Convictions Have Consequences

Con·vic·tion
/kcn0vikSH(c)n 1) an instance of being convicted of a criminal offense. 2) the action or process of convicting. 3) a firmly held belief or opinion. 4) the quality of showing that one is convinced of what one believes or says.

We’re not talking about the legal definition of the word; we’re talking about the convictions we hold in our hearts - our world view.   Our beliefs help us make choices that guide us to keep us accountable to our God.  Having a conviction and living it showcases our beliefs.  This showcase can have unintended consequences.  That is very true for BOMA’s dear friend, Dr. Mary Martin.

As a new practitioner, Dr. Martin faced the challenge of being a female in a field dominated by men, so dealing with the “good ol’ boy” fraternity was nothing new once she graduated and started her practice.  She was managing things well, despite the male dominance until March 1, 1999.  That was the day God convicted her about prescribing birth control, and she made a decision to stop.  From that moment on she has faced increasing opposition and “push back” from the establishment when she applied for positions to practice at hospitals and medical centers. Dr. Mary has lost a number of job opportunities because of her convictions.

Most recently Dr. Martin applied for an OB position in a practice in Cozad, Nebraska, a position for which she was hired. She bought a home, farmed out her horses, and was hours away from driving from Oklahoma to Nebraska when she got the call from the new CEO of the Nebraska company. The CEO was letting her know that they would not be hiring her.  Their former CEO knew about her convictions of not prescribing birth control, and had no problem with it; however, he had retired and the new CEO didn’t share the same perspective.  He didn’t believe that Dr. Martin would be a good fit within the practice.

Subsequently, she took a temporary position to provide gynecology care in a Federally-Qualified Health Center in Illinois and was to start in May of this year. The contract was withdrawn three days before she was to start because she doesn’t provide “full-service obstetrics & gynecology.” In other words, she doesn’t provide contraception.

Her most recent experience was with a Primary Care practice in Texas who hired her to provide OB/Gyn services. Once again, she prepared to move and was willing to start building her practice when she discovered that the clinic was supervised by an LPN who was not supportive of her plan to not to prescribe birth control.  She also discovered that the practice was short of funding and they refused to pay her what she was already owed. They also lowered her salary, in spite of her many years of experience in the field.

After grappling with that disappointment, and being unemployed since August of 2019, Dr. Martin found positions with three telemedicine companies providing a number of different services.  After she started the telemedicine jobs in July, she found that seeing patients online was a satisfying alternative to starting all over in a new practice in south Texas where she would have been the only employee.

Dr. Martin is very happy staying on her ranch in Oklahoma, working from the comfort of her own home. At the time of our interview she was looking forward to being reunited with her horses.  She has also renewed a relationship with someone she met when she was 15 years old, and is looking forward to seeing where that relationship goes.

In the future Dr. Martin is hopeful that she will be able to work for Evolve, a company that works with men and women who are seeking hormonal replacement therapy and which Dr. Martin’s practice has provided for many years. While her convictions created challenges, struggles, and heartache, she stood up for what she believed and persevered through it all.  We’re glad to see that she’s found a niche that allows her to provide medical care without the animosity she faced in years past, and we look forward to seeing her life unfold in the years to come!

​If you are interested connecting with Dr. Mary Martin you can contact her by emailing joe.miller@evolvecompanyinc.com for appointments. A patient care coordinator will first reach out for your medical history, etc. and then Dr. Mary Martin will join the call/telemedicine consult.