Is there a Doctor in the (White) House?

Obama has gone to great lengths to demonstrate his lack of basic medical knowledge. For instance, if your cardiologist recommends a pacemaker, Obama says you might need to take a pain pill instead.

Wow, I didn’t realize taking Tylenol aided in regulating one’s heartbeat! Is there anything Tylenol can’t do? Do Advil, Ibuprofen and their generic brand counterparts also correct irregular heartbeats? If so, they really should update their labels! New commercials, stat!

Perhaps it is unfair of me to use my biology degree and basic understanding of physiology against Dr. Obama, er, I mean President Obama. Then again, he has a Surgeon General and an entire Health and Human Services agency who I am sure would be happy to clue him in on matters of cardiology, or at least refer him to someone who does (that is, if they’re “into” referrals).

At the very least, he could do a quick search of “pacemaker” on WebMD or some other medical website to easily ascertain that pain relievers are only necessary during post-op following the insertion of a pacemaker not for the actual function of regulating a heartbeat. Yes, my doctor friends abhor medical websites, but Obama could at least consult one to figure out the difference between pain killers and major medical procedures.

Obama likes to equate himself to Abraham Lincoln. Perhaps he should acquaint himself with Lincoln’s famous quip in paraphrasing Proverbs 17:28, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Obama should heed this sound counsel, most especially when discussing matters he knows absolutely nothing about, like pacemakers, tonsillectomies and amputations. (All three videos are below.)

Perhaps Obama refuses to understand basic cardiology since cardiologists are … wait for it … specialists! What’s so terrible about specialists? According to Obama, specialists are the arch-enemy of the general practitioner.

Silly me. I thought GPs worked with specialists, offering referrals so patients could receive expert help for specific medical conditions that are well past the “preventative treatment” phase. Let’s say a GP discovered preliminary symptoms related to heart disease during a routine office visit. He or she may refer a patient to a (gasp!) cardiologist for specific heart health care. The cardiologist, upon further examination of the patient, orders a stress test and, as a result, performs angioplasty. Are we to expect GPs to begin performing angioplasties? Imagine your primary care physician’s waiting room then!

Darn those young medical students, buried in heaps of student loan debt, who apparently hold their noses up to the common folk by furthering their education and completing multi-year residencies concentrating on specific medical conditions that require specific medical expertise. Darn them all for inserting pacemakers to people who would apparently be just fine with a pain killer. Darn them all for causing angioplasties to occur in hospital operating rooms rather than in Exam Room #4.

Obama, put away your toy stethoscope and end the silly photo-ops. Doctors don’t wear white coats outside the office, unless of course, you supply them.

Americans are not idiots. We are not so easily fooled. We are tired of the shenanigans and we are growing weary of your incompetence. The American people elected a Commander-in-Chief not a Doctor-in-Chief. Why don’t you concentrate on the war in Afghanistan and let doctors stick to medicine.

Paging real doctors! Paging real doctors! Oh, here’s one. HotAir has a piece on a doctor who refused to attend the photo-op at the White House. Good for him. He speaks out about the invitation to “discuss” current health care proposals. I suppose by “discuss” Obama really means, “I talk, you listen” because there wasn’t a lot of “discussing” going on, merely an empty speech accompanied by a few props clad in white coats. If only Nurse Ratched had made an appearance.

For those of you who don’t remember what Obama said about pacemakers, tonsillectomies and amputations, here’s a trip down memory lane.