Physician ethics still in play when talking to the media

Ethics Forum. May 7, 2007.

How should a doctor respond when a news reporter calls?

Journalists seek comments from physicians for background on scientific advances, for better understanding of the true threat of an epidemic outbreak, for information on the health status of a prominent person and much more. How should you handle interview requests?

Reply:

Torn between a career in medical management and medical journalism, I accepted an internship at The Wall Street Journal to explore my options. On the first day, my assistant bureau chief began my orientation by asking "You know what I hate about doctors? They always introduce themselves as 'Doctor So-and-So.' When I introduce myself, I never call myself 'Mister Such-and-Such.' " I felt as if I alone was bearing the weight of all my colleagues' sins. But this valuable lesson into how physicians were perceived by many journalists was reinforced during my 15 years in medicine and media.

Journalists are taught to be suspicious of authority; after all, they are public watchdogs. Physicians head the list of the suspicious: We drive fancy cars, play an unreasonable amount of golf, have power by virtue of our uncommon expertise, wield mysterious-looking tools and speak in a foreign language -- medical-ese. Physicians should jump at the chance to close this gap in trust by responding to media calls for many reasons.