Health, Inspirational, Lifestyle, The Breggin Hour
Acar accident, a stroke, a virulent infection, a broken hip…. may you never have to go to a hospital. We all swear we will never go—but then something happens and the next thing you know, you are in an ambulance.
On The Breggin Hour, we had the great pleasure of talking with one of the most sensitive gentlemen we know—Dr. Francis Christian, who is for more than 30 years a physician, trauma surgeon, and poet. Dr. Christian was also one of the ethical and courageous physicians in Canada who spoke out very early against the COVID vaccine rollout—calling for genuine informed consent.
Despite working in a remote region of Saskatoon, the psychological operations intent on silencing dissent and criticism found him, and he was fired from his position with the University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine. Dr. Christian has continued to speak truthfully about the vaccine dangers and is an eloquent advocate for patients, scientific medical practice, and medical ethics. Additionally, Dr. Christian has written and had published a book of poems, To A Nurse Friend, Weeping.
The two physicians, Dr. Peter Breggin and Dr. Francis Christian, had a thoughtful and in-depth conversation ranging from medical ethics to each of their personal experiences in hospitals this year. Their discussion focused on healthcare experiences, particularly on hospital care and the role of hospitalists. Peter and Ginger shared their challenging experience with Peter’s hospitalization, including issues with a robot-like monitoring system and medication side effects. Dr. Christian, who has a Substack newsletter, discussed his own experience advocating for his granddaughter’s care in the hospital and emphasized that patients need to be their own best advocates.
The conversation highlighted concerns about modern hospital practices, including the emphasis on quick patient turnover and the challenges posed by hospitalists and rotating medical staff. Hospitalists are full-time medical staff who have replaced personal physicians, who used to admit their patients into the hospital and then further oversee their treatment while hospitalized.
Now, personal physicians have no contact or responsibility for their hospitalized patients who become managed by strangers who feel and have more allegiance to institutional rules and norms than to individual patients. Dr. Breggin and Dr. Christian describe their own personal frustrations trying to advocate for the safety and proper treatment of their families and themselves, and lament how much more difficult it is for nonmedical people to protect themselves and their families in a hospital setting.
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