Dr. Moa Hanna-Attisha book What the Eyes Don’t See gives us a look at her journey on becoming a whistleblower for the Flint, Michigan water crisis. This book gives a view of that of a health care worker dealing with patients concerns. We can take many of the lessons learned and apply it to our own research and patients as well.
1. Good Physicians Should Listen to Patients Concerns
At the start of the book we read about Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha’s patients concerns about Flints water being safe. Though at the time she believed it was safe the concern still resonated with her. She was respectful to her patients concerns and later discussed the issue with a friend to get more information.
We should always listen to our patients. Actively listening can help minimize mistakes and risks. It can help provide a health care plan more suited for them. As well as providing a respectful environment for both the physician and patient.
2. It is Important You are Able to Formally Backup Your Research Findings
During Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha research she accounted for multiple things such as the date the water changed happened and seasons. Since, she did not formally peer review her information it came into question when she originally came out with her findings. Though she was later able to get the information peer reviewed and publish this was a great reminder why in normal circumstances we should formally back our research findings.
Peer reviewing helps filter out any information that may be false or misguided. It can help us identify errors we did not know we made. For example if she had forgotten to account for seasons this mistake would have likely been caught during the peer review. It provides a security blanket for the public and publisher. It minimizes false information that could cause harm to be formally recognized.
3. Physicians Should Advocate for Their Patients
Many of Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha patients were concerned about Flint’s water but did not have the abilities to research. She was able to research for them and come out publicly with the results. She was able to advocate for her patients and provide them a voice they didn’t have.
Patients come from a variety of backgrounds and have different concerns and medical problems. Not all of them will have a formal education or know what is best. It is important for us to provide the best information possible and advocate for them when needed. Even if we do not personally agree with their choice we should still provide information for outlets that can help them.
sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4975196/#:~:text=Firstly%2C%20it%20acts%20as%20a,are%20deemed%20suitable%20for%20publication.