John Ruffin, former head of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities wrote:
"The 19th-century scientist and pathologist Rudolph Virchow gave voice to many of our present-day concerns about disparities and went a long way toward defining the task before us. A socially minded man, he believed that science should speak the language of the common people and that medicine should serve the public's health. He wrote, 'If medicine is to fulfill her greatest task, then she must enter the political and social life…'"
Do you agree and why? Is it permissible for scientists to become advocates in the areas of their research? What steps can one take to balance advocacy with the objectivity that is considered the ideal in scientific inquiry?
I think if I did not agree, I would be a bench scientist, interested in market research, or scientist for hire by someone's whose questions I am not personally interested in but have the skills to research. Virchow has said that medicine's greatest task is to serve a wide range of purposes. I understand this to mean as opposed to serving those to whom it is available. And as participants in the arena, scientists who agree with Virchow use the energy they have expended to further a cause.
We can balance this inclination to advocate with the need to remain objective by grounding work in the idea that all knowledge contributes to progress. Outcomes that are unexpected or are seen as contrary to progress, in the end, also contribute. For me, this means taking a career long view on my contribution instead of looking at one project as the end-all of what I can contribute. But I can see how certain work, certain projects, or certain environments which work occurs can push one into feeling that this is it - the thing that will matter to all those who I serve by doing what I do. In these cases, I think it is up to each of us to remain connected with others in the field, grounding what we are doing with what others are doing, and always planning for what we can work on next which will contribute.