Free Speech in Medicine and Science conference 2022
Registration is now open!
Hey folks
Part of the reason The Pairodocs are pretty quiet these days is that we have been spending a fair amount of time behind the scenes planning a conference. (The other reason is that I’ve been plumbing new sewer pipes under our 170-year old house, but that’s a different discussion. I’ll just say - give me a good old GI bleed in ER any day over that…)
We have launched Free Speech in Medicine and Science to counter the constant pressure to shut up, toe the line, and repeat the approved narrative. Physicians and scientists will express views on BLM, COVID policy, or other challenging issues privately that they would never say publicly, even if they are centrist and moderate. This is not healthy for medicine as a profession, nor society-at-large. It has a negative impact on physician training and on the doctor-patient relationship. It leads to decreased job satisfaction and a feeling of disempowerment for those in healthcare.
We have been busy finding speakers, and overwhelmed with the response. Trish Wood of the Trish Wood is Critical podcast will speak on the role of the media since COVID. Jay Bhattacharya (yes, THAT Jay Bhattacharya) co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, will speak on COVID policy and the silencing of physicians with alternative views. Bruce Pardy, law professor and executive director of Rights Probe, will speak about the state of free speech in Canada. Shawn Whatley author and physician, will speak about how physicians can take back control of medicine from politicians and healthcare bureaucrats. Dr. Francis Christian, who some of you will already know as a powerful and poetic voice of reason over the last 2 years, will give a talk titled: “Covid-19 and the assault on the romance of science and truth. Why we need a resurrection”.
Finally, there is a new intitiative called Do No Harm (donoharmmedicine.org) in the USA that has a huge overlap with Free Speech in Medicine. I am pleased to say that Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, previous Dean of Medical Education at UPenn and founder of this initiative, has agreed to join us and speak about this new organization, and his views on how wokeness and identity politics are negatively impacting medical education, and medicine in general.
Taking Back our Freedoms has kindly agreed to be involved, more to come on that.
We are overwhelmed with the quality of the speakers who have already committed And keep in mind there are more irons in the fire. Stay tuned to FreeSpeechinMedicine.com for additions as we confirm more speakers, and set the exact agenda.
The conference is scheduled for beautiful Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Oct 28-30th at the Inverary Inn. Details are on the FSIM website.
You can now register by following the links at the website or clicking here. This conference is designed primarily as an in-person event. We hope to hug, shake hands, and look each other in the eye - you know, all those old-fashioned things that we took for granted in 2019. We hope to have an online option but this will be limited. We really hope to see you in person.
This is not a money-making venture for us. Hosting a conference is not cheap. We are not about to get sponsorship from Pfizer or other Big Pharma, nor will we get a government grant. Your fees help cover the costs of venue, food, and speaker costs.
We look forward to meeting you in person, even though I have a great face for Substack.
Though we are not Doctors, or scientists, we are very concerned about the Great Reset which seems to have dictated our public health response to this pandemic. We are so looking forward to shaking hands with some of our heroes there!
Excellent. This is just what is needed. Well done.