I Wish I Didn't Have To Write This

My (long) fuse got lit last week.  

Learning what was happening within my own professional community left me angry, repulsed, and deeply disillusioned. If you’re feeling some version of that too, that reaction is valid and appropriate.  

Part of me wanted to unread what I learned about Peter Attia and his involvement with Epstein, to shield this precious community from something so disturbing. There’s a balance we have to hold. We need to protect our energy and be mindful of what and how much we consume. Our brains aren’t wired to process information this way. At the same time, there are moments when silence isn’t neutral. Though I am a big believer in ‘staying in our lane(s)’, I finally felt that I had an obligation to use my platform and my voice to speak about something critically important, not just for women, but for medicine, and for all of us.  

Even though I am no longer under contract with the #1 network in the country (ABC), having a national platform for nearly two decades carries real responsibility, especially when the issues at hand directly affect your health and trust in medicine. I take that responsibility seriously, and I would never jeopardize the trust you have placed in me.

Having a public platform for so long changes you. It gives you reach, yes, but it also gives you a kind of moral responsibility you don’t get to opt out of. And this particular event makes staying quiet feel like a betrayal of everything I’ve spent my career standing for.

I’m not trying to be loud or dramatic. I’m trying to be honest. Medicine, at its best, is about humility, respect, and care for real people — not branding, not power, not proximity to fame. Watching those values get chipped away, normalized, or waved off as “not a big deal” has been genuinely painful.

What I want is simple: for people to pause before they outsource their trust. To remember that influence isn’t the same thing as integrity, and credentials alone don’t equal character. I want the profession I love to feel worth defending again, and for patients to feel protected, not marketed to.

Speaking up isn’t comfortable. It’s not fun. But silence feels worse. And I’d rather be clear about where I stand than make peace with something that doesn’t sit right in my bones. That’s why I’m saying something and hoping to empower you with things to look for before you put something as valuable as your health in anyone else’s hands.  

The important lessons:

1. Credentials matter. Taking medical advice from someone who never completed residency or earned board certification is inherently risky. Training and certification exist to protect patients, not to pad résumés and pockets.
2. Ethics are fundamental. Medicine requires a moral compass grounded in respect for all people and, as outlined in the Hippocratic Oath, a commitment never to let financial gain drive care. When that standard is violated, especially through degrading language or conduct, trust in the profession erodes.
3. Morality clauses matter. Network contracts include them for a reason. When behavior that undermines professional integrity is tolerated, it sends a troubling message about what standards are actually being upheld. Referring to women’s body parts in vulgar and defamatory language reveals a side of a person that should not be tolerated when that person is a physician.  A higher standard should be applied, and behavior and language should be professional ALL THE TIME, not only when people are watching.  I feel so strongly about this and Peter Attia’s repulsive demonstrations of the exact opposite that I will not appear on any CBS or Paramount platform while he is still under contract with CBS News.
4. Professionalism is demonstrated, not declared. For nearly 18 years, I’ve cared for patients across the socioeconomic spectrum, providing treatment because it was needed, not because it was lucrative or advantageous. That is what medicine is meant to be. When influence replaces integrity, the profession itself begins to erode.

Bottom line: do your homework before you take anyone’s advice. Popularity is not proof of ethics. Followers are not credentials. And when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

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