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I came across this journal article published over two years ago in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The study deals with the political self-characterization of current and future physicians. I found the results pretty interesting, and some of the questionnaire tendencies a bit shocking.

The results section:

Among these medical students, 5% self-characterized as politically very conservative, 21% conservative, 33% moderate, 31% liberal, and 9% as very liberal.” Being male, white, Protestant, intending to specialize in Surgery or anesthesiology/pathology/radiology, or currently or previously being married significantly (P  ≤ .001) increased the likelihood that a student self-identified as very conservative or conservative. Disagreement or strong disagreement with the statements, “I’m glad I chose to become a physician” and “Access to care is a fundamental human right,” were also both associated with being very conservative or conservative. Being more liberal was reported by blacks and Hispanics; those intending to become ob-gyns, psychiatrists, and pediatric subspecialists; and atheists, Jews, and adherents of eastern religions.

What shocked me is in the middle – conservative students DISAGREEING with “I’m glad I chose to become a physician” and “Access to care is a fundamental human right.” I’d love to sit down with these students and learn if there really is a relationship between their views on medicine and their political affiliation.

The conclusions of the study:

U.S. medical students are considerably more likely to be liberal than conservative and are more likely to be liberal than are other young U.S. adults. Future U.S. physicians may be more receptive to liberal messages than conservative ones, and their political orientation may profoundly affect their health system attitudes.

Again, the results speak for themselves – medical students lean towards liberalism. Quite frankly, I’m not surprised at all. What’s important is that doctors can keep their practice separate from their opinions. I’ll use myself as an example. Most of you know that my opinions regarding gay/lesbian marriage are highly skewed to the right; however, I have no doubt that this will remain completely irrelevant to my practice. You don’t treat a patient based on his/her gender, marital status, political affiliation, etc.; therefore, studies like this journal article are interesting to read, yet irrelevant to the quality of healthcare provided from patient to patient.

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As a third year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine, my posts are intended to educate others and share my experiences from this incredible journey without violating patient privacy at all costs. These blurbs are not to serve as a replacement for recommendations provided by licensed physicians under any circumstance.