To the Editor:
Re “How ‘Professionalism’ in the Medical World Can Be a Minefield” (Science Times, March 19):
Doctors and nurses have answered a calling to care — specifically, in healing the sick. They don’t think about whether their off-duty attire meets traditional definitions of appropriateness, even though some people think that is what defines or constitutes “professionalism.”
But larger questions remain. How do we train medical professionals to be leaders in their field — to commence difficult conversations about death, to manage C-suite demands and requests, to work as a team with others, or to assuage patients’ concerns in a way that fosters compassion and trust?
Hospital executives and medical staff leaders who invest in professionalism training will be rewarded with happier, healthier patients, and doctors and nurses who bring joy and love to their work.
Robert Eisinger
Robert Minkes
Dr. Eisinger is chief administrative officer at the Healthcare Experience Foundation. Dr. Minkes is a physician coach at the foundation.
To the Editor:
Regulating professionalism in medical school is challenging. While it’s crucial to instill traits like reliability and responsibility in future physicians, professionalism can also feel like a weapon wielded arbitrarily.
Some people of color worry over seemingly trivial matters like hairstyle, influenced by the prevailing notion that white people’s hair is the standard for a polished and professional look.
Personally, as an Iranian Canadian, I straightened my naturally curly hair for medical school interviews. One friend — a Black classmate who wore braids — confided that he also considered altering his appearance for interviews but decided against it, realizing he wouldn’t want to attend a school that deemed his appearance unprofessional. Another friend, a South Asian man with well-kempt but long, curly hair, was told he looked unprofessional by a clinical examiner.
Fortunately, our medical school ultimately acknowledged that professional standards shouldn’t be based on white norms around appearance. Now, as a practicing physician, I proudly wear my hair curly all the time.
To the Editor:
Re “NBC News Undoes Hire of McDaniel” (Business, March 27), about the abrupt dismissal of Ronna McDaniel, the head of the Republican National Committee under former President Donald Trump:
Ms. McDaniel, who was hired by the network as an on-air political contributor, engaged in questionable and probably illegal behavior in Michigan after the 2020 election. Furthermore, she continues to profess that the election was rigged.
Those two facts alone would disqualify her from any journalistic assignment anywhere. The only conclusion to this episode is that NBC erred in its decision to hire her in the first place.
Richard Brody
Mercer Island, Wash.
To the Editor:
As the NBC News leaders backtrack on an inexplicable decision to give credence to an election denier, Ronna McDaniel, we should all take note. Those who stood up for truth in reporting won that battle.
We, the people, have the same battle to win at the polls. We should never excuse election deniers. And the only way to beat them is to show up.
Cheryl Davidson
Culpeper, Va.
The Problem Isn’t Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown Says
To the Editor:
Re “What’s the Matter With Ohio?,” by Paul Krugman (column, March 22):
Nothing is wrong with Ohioans. The problem is decades of bad trade policy, written at the behest of multinational corporations and pushed by the coastal elite in both parties and in the media, that devastated Ohio communities like the one I grew up in.
The damage to our economy, and to Ohioans’ faith in their government, won’t be repaired overnight. We need investment in American manufacturing and American workers, and we need to level the playing field with Chinese-government-subsidized companies that cheat our trade laws.
And we know that the same corporate apologists who pushed the failed policies of the past will seize on any excuse to try to drag us backward.
Sherrod Brown
Cleveland
The writer, a Democrat, is a United States senator from Ohio.
Suppressing Third Parties
To the Editor:
Re “Democrats Try to Derail Bids by 3rd Parties” (front page, March 21):
Laws and rules that keep parties and candidates from appearing on ballots have the same purpose and effect as laws and rules that deny people the right to vote: suppressing the votes of political opponents.
Thomas F. Schlafly
St. Louis
A Chorus of Boos for Trash Talk in Baseball
To the Editor:
Re “Nothing Makes Baseball Fun Like Trash Talk,” by Rafi Kohan (Opinion guest essay, March 24):
So, yes, more taunting in baseball. Remember, it all leaches out into the general public. Just what our uncivil body politic, drowning in hatred and teeming with guns, needs.
Not everyone is equipped or inclined to deal calmly with the casual badinage that defines our society. Our streets are filled with people — many quite well armed — who don’t cope well with disrespect. Many shoot or get shot.
Nice time capsule, Mr. Kohan. Please let’s keep it sealed.
Stephen D. Craig
Charlotte, N.C.
To the Editor:
Just what we need: more verbal abuse and insults in the public sphere. I get the point that it would be entertaining to some people to watch and listen to this, but isn’t this just what this country is struggling with on the internet: the ease with which we can taunt and tease with no repercussions?
If that’s entertainment, I want no part of it.
Kate Washton
Bronxville, N.Y.
To the Editor:
What a horrible idea. There are plenty of other sports that have trash talk; watch them. We already have to read about Donald Trump’s trash talk every day. Baseball is a welcome respite. Let’s watch the best players win on the basis of their skills in the sport, not at being jerks.
Mark Stowitts
Redlands, Calif.
It’s an Animals’ World
To the Editor:
Re “New York Is Wilder Than You Think,” by Emma Marris (Opinion guest essay, March 17):
I live in a suburb adjacent to Albany, and two days ago, a red fox came onto my deck and looked in my window. Occasionally I see a deer, raccoon or opossum in the “forever wild” area beyond my house. A friend who lives about three miles away reported seeing a black bear in his backyard. I do feed the birds and squirrels.
This reminds me that these wild animals are not intruding on us, but rather that we, in occupying their lands, are the real intruders. They were all here long before we occupied their lands.
Arlen Westbrook
Delmar, N.Y.