When Systems Undervalue Identity: Why Moral Injury, Not Just Burnout, Is Breaking Healthcare
by Dr. Oyebola Arogo
Welcome to the ezine, DocWriteRx™, featuring doctors who write.
The issue features a personal essay from Dr. Oyebola Arogo, the Medical Director at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital (Clermont). He also practices Internal Medicine at Internal Medicine of Jackson PLLC. In parallel, he leads Ridgewood Medical Concierge Practice Ltd, using telemedicine to close critical care gaps in Nigeria. He is particularly focused on advancing healthcare systems that are financially sustainable, operationally efficient, and clinically impactful at the intersection of medicine, leadership, and innovation.
WHEN SYSTEMS UNDERVALUE IDENTITY: Why Moral Injury, Not Just Burnout, Is Breaking Healthcare
By Dr. Oyebola Arogo
A comment by Clifford Brooks III, MD on Doximity reminded me of the famous study from 2000 by Gneezy and Rustichini involving an Israeli daycare, which unveiled an unexpected outcome when the center began fining parents for picking up their children late; the late pickups increased.
Why?
Because the fine reframed lateness from a moral infraction (“I don’t want to inconvenience the teacher”) to a financial transaction (“I’m paying for extra time”). What had been a social norm was replaced with a market norm and hence, the behavior worsened.
Now, think about healthcare.
