‘Correct’ Answers on My Medical ‘Knowledge Assessment’

 

I just started the recertification process for my Family Medicine board certification.  Today I’m doing an online exam (which now has the academic-sounding name Knowledge Assessment) on general medicine – no specific topic like cardiovascular disease or dermatology.  It’s supposed to cover typical stuff that one is likely to encounter in a primary care office, and make sure you know what you’re supposed to do in various common situations.  The first few questions were as expected, rashes, heart disease, intestinal issues, and so on.  Typical stuff.  And then I get to question #6:

A 13-year-old who was assigned female at birth has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.  His parents fully support their child and affirm his gender as male.  On examination the patient has a sexual maturity rating of Tanner stage 3.  Which one of the following steps would be appropriate for optimal support and therapy for this patient?

Ok.  So the patient was “assigned female at birth.”  I wonder why?  Eh, no matter, I guess.

And now this patient “has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.”  Who diagnosed the patient with gender dysphoria?  How?  Is this doctor more likely to be correct than the doctor who “assigned female at birth“?

The question emphasizes that “His parents fully support their child…”  His?  Are you sure?  And what exactly does “support their child” mean?  Do they support “him” more than other parents support their children?

Tanner stage 3 means early puberty changes.  Which, if the patient was “assigned female at birth,” that means breast development, etc.

So then, I’m supposed to answer this.  And I need to get it right, so I can score high enough on the test to pass, and move on to the next stage of my recertification.  I know that the first answer, “Encouraging conversion of the patient’s gender identity to be congruent with the gender assigned at birth” is obviously wrong, and is only there to identify Republicans and other hate-filled bigots.  So I skip over that one.

Next, “Recommending delaying any gender-affirming treatment until he is at least 18 years old to prevent adverse psychosocial outcomes of puberty suppression“.  Of course not.  Another obvious trap.

The next choice seemed like a decent cop-out: “Ordering genetic testing and ultrasonography to confirm the gender assigned at birth“.  I chose this one, because I wouldn’t have to mutilate a healthy child, but I could sort of pretend to play along.  Why I would need “genetic testing and ultrasonography” to identify a girl I can’t imagine, but I chose this, because I just couldn’t bring myself to click on the obvious correct answer:

Recommending GnRH analogue treatment” – using hormone analogues to shut down puberty and normal development.

As you can see, I got the question “wrong.”  And my test grade fell a couple points.

They list “Peer Responses,” and 40% of physicians chose the correct answer.  Probably because it’s obviously correct, and they’re trying to pass a test.  I like to think that they wouldn’t actually do that to an actual child, but of course I don’t know.

Remember, this is a test question about a condition that didn’t exist until a few years ago.  And now, we have “correct” answers on tests about it.  You should bear in mind that we’re still arguing about how to treat heart disease, which has been killing people for as long as there have been people.  We’re still not sure.  But with trans-sexual children, we’re sure.  So sure, that it’s on the test.  With “correct” answers.

Just a few years ago, some women were more masculine than others.  That didn’t mean that they weren’t women.  And some men were more feminine than others.  That didn’t mean that they weren’t men.

But now, just as with leftism in general, there’s no room for diversity.  Try being a black Republican.  Or a Democrat who is anti-abortion.  Or a medical school professor who disagrees with hormone blockers in children who feel like the opposite sex.

This is how we’re treating kids who are finding their way through life.  If they don’t fully conform, then we tell them they’re sick.  There’s something wrong with them.  They require “treatment.”

The intolerance of the left is getting worse.  Fast.  In all sorts of different ways – even in medical recertification exams.

This is not the first time this has happened.  Looking at previous examples of leftist intolerance, the results have been horrific.

The memes and jokes write themselves for such absurdities.  But this is not funny.

This is scary, scary stuff.

Published in General
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 141 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Gossamer Cat Coolidge
    Gossamer Cat
    @GossamerCat

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Gender dysphoria is like islamophobia, it’s a made-up term and it’s about appearances and perceptions, not disease processes; no one dies of this dysphoria, if they commit suicide it’s about something else, not thay are trapped in the wrong body. And gender is a linguistic term that does not refer to sex except jokingly, per the OED. It may be in modern dictionaries, especially on-line ones, but this is what I mean by redefining words.

    And I just can’t believe that “suffering” is the appropriate word for any of this, even for those who genuinely have a long-standing morphological dysphoria.

    And, it’s a social problem, not a biological or medical problem. No one with this dysphoria would have his (or her) life altered in any way if he was living alone on a desert island. There would be no negative sequelae.

    I looked this up a little bit on the Internet. I’m only going by what one psychiatrist said.

    Some of the definitions say you hate your sex organs etc.

    I can’t sort this out other than listening to experts.

    I believe it is a real disorder, the key word being disorder, and that it is extremely rare.  What we are seeing today, with rates of 10% or higher is pure social contagion and wish fulfillment of woke parents.  

    • #61
  2. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Metalheaddoc (View Comment):

    You know the correct answer for the test, the RightThink answer, so select it and get credit and move on. Then do your doctoring as you think is best.

    It reminds me of a cultural competency CME I had to do. I didn’t read the text, I just went to the questions. The old white male doctor was always wrong and the young immigrant physician of color was always right. I answered the questions on that basis. I passed.

    As soon as they start getting the result of 51%, they will alert the media that a majority of doctors agree.

    • #62
  3. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

     

     

     

     

    experts who say that playing with ‘opposite-gender toys’ are a sign your child is transgender.

    Remember when feminists said that girls could play with trucks and boys could play with dolls, and that was OK?

     

    • #63
  4. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

     

     

     

     

     

    experts who say that playing with ‘opposite-gender toys’ are a sign your child is transgender.

    Remember when feminists said that girls could play with trucks and boys could play with dolls, and that was OK?

     

    They just didn’t realize HOW okay it was!

    • #64
  5. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    RufusRJones (View Comment):
    I don’t see anybody calling it “gender dysphoria”

    It’s right there in the question: “A thirteen year-old who was assigned female at birth has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.”

    And that’s the other lie being told — “assigned at birth.” BS. Chromosomes don’t lie (even the abnormal ones). You’re either male or female. It’s binary. Even people with ambiguous parts are either male or female. 

    • #65
  6. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):
    I don’t see anybody calling it “gender dysphoria”

    It’s right there in the question: “A thirteen year-old who was assigned female at birth has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.”

    And that’s the other lie being told — “assigned at birth.” BS. Chromosomes don’t lie (even the abnormal ones). You’re either male or female. It’s binary. Even people with ambiguous parts are either male or female.

    I know, but in social media and all of that. I don’t track this, but to me they are making an effort to make it sound normal and dependably and easily resolved. Like a bunch of amateur Stalinists can fix it.

     

    • #66
  7. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    “A thirteen year-old who was assigned female at birth has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.”

    That’s hard to move past.  That’s the basic point, isn’t it?

    Assigned at birth?  By who?  God?

    We are making ourselves into Gods.  And it’s working out about as well as it has in the past when we attempted such foolishness…

    • #67
  8. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    RufusRJones (View Comment):
    they are making an effort to make it sound normal and dependably and easily resolved. Like a bunch of amateur Stalinists can fix it.

    No.  Not Stalinists.  Gods.  Only Gods can fix such things.

    • #68
  9. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    Metalheaddoc (View Comment):

    You know the correct answer for the test, the RightThink answer, so select it and get credit and move on. Then do your doctoring as you think is best.

    It reminds me of a cultural competency CME I had to do. I didn’t read the text, I just went to the questions. The old white male doctor was always wrong and the young immigrant physician of color was always right. I answered the questions on that basis. I passed.

    But selecting the “correct” answer emboldens the tyrants to push farther. 

    • #69
  10. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):
    they are making an effort to make it sound normal and dependably and easily resolved. Like a bunch of amateur Stalinists can fix it.

    No. Not Stalinists. Gods. Only Gods can fix such things.

    OK, but maybe I’m talking about how they act politically and organize themselves.

    • #70
  11. EODmom Coolidge
    EODmom
    @EODmom

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):
    they are making an effort to make it sound normal and dependably and easily resolved. Like a bunch of amateur Stalinists can fix it.

    No. Not Stalinists. Gods. Only Gods can fix such things.

    Not gods. Just smarter than God. 

    • #71
  12. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    Jim McConnell (View Comment):

    I have never understood this “assigned at birth” thing. Is there someone standing there in the birthing room of the hospital, like a Nazi official at a concentration camp, saying to the newborn, “You are a male,” or, “You are a female?” Isn’t basic biology involved in the process somewhere? I never considered it an arbitrary decision by some official what my two daughters were when they were born.

    Maybe I’m just getting too old.

    edit: corrected typo.

    If they want to use the “assigned” language, I would say that God “assigned” everyone to be male or female, and through DNA imprinted that assignment into every cell in the body. It takes real hutzpah to say that every single cell in a person’s body is wrong because of some muddle-headed thinking. 

    • #72
  13. tigerlily Member
    tigerlily
    @tigerlily

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    tigerlily (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    I comfort myself with the fact that in a few years the malpractice lawsuits against doctors who “treated” these people are going to be massive.

     

    I sure hope so.

    I’m sure these will be forthcoming and it can’t happen soon enough.

    There may be some costs in defending them, but, if patients received what they sought, I don’t see much success unless the operation was botched.

    I think we’re mainly talking about children under the age of 18 who get these drugs/surgeries.

    • #73
  14. Arthur Beare Member
    Arthur Beare
    @ArthurBeare

    Mad Gerald (View Comment):

    What a leading question. Any progressive knows the “correct” answer without the benefit of medical training.

    (Decent) medical training would lead you to reject this answer.

    • #74
  15. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    “A thirteen year-old who was assigned female at birth has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.”

    That’s hard to move past. That’s the basic point, isn’t it?

    Assigned at birth? By who? God?

    We are making ourselves into Gods. And it’s working out about as well as it has in the past when he attempted such foolishness…

    They’re at least denying God’s creative genius.

    • #75
  16. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    As I said, I’m hesitant to make this public, because it’s a test and I gave the answer.

    Several of you have reached out to me, asking to get it on the main feed. But I’m not sure.

    So I sent Jon Gabriel a private message, asking for advice. I’ll let you know what he suggests.

    Thanks for your interest. Or your morbid fascination. Whichever.

    Maybe delete the screenshot and just reference it. 

    • #76
  17. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    As some of you may recall, I have two daughters who are world- class athletes.  Never mind them.  Let’s talk about my third daughter.

    My middle daughter is short (5’10”) and not as fast as her sisters.  Still, she was a remarkable high school athlete.

    She had been complaining of increasing pain in her right thigh, but she kept running cross country, meet after meet.   She’d lie down after the races, and feel better after a while.

    At their regional championships, it was the typical cross country course, I think about 3 miles. The last 100 yards of the course was straight up hill. She came around the turn, trailing some other girls. I turned to the parents nearby, and said, “The race is over”.  And sure enough, she somehow found a way to pass the girls in front of her, straight up the hill, pulling her team into the state championship with her heroic effort.  She collapsed in pain at the finish line, as the other girls ran on past her on the ground.

    The next week at the state championships, she had to pull out of the race halfway through – she just collapsed at the edge of the course, in agonizing pain.  The orthopedic surgeon found a fracture in her right femur, from overuse.  If she’d gone a little further, it would have shattered.

    She can handle pain.  She’s a tough kid.  Tougher than you & me.

    Ok, so is she a boy?

    No.   She’s just a girl who is an unusually good athlete, and is unusually tough.  She’s still a girl.  For Pete’s sake.  She loves scented candles & expensive pocketbooks.  So she hates losing.  She’s still a girl.

    The left can’t accept diversity.

    There’s nothing wrong with girls.  Tough, or girly, or both, or anything in between.  There’s nothing wrong with girls.

    They’re still girls.  They’re not boys.

    For Pete’s sake…

     

    • #77
  18. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    The correct answer is to refer the child to psychiatric help. 

    • #78
  19. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Oh, and check with Chloe Cole. 

    • #79
  20. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    The correct answer is to refer the child to psychiatric help.

    Oh, and that first answer is so dishonestly worded. How can you “convert” to something you already are?! You’ve gotta hate this ideology because we’re supposed to hate evil and lies, and it’s full of them!

    • #80
  21. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    tigerlily (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    tigerlily (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    I comfort myself with the fact that in a few years the malpractice lawsuits against doctors who “treated” these people are going to be massive.

     

    I sure hope so.

    I’m sure these will be forthcoming and it can’t happen soon enough.

    There may be some costs in defending them, but, if patients received what they sought, I don’t see much success unless the operation was botched.

    I think we’re mainly talking about children under the age of 18 who get these drugs/surgeries.

    Unless the treatments are in direct violation of an existing law, I’m pretty sure the doctors/ clinics will have their ducks in a row in terms of consent.

    • #81
  22. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    tigerlily (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    tigerlily (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    I comfort myself with the fact that in a few years the malpractice lawsuits against doctors who “treated” these people are going to be massive.

     

    I sure hope so.

    I’m sure these will be forthcoming and it can’t happen soon enough.

    There may be some costs in defending them, but, if patients received what they sought, I don’t see much success unless the operation was botched.

    I think we’re mainly talking about children under the age of 18 who get these drugs/surgeries.

    Unless the treatments are in direct violation of an existing law, I’m pretty sure the doctors/ clinics will have their ducks in a row in terms of consent.

    Not unless a legal guardian signs off.

    • #82
  23. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Gender dysphoria is like islamophobia, it’s a made-up term and it’s about appearances and perceptions, not disease processes; no one dies of this dysphoria, if they commit suicide it’s about something else, not thay are trapped in the wrong body. And gender is a linguistic term that does not refer to sex except jokingly, per the OED. It may be in modern dictionaries, especially on-line ones, but this is what I mean by redefining words.

    And I just can’t believe that “suffering” is the appropriate word for any of this, even for those who genuinely have a long-standing morphological dysphoria.

    And, it’s a social problem, not a biological or medical problem. No one with this dysphoria would have his (or her) life altered in any way if he was living alone on a desert island. There would be no negative sequelae.

    I looked this up a little bit on the Internet. I’m only going by what one psychiatrist said.

    Some of the definitions say you hate your sex organs etc.

    I can’t sort this out other than listening to experts.

    Morphological dysphoria is just one way of saying someone is unhappy with the shape and appearance of himself, or some part of himself.  I don’t think it’s a DSM diagnosis, but there are DSM diagnoses of that type (but DSM is political anyway).

    Anorexia is related to it.  We don’t help skinny people starve to death when they think they’re too fat.  We don’t cut people’s arm off when they feel that it’s not theirs or doesn’t belong.  But we’re willing to cut off breasts and genitalia.

    This is crazy.

    • #83
  24. Sandy Member
    Sandy
    @Sandy

    Physicians and their allies in South Carolina need to be complaining loudly to the governor and the legislature.  It’s hard work, I know, but this is the advantage of federalism and a little publicity might go far. Or is the real problem that there are almost no independent physicians any longer?  If so, the few remaining need to find their voices.  

    • #84
  25. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    Sandy (View Comment):

    Physicians and their allies in South Carolina need to be complaining loudly to the governor and the legislature. It’s hard work, I know, but this is the advantage of federalism and a little publicity might go far. Or is the real problem that there are almost no independent physicians any longer? If so, the few remaining need to find their voices.

    My physician used to be independent pre obutthole care  . His practice was forced to partner with the local BJC conglomerate. He delt with that begrudgingly for a few years then retired.  My new doctor is in this conglomerate and must tow the line . I trusted my last doc . Not so much my current doc. Not that she has given me reason to distrust yet . However, I know who her master is .

    • #85
  26. Stina Member
    Stina
    @CM

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    She gets owned in this one. lol

     

     

     

    If gender is a brain thing, then why are they so intent on destroying the perfectly healthy biology of a child to “affirm” it? She’s bought a lie and she doesn’t realize it. It’s right there.

    It’s because gender isn’t real. Gender was just a “socially acceptable” way of referring to your biological sex without using s-e-x. That’s why they seek to biologically alter your body if you express dismay or discomfort with your biological body.

    • #86
  27. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Dr. Bastiat: This is scary, scary stuff.

    And absurd . . .

    • #87
  28. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Stina (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    She gets owned in this one. lol

     

     

     

     

    If gender is a brain thing, then why are they so intent on destroying the perfectly healthy biology of a child to “affirm” it? She’s bought a lie and she doesn’t realize it. It’s right there.

    It’s because gender isn’t real. Gender was just a “socially acceptable” way of referring to your biological sex without using s-e-x. That’s why they seek to biologically alter your body if you express dismay or discomfort with your biological body.

    I have said this before. A million years ago, G Gordon Liddy predicted that we would get into big trouble by using this new “gender” word. I bet he talked about it every other month. Boy, was he ever right.

    • #88
  29. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    tigerlily (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oik (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    I comfort myself with the fact that in a few years the malpractice lawsuits against doctors who “treated” these people are going to be massive.

    I sure hope so.

    I’m sure these will be forthcoming and it can’t happen soon enough.

    There may be some costs in defending them, but, if patients received what they sought, I don’t see much success unless the operation was botched.

    A)In no other case are MDs obligated to let the patient self diagnosis & prescribe treatment.

    B) the American Academy of Pediatrics says you shouldn’t let a child cross the street alone, but they can change their gender & demand surgery?

    Read some of Dr Paul McHugh’s articles in the WSJ. He was the first to actually study longterm outcomes of TG surgery & showed it didn’t benefit the patient. B/c of his work John’s Hopkins actually quit doing “sex reassignment” surgery for many years,before the current craze. Unfortunately, the main surgeon involved came to the institution I was at & therefore I have 1st hand knowledge of the procedures.

    addendum:

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-mchugh-transgender-surgery-isnt-the-solution-1402615120?tesla=y&%24HeadlineQueryString%24=

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/standing-against-psychiatrys-crazes-11556920766

    • #89
  30. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    I just thought of how to defeat this and maintain your integrity. Use “gender affirming” correctly. Say “I recommend gender affirming care” to mean therapeutically affirming the patient in the gender (sex) he or she really is! In reality! Recommend a mental health professional who also deals in reality.

    • #90
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.