u/rabbit-pineapple

A few months ago, I posted about my experience working at Family Health Centers in San Diego. This is an update on what happened after I held my press conference in Chula Vista.

Before the event, several employees told me they had been warned not to attend because, if they were seen there, "it would look very bad for you." Around that same time, the organization had filed a lawsuit against me. I was served with the lawsuit at the press conference, in front of the media. Whether the timing was intentional or not, it felt like an attempt to publicly humiliate me and undermine my credibility.

Since then, the pressure hasn't stopped. I've been forced to defend myself against allegations that I believe are completely baseless. I've also learned that a complaint was filed against my medical license, something I'll eventually have to defend despite believing it has no merit. I've heard claims about me repeated throughout the organization that I believe are false.

Here's what I keep coming back to: all I did was ask for accountability and transparency.

I questioned policies that prioritized metrics over patient care. I proposed workflow changes to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. I pushed for systems that gave patients the time they deserved and reduced burnout for providers. I believed that was my job.

Instead, I became the problem.

American healthcare is already breaking physicians. We're expected to move patients through like an assembly line while pretending that quality can be measured by a spreadsheet. Compassion isn't a metric. Listening isn't a metric. Taking the extra five minutes a patient desperately needs isn't a metric. But those are the things that actually save lives.

We complain every day about how broken the system is, but if we stay silent because we're afraid of retaliation, nothing changes. Hospitals and healthcare organizations know this. They count on our exhaustion. They count on us believing we're replaceable.

I'm one physician fighting a multimillion-dollar organization with vastly greater resources. Maybe I'll lose. Maybe this hurts my career. I've been told more than once that speaking up wasn't worth it.

I disagree.

Every meaningful change in medicine started because someone refused to accept, "That's just how it is."

If you're thinking about working for Family Health Centers in San Diego, do your homework. Don't let your passion be exploited until there's nothing left of you.

To everyone else in medicine: stop accepting burnout as normal. Stop accepting retaliation as the cost of advocating for patients. Stand together. Support each other. Push back.

Because if we don't fight for our profession, no one else will.

I was a resident of Family Health Centers. I was even chief. I stayed there after graduation. I worked hard for my patients. I was efficient, had high show rate, was liked by my patients. I advocated for better clinic processes that would be beneficial for both provider and patient. And that was the beginning of the end for me. My clinic was being ran by a director that in my opinion was completely incompetent. At one point it would take 40 minutes just to register a RETURNING patient. She would ignore emails. She would report EVERYTHING to the higher ups instead of taking charge and making simple decisions herself. The providers were shockingly at the bottom of the totem pole from all staff in clinic. We were just workers in an assembly line. Our pleads to leadership were IGNORED. eventually some of us started to advocate for a union and lets just say one by one we were sniped down. I can write forever about other atrocities committed by the company but what's the point. I just want to warn those of you who will be graduating and looking for work, beware of this company. Healthcare today we can all admit sucks, at least in America. They take it to a whole other level. You have been warned.

I graduated from Family Health Centers. I was chief resident of my year. Beware of the residency there. They sale a good pitch with those interested in helping underserved communities and off a "variety" of clinics that make you think wow that's amazing. However, in my opinion they fall short in a lot of their promises. The community is great and there are a lot of awesome preceptors, however, the company is exactly what you expect in this new healthcare system we live in today. Every year they increase patient load, they come up with policies that make no sense to the actual provider/clinic flow and only there to meet their metrics- even if it doesn't actually help the patient and sometimes can actually be a detriment to them. I started working for the company after I graduated and that's when I met more of the corporation side. I felt like I worked at an assembly line at a factory. I attempted to bring up concerns and was ignored. When I kept advocating for my community and colleagues thats when the retaliation tactics began. Eventually it got so bad I with other providers started talking about organizing and forming a union. well lets just say that didn't end well for the providers who were brave enough to try and make a change. Good luck out there! Give your talents to a program that will live up to their promises and mission.