Can you be a pediatrician in the US and still stand by your faith?

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Pup7 said:
I wonder if you could bat that question back by asking if they are asking you about your religious preference, which is 100% illegal.
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When I was interviewing for a non-medical position at a clinic, somebody actually looked at my resume and said, “I see a lot of Catholicism on here. Is that going to be a problem?” Ummmmmmm, Civil Rights act on Line 1! Yeesh!

I was young and cheeky, so my response was a defiant, “You tell me.” I ended the interview quickly after that and found a much better job.

I couldn’t afford a lawyer, but discrimination remains very real.
 
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If a doctor wants to spend their free time lobbying and trying to change policy, that’s great. But I think that doctors are so regulated that it is really an uphill battle to affect change. Yes, having your own practice might allow you to blaze your own trail and be a strictly Catholic practice, but be prepared for lawsuits.

With the practice of medicine the way it is today, you have to really have a calling for it, and not be in it for the wrong reasons or you will be miserable.
 
I’m a bit biased as I work at a Jesuit University, but I think there are some very good Jesuit Universities in this country.

If you are now looking at Undergrad studies, you might consider Benedictine in KS, Rockhurst in KC, and my alma mater SLU. I don’t know if Benedictine has a medical school, but I have heard very good things about their undergrad school.
 
I graduated from a Jesuit school for undergrad, and the education was pretty solid. You’ll never spend your life in the perfect bubble surrounded by non-heresy, but part of the college experience involves being exposed to contradictory ideas and either changing yours or learning to articulate them effectively. The more important thing to screen for is academic freedom, i.e. the ability to hold to your conscience or controversial research findings without being penalized for it.
 
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joyful said:
Then what do we do? If we have children, their PCP may be sending them satanic ideas once they start kicking their parents out of the appointment room. If fewer Catholic doctors exist who are allowed to practice their faith then where will Catholic parents take their teens to the doctor? Especially ones who live in California and New York?
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In my experience, once my daughter saw her pediatrician by herself, he wasn’t trying to push anything that hard, he just talked to her about the options available, but once she made her POV clear, he knew not to bother. He still talks to her about the Gardisil vaccine every time, but she keeps telling him she doesn’t want/need it. After researching the ingredients, she refuses to get it.
 
blackforest said:
I graduated from a Jesuit school for undergrad, and the education was pretty solid. You’ll never spend your life in the perfect bubble surrounded by non-heresy, but part of the college experience involves being exposed to contradictory ideas and either changing yours or learning to articulate them effectively
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Sorry, I’m serial posting, I haven’t gotten the hang of addressing multiple quotes in one post.

Yes, the purpose of college is to introduce us to new ideas, not indoctrinate us to those ideas, but let us know the ideas are out there and show us how to think critically.
 
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God calls all of us to be Saints and that road is generally not embedded with gold bricks and flowers
 
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Yup and if they are good enough at it they ask questions in ways that you can’t label it as discrimination, for instance bringing up a new public policy order and asking you how you think it will affect the medical community
 
Careful. There are medial outlets that paint a picture of “satanic ideas” at the pediatrician, however, that is not what real life is like.

Call your parish secretary. Ask her if there is a pediatrician in your parish who would be willing to talk to you. Contact the Catholic Medical association that I linked you to above. Call the Diocese and ask when is the White Mass. Get to know some real life pediatricians so you can see that the real world is not as dire as you have been led to believe it is.
 
Yes, you can be a pediatrician and still stand by your faith.

Check out the American College of Pediatricians (not the American Academy of Pediatrics - which supports the stuff you mention). The American College of Pediatricians is a group that helps pediatricians to receive documentation that is in line without faith and research that the Academy won’t support / promote.


And like a previous poster mentioned, there is also the Catholic Medical Association: http://www.cathmed.org/

God bless
 
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While I think your comment to me was actually quite “out there” for the reality I was sharing, (based on a family member’s 30 something years of experiences after medical school) I wish you well. I hope that your version of the medical field is all you seem to think it will be.
 
I think you are right about that! Seems to me the liberals scream for tolerance, but if you don’t agree with their views, they are very quick to judge and bash. Their tolerance is obviously just
limited as anyone else’s! I feel like down here on the Coast though, we aren’t quite as uptight about certain things as they are north of us. However, we still believe in values and certain tradition. Good luck in finding your calling! I admire how you are examining your conscience before making a decision that will affect the rest of your life!
 
Hotty Toddy!! Ole Miss is my favorite university! I was actually accepted into the pharmacy program there, but I decided to get married instead…if only I had listened to my parents and done that!! Oh well…lol. The pediatricians I worked for were literally just bought out by Ole Miss’ University Medical Center. I think she really would love the Coast. I may be biased though, because I’ve been here for 41 years! I wish her the best of luck in her studies!! Our Catholic faith is so prevelant down here that our current priest told us when he was pastor of a town north of here, a man made an announcement in a restaurant that he hoped Hurricane Katrina wiped out all the Catholics here. He said he went up to him, shook his hand, and introduced himself as Fr. O’Connell (emphasis on the Fr. I’m sure!!) and walked away! People are something else I tell you!
 
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I’m not American, but I wish you well in whatever and wherever God leads you.
The world needs good Catholic doctors. 🙂
 
How so? Is that practice more frowned upon in the U.K.?

It should be here. We’re quite vocal about our sacrosanct First Amendment.
 
Aren’t healthcare laws more liberal leaning in the UK? Just basing what I hear in the news…
 
Sure you can enter into pediatrics. If you are so concerned about possible compromising your faith. Then choose a specialty within pediatrics where this issue will never come up. There are so many things to do within the large field of pediatric medicine beyond being just a general pediatric practioner.
Pediatric Gastroenterology
Pediatric Cardiology
Pediatric Dentistry
Pediatric Infectious Disease
Pediatric Pulmonology
Pediatric Nephrology
Neonatal intensive care
Pediatric intensive care
Pediatric Orthopedics
Pediatric hematology/oncology
Pediatric neurology
Pediatric neurosurgery
Pediatric Endocrinology
 
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Good idea, and I can switch back to general peds when medicine becomes sane again… hopefully in my lifetime…
 
Hopefully Mike Pence helps make it legal to say that phrase again in metropolitan areas …
 
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