Max Pemberton, MD is a Pen Name of a UK Medical Doctor - Peter Eckhart MD is the Pen Name for Renwin
Here is an argument by Max Pemberton, a pen name, for a British Medical Doctor in the United Kingdom that can be found here. http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/in-defence-of-pseudonyms-in-science-defending-the-right-to-write Pemberton sums up the fundamental importance of this case fantastically so I'm going to finish this post with Pemberton's argument for why we must protect the right for doctors to communicate without providing their given name:
This unwelcome intrusion into doctors’ private behavior is relevant to everyone. This country has a long and rich tradition of individuals writing about their profession from behind a veil of anonymity. Oscar Wilde wrote that “man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Soldiers, nurses, ambulance drivers, lawyers and even prostitutes have all written under pseudonyms to preserve – for a variety of reasons – their anonymity. Authors such as James Herriot, Theodore Dalrymple and Miss Read have become touchstones to contemporary writers and bloggers, who use their work as springboards for their stories and who often provide valuable insights into social, cultural and political issues.
It is particularly worrying that for doctors, the right to anonymity in social media is under attack. The public is served well by individuals who use the internet or print to anonymously discuss what is happening in the health service. By this I do not necessarily mean the serious cases of abuse or neglect exposed by whistleblowers (although that is relevant, too) but the day-to-day stories of life in the NHS that so often expose larger truths; and the candid thoughts of those on the coalface dealing with the fall-out of government policy.
I should here declare an interest. As is widely known, Max Pemberton is a pen name that I use for my journalism. I decided to use a nom de plume when I started this column 10 years ago because I wanted to write frankly about my experiences in the NHS and I knew that I would struggle to do this if I used my real name. Over time, my colleagues came to know of my other career as a journalist and now, in my personal life, more people – including my partner – call me Max than Alex, the name I practice under.
But I’m pleased that there is still a robust distinction between my clinical work and my media career. I want it to be clear to my patients that when they sit in front of me I am not a journalist, but their doctor. It also helps me maintain a distance between my two careers. While most of my patients are aware of my work in the media, they are grateful for the distinction. Yet I know for certain that I would never have written those first columns if the GMC’s guidance had been in place then. Writing anonymously helped me to be honest. These regulations will have a far-reaching impact. Doctors are naturally cautious and I can now see a time when they will be reluctant to pen anonymous pieces for the press, for fear that they will be tracked down by those they annoy and referred to the GMC. If they want to write articles criticizing the government or NHS management, they will be in the impossible position of either disclosing their name or writing anonymously, risking exposure. This is a chilling situation. At a crucial time in the history of the NHS, silencing doctors in this way means the public will no longer hear their views about what is happening.
Here is the Wikipedia article on Max Pemberton, MD. Max Pemberton, MD is his pen name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Pemberton_(doctor) I could not find Max Pemberton, MD’s real name. He is a full time psychiatrist in the National Health Service. He also is a weekly columnist for The Daily Mail. He writes about ethical concerns as well as the politics of health care and the NHS. Before the The Daily Mail, he wrote for the Daily Telegraph. He writes for Reader’s Digest as well. He writes for The Spectator. Occasionally, his work appears in the The Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard, and the Daily Mirror. http://www.maxpemberton.com/ It would seem that the “There is No Peter Eckhart MD” is really making mountain out of a mole hill. Peter Eckhart, MD is the pen name for Renwin Yee, MD.
