OK, so I am not necessarily a crusader against idiotic bloggers or columnists, but I cannot abide by their idiocy.
On July 20, 2015, the Mindanao Times published a column from Fely V. Sicam entitled, "Are resident doctors really doctors?" The answer of course, is yes, but since she doesn't know that, she went on a tirade about how a friend was recently humiliated during a trip to the emergency room. I'm writing this from my phone and I don't want to type too much, so here's the link to her article: http://mindanaotimes.net/loud-whispers-are-resident-doctors-really-doctors/
She raises some valid points about health care towards the end of her article, but being partly correct shouldn't excuse a "journalist" from basic fact-checking.
This may is may not result in some backlash heading my way, we'll see. Responses to these sort of people usually result in p!ssing matches consisting of ad hominem attacks and claims of "That's not what I meant, you need to educate yourself and read between the lines." In other words, I expect them/her to double-down instead of apologize. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.
If anyone's interested in sending their own feedback, the Mindanao Times can be contacted at
times.editors@gmail.com and mtimes46@gmail.com.
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July 21, 2015
To whom it may concern,
I am writing in regards to an article that was published in your newspaper and website on July 20, 2015, entitled, "Are resident doctors really doctors?" authored by Fely V. Sicam. (http://mindanaotimes.net/loud-whispers-are-resident-doctors-really-doctors/) Unfortunately I am unable to find Ms. Sicam's contact information, so I am forwarding my feedback to you.
The editors at your publication need to improve their vetting of what is published. Ms. Sicam's basic premise is wrong. Resident doctors are in fact real doctors. In her third paragraph, Ms. Sicam makes a distinction between licensed doctors and resident doctors. One cannot be a resident doctor without becoming duly-licensed first. Even if it was possible to do so, Ms. Sicam does not take any steps to verify her doctor's licensure - she simply makes a blanket statement about resident doctors predicated on her ignorance of this fact as well as assumptions based on superficialities. She's not even internally consistent. The resident said: "I'm a resident doctor," but she says he never spoke in English, which he just did.
In her fourth paragraph, Ms. Sicam gives her opinion of what she deems to be a "real" doctor. This is beside the point. Her primary question is, "Are resident doctors really doctors?" to which the answer is yes.
Because of her wrong premise, Ms. Sicam becomes incoherent. She is against fake doctors and inhumane ones. And ones who don't speak English (but really do). What about real doctors who she thinks are fake? It's unclear because she can't even distinguish. While Ms. Sicam has some valid points regarding the expediency of her friend's care as well as the law punishing the illegal practice of medicine, the inadequacy of health care is a broad-based multifactorial problem that many people are trying to fix from various angles. Ms. Sicam can help with this fix... But only if she takes the time to check her facts first.
I would be happy to discuss this further if you or Ms. Sicam desire. Thank you very much for your consideration.
Yours,
JB Chong
*Updated on a laptop later at 10:10am, mainly to add text to a paragraph and improve formatting. The text of the letter itself remains unchanged.
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