Whited Sepulchres

Great News! MTSA may have moved up in rank! The Navy Nurse Corps Anesthesia Program has closed so that may mean they move up one without having to change anything. Now, if only 67 more schools close they can be number 1!


One of the vulnerabilities of writing a blog like this is that you may be perceived as crazy or as malfeasant as the entity or person you are seeking to expose. Which begs the question, Is it better to do or say nothing about the wrongdoing of those in power so that public opinion of oneself may be preserved? I think the answer to that question may lie within the following quotes:


“Evil will triumph when good men do nothing”.

"If we believe a thing to be bad, and if we have a right to prevent it, it is our duty to try to prevent it and damn the consequences." — Lord Milner


It is a risk to speak up. That’s why more people don’t do it. Often times when you speak up about the wrongdoing of others you become a target. I was raised to believe that I should never pursue a fight or enjoy controversy but that I must never be reticent to engage either when and if necessary. So let’s talk about why this blog exists. Why in the world would anyone do such a thing?

It’s simple really. The administration of this school is malfeasant, misguided, and meretricious. No, they are certainly not Nazi baby-killers but their actions do rise to such a level that I believe someone must do something to see that it stops. The motto of the school is “Reflecting Christ in Anesthesia.” That, in my opinion, is a very audacious motto. As a school, if you are claiming that your primary focus is to reflect the Creator of the universe then you had better be ready to live and die within that motto. To clarify what I mean by that, simply this: There should be no room for malfeasant behavior within the administration of a school making such a bold statement. Forget about the schools reputation! You are, according to your own motto, reflecting God. Therefore, as an administrator, you’d better measure up; zero tolerance for charlatanism here. If those charged with the administration of the school are chronically and continually engaging in behavior blatantly non Christ-like what needs to be done? Who needs to know? Who is in charge of these people? Shouldn’t someone say something?

I have been tied to the Administration’s whipping post for too long now and I’ll have no more of it. I am tired of being lied to and lied about. The Administration is claiming to reflect Christ and yet engaging in duplicitous behavior that should never occur in any school, let alone one claiming to “reflect Christ.” And duplicity is the word best describing the modus operandi of the administration. They have continued over many years and are continuing to operate under a façade of religiosity. It’s best called pseudo-spirituality. As best I can tell, character assassination, vilification, dishonesty, innuendo, lying, – none of these serve to reflect Christ! They are wrong to commit these acts even if they weren’t professing to reflect Christ. The fact that they do them while wrapping themselves within the meretricious banner of “reflecting Christ” makes their actions loathsome in my opinion. Who is responsible for MTSA’s version of Jim Baker and Tammy Faye? Will someone please hold them accountable for their actions? Hello? Who’s minding the store here? Someone needs to step in before they ruin the school! They either need to change the administration or the administration needs to change.

Reflecting Christ doesn’t automatically make one better prepared to take a certification exam. Reflecting Christ doesn’t make you better at managing a difficult airway. Reflecting Christ doesn’t help you better understand how to deliver a variety of anesthetics. Let me make my point a different way. What if the motto of the church was, “Delivering Anesthesia Education and Training of the Highest Order”. Wouldn’t that seem a bit odd? Wouldn’t you ask yourself something like, “I thought the church was supposed to reflect Christ -- His sacrifice and His works. Why is the church trying to provide anesthesia education"? Seeking to reflect Christ is a laudable goal for any individual and for some entities, but it’s not a goal that imparts anesthetic knowledge or makes you the best anesthesia school. That should be obvious based on the current ranking.

As an entity, if you want to reflect Christ then do the works of Christ: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide shelter for those that have none, comfort the grieving and dying, preach salvation to the outcast, give sight to the blind, care for the widowed, etc. These are the deeds I know to be a reflection of Christ. Let’s be honest here- relative to the schools audacious claim -- it’s never been about reflecting Christ anyway. As a child I was always told a variation of the popular axiom – “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see”. My father would say, “If you hear someone standing on a soapbox telling you how virtuous they are and what wonderful things they do – you'd best steer clear of that person. Good people don’t need to tell you how good they are”. People who reflect Christ don’t need to tell you, “Hey, I’m reflecting Christ”. You can tell. I think the motto should read: “Reflecting the Doctrines and Dogma of the Seventh-day Adventist Church”. But then wait, that wouldn’t be true either really. More correctly: “Reflecting the Beliefs of the Family That Runs the School and Are Members of the Church Next Door”. There. That’s much more accurate!

"As a leader, you have to not only do the right thing, but be perceived to be doing the right thing. A consequence of seeking a leadership position is being put under intense public scrutiny, being held to high standards, and enhancing a reputation that is constantly under threat."
— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward in Firing Back

It is the perception of more than just a few that the leadership of the school has some other agenda besides competing for the number one spot with VCU. It is for that reason, many believe, that alumni funds and support languish. My guess is that the administration of the school doesn’t care what the alumni think. If they did they would have been mending fences long ago. There are many who love the school and would like to support it and would like to be engaged in some fashion. But you get what you give -the alumni are responding with apathy. While I do not speak for all alumni, a great many I know will not engage the school and will not support it financially until this dynasty ends. Where is Moses when you need him?

So . . . if you’re satisfied over there with a 69th ranking, if you’re OK with paltry alumni support, if the pseudo-religiosity game seems best in your eyes, if you think trumpeting your religious beliefs and placing them above what the school ought to be about is right, if you think vilifying those who dare to call you out qualifies as efficient administration – then you’re doing a great job! I think most folks still call it delusion.