Being a doctor is not a job. It is more than a profession. It is a calling.

What It Means to Be a Doctor

Someone does not go into medicine for the money. If that’s the goal, there are easier ways to do it without seven or more years of vigorous training and hundreds of thousands in school loans. Someone does not go into medicine because they want to run a business either. If that’s the intention, they are better off getting an MBA and, quite frankly, going into another line of work.

Real doctors go into medicine because they want to make a difference. They give up years of their lives to learn about the human body. Their goal is to treat and prevent disease. In a world of ever-evolving science and technology, they keep on learning to give the best care they can. They work late hours, go to battle with insurance companies to get tests and treatments for their patients, and advocate for those in need. Even though the going is rough, they wake up and do it again the next day.

Why? Because they care.

The Profiteers

Unfortunately, there are so-called doctors out there who do not hold these ideals. To them, altruism is a foreign concept. Instead, they use their credentials to put money in their pockets. It’s more about the adulation they can get and how much they can profit off the naivete of others.

You know who the profiteers are without my having to tell you. They are the ones you often find on TV screens and daily talk shows. While real doctors educate you about preventing disease and managing certain conditions, the profiteers make the big bucks by making headlines and leading with sensational click-bait.

Mehmet Oz, MD

The cardiothoracic surgeon and host of The Dr. Oz Show has been accused of practicing pseudoscience, making unsubstantiated medical claims, and promoting unproven remedies (Korownyk et al, BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.g7346). Congress attempted to censure him in 2014 (Tilburt et al, AMA Journal of Ethics, doi:10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.2.msoc1-1702). He continues to practice in New York despite 10 faculty physicians arguing for his dismissal from the Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeon in 2015 and a thousand other physicians polling the same. As part of President Trump’s administration (Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition), he pushed for the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, saying, “Schools are a very appetizing opportunity ... the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3%, in terms of total mortality.” A cardiologist describing the death of 2-3% of Americans as an appetizing opportunity? Tasteless.

Phil McGraw, PhD

He is a former psychologist with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology who is no longer licensed to practice. The host of the Dr. Phil Show has faced ethics charges for an inappropriate relationship with a patient, for practicing without a license, and for breaking doctor-patient confidentiality. He went on to market weight loss supplements even though he had no medical expertise and only ceased to do so when threatened with an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.

David Drew Pinsky, MD

He is an internal medicine physician and he is also an addiction medicine specialist. More than anything he is a media personality. Hosting reality shows like Loveline, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, and Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew, among others, he went on to promote lap band surgery for 1-800-GET-THIN. He denied to talk about his being a spokesperson after five people died from the procedure at affiliated clinics. More recently, he downplayed the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Real Doctors

Instead of turning to the quacks and profiteers, look to reputable doctors who have your best interest at heart. Real doctors are not going to make money off your suffering. They are going to do their best to help and they will tell you the truth. In doing so, they will provide you with resources that back up their statements.

Take Dr. Anthony Fauci, immunologist, infectious disease specialist, and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He remains the face of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and uses his past experience with HIV, Ebola, MERS, and SARS to set reasonable expectations on how to tackle COVID-19. When new information becomes available, he adapts and applies scientific principles. Despite death threats, he continues to offer honest assessments about the novel coronavirus even when it differs from the President’s opinion. For me, he is the only shining light on the Task Force.

There are so many doctors you can trust, so many who remain in medicine for the right reasons. If you want to find a trust-worthy doctor on social media, look to Dr. Esther Choo, Dr. Megan Ranney, or Dr. Dara Kass, to name a few. Seek out doctors in your communities, amazing physicians like Dr. Michael Rocha in New Bedford, Massachusetts and Dr. Tammi Waters in Apex, North Carolina, that make efforts to better the lives of their patients every day.

Odds are you are not going to find Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, or Dr. Drew donning masks in the local ED anytime soon. Leave that to the real doctors. The real doctors are not there to get something from you; they are there to give you their best. It makes all the difference.