Dear Provider

POETRY OF THE TIMES

My parents named me Richard just because

they liked the name, clueless about how fast

King Richard the Lionhearted could become

Little Dick when a Jersey bully taunted me.

And I felt taunted today when I read Dear Provider

in a letter from a health care company.

Provider is a fine word, and I’ve always felt proud

to provide for my family, but the company

doesn’t know guys from Jersey are sensitive,

that I felt devalued, my hard earned Doctor

mixed into an alphabet soup of colleagues

from scores of disciplines who share patient care

The company’s game: blend us together,

pay everyone less, and increase profits

which is precisely what I provide for them.

Right now, I’ll ignore the bully’s insult,

let them know Dear Doctor will be fine next time.

But call me Dear Provider again and it’s a Jersey

street fight with a doctor who can be a real dick.

Disclosures:

Dr Berlin is Instructor in Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA.