Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway. [PODCAST]

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“I am a proud science-trained medical doctor and concerned mother. I am not going to remain silent when the biggest tragedies are yet to hit earth yet. Like seriously, I do not want to become like the dinosaurs. History wasn’t too kind to them. Just saying. Scientists say the worst is yet to come if America doesn’t listen. What do scientists know anyway?

You might disagree with my words, but If you want to get angry, write many insults, and be in denial, go ahead. I am a mother bear, and I do bite, as it’s called self-defense. To all my fellow scientists and torchbearers of the truth, I salute you. Let us not stop speaking the truth until real change happens.”

Tomi Mitchell is a family physician.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, “Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway.”

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Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from.

Transcript

Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show, where we share the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. My name is Kevin Pho, founder and editor of KevinMD. Today on the show, we have Tomi Mitchell. She is a family physician in Canada, and she wrote the KevinMD article “Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway.” Tomi, welcome to the show.

Tomi Mitchell: Thank you so much.

Kevin Pho: We’ll get into your article a little bit, but first off, can you share your story and journey to where you are today?

Tomi Mitchell: I am a family physician, and I have been for over a decade now. I was one of those people that were very optimistic. I went into medicine because I wanted to make an impact on people, and I felt family medicine would help me make the biggest impact on myself and my future family. So family medicine was the right choice, and ironically enough, in 2019 and 2020, family medicine saved my life again, and my daughter’s life, but we can maybe get back to that later.

I did emergency med, did deliveries, did the full family medicine scope, from conception to end-of-life care, and I eventually burned out, go figure, running two businesses by myself and then having two young kids. That really made me stop and really think, “OK, where do I really want to be in my life, and how much have I diverted from my original goal?” One of my original goals was to make an impact on the lives of as many people as possible, as in get in front of a large audience, specifically women, and also for social justice concerns.

So I really had to stop, pause, take a break from work, and just say, “Look, what do I want with my life? I’ve given this chunk of my life, a third of it, to medicine. What do I want for the rest of it?” I made some really hard decisions, and I can honestly say I’m happier now. I’m more confident than I have been my entire adult life.

Kevin Pho: Now, when you said that you felt burned out from clinical medicine, what specific feelings were you feeling at that time?

Tomi Mitchell: I felt taken for granted. I felt, as primary care, you are at the bottom of the totem pole, but you are also the foundation of care in North America and Canada. The paperwork was extremely exhausting, with the EMR and the nitpickers who work in offices and can say things, but they’re not the ones actually looking at what you’re doing and saving lives.

The pandemic really was the one; that was it for me. I was like, “Really? We dedicate our lives, and we sacrifice our families’ special times, for lip service?” Because honestly, that health care hero stuff was lip service. I’m pretty sure the majority of people were saying, “Front-liners, thank you, thank you, thank you.” But look at it. Fast-forward now a year and a half later, on the majority doing the right thing for the greater good of society, the answer is an overwhelming no. And that is why we’re here right now.

And as a mama bear, I am a mama bear, I am also fiery when it comes to my cubs. They are risking my cubs’ future and the next generation. So I feel it’s my obligation to use my privilege as a physician to speak the truth, because I really don’t care. I have no political affiliation. I don’t care. After 10 years of being in medicine, you’ve had everything hurled at you, from patients’ comments, to dealing with co-workers, to insurance, and the whole nine yards. So I’m like, “What are you going to do now? I’ve experienced enough.” But I’m not going to stand idle and watch science and the world we know of disappear.

Because, Dr. Pho, when I was in fifth grade, I remember the teacher talking about global warming. And like I said, I’m a nerd. I listen to everything; I take it literally. The teacher’s like, “OK, in 2020, or 20-whatever, this is going to happen, and this is going to happen.” And then fast-forward 20 years later, I am living that reality, and I’m like, “OK, you knew that then. Why are we here? Why is Louisiana, New Orleans, underwater? Why are people dying? Why are there so many flash floods that I can’t even remember? Why are there so many fires? Why is there so much famine? What is this?” But we were told. But what happened? Politics, short-term goals for election. Is it long term?

Kevin Pho: Now, the situation you described certainly is relevant to those of us in the United States, where, of course, COVID and the pandemic have been heavily politicized. What’s the situation like in Canada?

Tomi Mitchell: Canada is like your long-lost cousin, Americans. I’ve lived in the U.S., so I’ve experienced life in the South, the Northeast, New Jersey, and traveled, as well as Canada. Canada is no different. We have our own issues. We definitely have our deep-seated ignorance. It is very political here, at least on the western side, where politics is put before kids’ lives.

And mandates are often. Actually, where I am right now, there is no mandate whatsoever. There’s no mandate that you have to get tested. There’s no mandate to actually isolate if you test positive. There’s no mask mandate. There’s no social distancing mandate. There’s a lot of BS, and it’s like, “OK, you can’t mandate these basic measures, however, you can mandate a three-month global shutdown,” which tanked one of my businesses, right, because it was not essential. So I’m like, it doesn’t make sense. It’s a huge disconnect, and I see it, and I’m calling it BS for what it is. So Canada is no different. We are just as ignorant, and I think love of science is waning.

There are really few people, and they can be in high positions, I’m not going to call names, but I can go back to university and think of my study of virology and all this stuff. Bacteria and viruses specifically act pretty much the same. They need a host to reproduce, right? And vaccines have worked the same. It doesn’t mean that you’re like a Superman. It just means that your body knows how to fight it, or at least it will try, based on your preexisting conditions and the care you can get. So why are we acting like this is something different?

Like, why masks? At the beginning, they say, “Oh, masks are not effective.” Then why do surgeons wear masks? It was beyond stupid, beyond stupid. When the CDC lifted the mask mandate, I was like, “Really? Political. Yeah, really. Go around with your mask.” I kept mine on because I know better. I know science. It hasn’t changed. It’s just people are losing faith because they’ve lived so long in a world where science has protected them, and now they are too proud and, frankly, too selfish.

Kevin Pho: So let’s talk about that KevinMD article, where you delve deeper into this topic. It’s titled “Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway.” Now, for those who didn’t get a chance to read that article, just walk my audience through it and share the story of why you decided to write it.

Tomi Mitchell: Yeah, it’s kind of a satire. I start off saying, “Who needs science? Fake science. So what, half the world is burning up? It’s just fake. It’s just a fluke.” And then I talk about COVID and those fearmongers, “Fake Fauci,” and blah, blah, blah. But basically, I’m mocking the situation.

I look back at the oaths we made as physicians, and the allegiance to the flag and everything else that everyone else did, but this is a misalignment. I am keeping my oath. They’re not keeping their basic allegiance. Where is brotherly love? Where is looking out for each other? Where is the greater good of humanity?

I connect with people in the States, and I’ve had some even reach out to me who’ve been threatened, and people have been totally ignorant. I was like, “You know what? I live in the sticks. There’s really no one here, so I can deal with their ignorance. I will use my protected place to continue to sound the alarm.” Because if we don’t act, we are almost as bad as those who are the ones doing the wrong. We cannot be complacent when something wrong is happening, and this is happening on a global scale. We have to do something.

And think about this: How many physicians and health care providers are leaving the field? I was one of them, after a decade of sacrificing myself, coming back to work a week after having a baby on two occasions, including near-death experiences. I was dedicated. I’m not saying everyone should be like me, but come on, people, it’s a mask.

It’s called ignorance, and ignorance is in all places, from the top officials to the people that think they have, like, they go to the school of Facebook, Google, and Reddit. They’re like experts. They’re injecting themselves with bleach and ivermectin. They’re swallowing dewormers because that’s scientific. Come on.

And what happens, y’all who are listening, when we all leave? Who’s going to look after you when you come in for a heart attack, a motor vehicle accident, or we have a traumatic experience during childbirth, and your doctor is not there? Or those that are there learned in a pandemic, and they didn’t learn those skills because they were behind a mask and a closed door. They’ve lost hands-on experience, and that is key. So it’s not just now. It’s the next generation looking after you, the next generation looking after you if you have the misfortune of ending up in a seniors’ home.

Kevin Pho: Why do you think that science has been disrespected, and why are so many people now against expertise in science?

Tomi Mitchell: That’s a great question. Science has actually been, I think, disrespected for a long time. Since vaccines made a huge recovery, eradicated polio, measles, etc., people got complacent. Their friends were not in iron lungs. People weren’t losing arms and legs. Life was good, right? So then there was the gradual erosion of society to this “You can’t tell me what to do” society. “How dare you tell me what to do?”

And the other thing: People in higher power, they’re often people with no science background, no real background. They just got in because they knew somebody, or they slept with somebody, or something, and that is true. People who have real knowledge are pushed away or muzzled, and we know it, because there are so many amazing people I hear in the back channels, and I even see them in the media, but they’re often pushed out. I’m like, “Wow, if only you could represent this. If only you could be the face, without worrying about the aftermath of ignorance and bipartisanship and everything else that’s coming.”

America, you are considered the greatest country in the world. As a kid, I grew up in the U.K. thinking America was the greatest country in the world. Now I’m questioning it, and that’s sad, because you guys have the capacity to do amazing things. Your hospital systems, when you have insurance, are next to none. We Canadians look at you with adoration. We send our patients to Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Boston. Your system, when you have it together, is superior. The care you can receive is superior. What are you doing about it?

Kevin Pho: We’re talking to Tomi Mitchell. She’s a family physician in Canada, and she wrote the KevinMD article “Who needs scientists? It’s not like we listen to them anyway.” Tomi, what’s the answer here? How do you reach out to those who have an aversion to science or are disrespecting scientists and other physicians and clinicians? What’s your answer to reach out to these people?

Tomi Mitchell: I’m being honest: I just don’t see us truly reaching out to them. Some people are so far gone in themselves that until they hit rock bottom, this will continue. This madness will continue. So I just buckle my seatbelt, and I embrace my family for what is to come. Some will switch.

But we have to remember, the virus wants to stay alive. Like all living viruses, they need a host. Then what happens? They get caught by vaccine antigens, and they’re like, “OK, we have to mutate. That way, they’re not going to know who we are.” So COVID is smart. It’s mutating. So our vaccine was made for the original SARS-CoV-2, whatever it was called, and now we have Alpha, Delta, whatever will come down the pipeline.

I’m sorry, but I honestly think society’s at the point where it’s going to hit rock bottom, and we’re going to feel it like the rest of the world has been feeling for decades, because they already felt rock bottom. They’re already starving. They’re begging for vaccines, and we’re having to pay people to get vaccinated for free.

Should we stop reaching out to people who don’t believe? We have to continue. We have to continue, but it has to come from the top down. But honestly, I’m hoping it’s not too late. That’s the truth. I truly think COVID will be here for the rest of our lives. Maybe it will be like with the flu vaccine and H1N1 and everything else. But we just have to keep, scientists, keep on doing your thing. You know what? You have made a huge impact in our lives, and forget the naysayers.

But as a collective community, physicians, frontline workers, nurses, scientists, concerned parents, we need to make our voice louder than the ignorance. And remember this: Even if your governor says you can’t have a mask mandate, you can still wear one as an individual. It’s your choice.

Kevin Pho: And my final question, what’s your take-home message that you want to leave with the KevinMD audience?

Tomi Mitchell: I love the world we live in, and that’s the only world we have. Let’s do our best to maintain it, because we already know the writing is on the wall. The rate at which national disasters are occurring is staggering. I have become an empath, and truly, my heart breaks when I hear of stories of little boys, like twins, I think in the South, seven-month-old babies, drowned. Like the last one, I can’t even keep up with it. It’s becoming so normal. It’s become the norm. We don’t want to be jaded.

So listen up: Do your best. Social distance, wash your hands, and honestly, so what? Your auntie’s going to be mad at you and talk about vaccines. What’s the worst she’s going to do? Or your mama, or your daddy? What’s the worst? OK, make the right choice.

Kevin Pho: Tomi, thank you so much for sharing your time and insight.

Tomi Mitchell: My pleasure.

Kevin Pho: Thanks again for being on the show.

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