Agree or Shut Up?
Sep 13, 2023
Do you feel comfortable sharing your true opinion about client, resident, patient and family caregiver policies and care?
I recently saw a thread about a "controversial" topic in healthcare and mental health and weighed in. I'll let you try to guess what the topic was (who knows if you will be able to since so many subjects these days seem to be "triggering" and "sensitive.")
For the most part, the clinicians and executives and otherr professionals on the thread were respectful of one another but there were some folks who were...well, not.
One individual on the thread called a colleague "a village idiot."
Here are some remarks that other professionals made about their healthcare and senior living colleagues' perspectives:
"lunacy"
"invalid"
"BS"
"you can't fix stupid"
"irrelevant"
It's so disheartening that some chose to belittle others rather than engage to understand. Name-calling and mocking will never get someone else to consider your viewpoint.
What happened to respectful, meaningful debate and conversation in our field? Nothing is ever completely "settled" in science, health, or mental health. We are always learning. There's always new information. There are always diverse perspectives to consider.
I believe everyone should be entitled to their opinion and present different perspectives on research and issues that affect patients, clients, residents and family caregivers. Why are some so quick to shut down others who disagree?
What has your experience been lately? Do you feel comfortable talking about "controversial" topics at work? If you are a healthcare or senior living leader, how are you making it a safe space for sharing opinions that challenge what you think?
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