Physicians are very busy, but that busy-ness doesn't seem to stop them from taking time to post long and angry comments online.
Physicians seem most apt to take the bait when it comes to reacting to provocative posts on physician-related issues including scope of practice. But instead of offering constructive discussion, the online comments often come off as insensitive or bullying, a post published last week on the Health Affairs blog said.
The bloggers referred to an instance on KevinMD when a nurse practitioner was attacked for sharing his perspective on the issue of scope of practice for nurse practitioners. Many physicians and medical associations have been strongly opposed to expanding NPs' scope of practice.
“Within hours of his posting, there was so much hate speech directed at him—including a complaint sent directly to the president of the university where he works—that he feared for his safety. He had the piece taken down, effectively silencing himself,” the bloggers wrote.