Opinion | ‘I’ve Been Verbally and Physically Assaulted’: What We Heard This Week

“I’ve been verbally and physically assaulted more times in my 12-year career as a nurse than in my 10 years in law enforcement.” — Todd Haines, RN, BSN, state council president for the Tennessee Emergency Nurses Association, on the threats and physical assaults healthcare workers encounter on the job.

“It’s going to impact everything — [including] miscarriage management.” — Jamila Perritt, MD, president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, discussing the leaked draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

“It took Columbia far too long to remove Oz from its otherwise distinguished medical faculty.” — Henry Miller, MD, of the Pacific Research Institute in California, on Columbia University cutting ties with Mehmet Oz, MD, who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania.

“More than 2 years into this pandemic, the largest threat next to the spread of the virus itself is the spread of disinformation and misinformation.” — Humayun Chaudhry, MD, CEO and president of the Federation of State Medical Boards, on the organization’s newly approved medical misinformation and disinformation policy.

“Do they help people quit smoking or not? I can’t say that they do.” — David Balis, MD, of UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center, weighing the risks and benefits of e-cigarettes.

“I feel fairly confident that there’s something in nursing as a profession that needs to be fixed to decrease the risk.” — Judy Davidson, RN, DNP, of the University of California San Diego, discussing a second nurse’s death by suicide in California this year.

“That simple fact may explain why results from dietary comparison studies for the development of dementia have been mixed.” — May Beydoun, PhD, MPH, of the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, on why research assessing blood levels of antioxidants sometimes yield different results than studies based on food intake recall.

“I fear that those who do not have exposure to abortion training in residency may be less equipped to provide comprehensive reproductive care in their careers, even if they go on to practice in a state where abortion remains legal.” — Kavita Vinekar, MD, MPH, of the University of California Los Angeles, on how the looming reversal of Roe v. Wade will intensify existing gaps in abortion training, leading to worse care for patients.