectations were put in place in 1996 with the most recent update taking place in 2015.
According to the college’s website, the new goals under CanMEDS 2025 will “support the goals of anti-racism and anti-oppression” and “support the goal of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
Jacobs is hardly alone in his condemnation of the proposal. Harvard professor Jeffrey Flier wrote on X, “For a medical society, or a medical school, to prioritize ‘social justice’ over medical expertise is to declare themselves unfit for their professional roles.”
For a medical society, or a medical school, to prioritize “social justice” over medical expertise is to declare themselves unfit for their professional roles. https://t.co/H6e5UA6lZ8
— Jeffrey Flier (@jflier) November 24, 2023
Similarly, Mark F. Proudman, who holds a doctorate in imperial history from Oxford, sarcastically posted, “A new model of medical care ‘would seek to centre … social justice, rather than medical expertise.’ I thought it was conservatives and populists who were hostile to expertise?”
A new model of medical care “would seek to centre … social justice, rather than medical expertise.”
I thought it was conservatives and populists who were hostile to expertise? pic.twitter.com/T3oPIF7puJ
— Mark F. Proudman (@mfproudman) November 24, 2023
However, the proposal should not come as a surprise to Canadians as medical colleges have become increasingly politicized, focusing on pushing woke ideologies rather than patient care.
For example, British Columbia nurse Amy Hamm is testifying to keep her nursing license after she was accused of “transphobia” for defending women’s rights and spaces. After months of hearings, Hamm was given a chance to defend herself earlier this month from accusations by the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) that she is unfit to work as a nurse because she believes that sex is based on biology.
Similarly, Ontario pro-freedom Dr. Mark Trozzi is at risk of losing his license for taking a stance critical of the mainstream narrative around the COVID-19 so-called “pandemic” and the associated vaccines.
Furthermore, British Columbia is still banning unvaccinated healthcare workers from working in provincial facilities, despite an ongoing healthcare worker shortage, leading many to suggest that politics is being placed over patient welfare.