Doctor, Vanderbilt in ongoing Twitter feud after physician took a knee to protest racism

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is locked in a public feud with one of its doctors who says the hospital punished him for taking a knee in solidarity with NFL players protesting racism.

Dr. Eugene Gu tweeted a picture of himself kneeling in his hospital scrubs in September — it went viral and currently has more than 51,000 retweets. But he said his political tweets, as well as a complaint he lodged against a colleague, made him a target at the hospital, where he works as a surgical resident.

Gu said a patient complained about him based on his tweets. He also said the hospital bristled after he tweeted that a colleague elbowed and pushed him on the job.

He shared a letter informing him he would be placed on two weeks paid leave in November. The letter said the leave was based on an ongoing investigation into Gu's complaints as well as "complaints VUMC has received from patients and external sources."

Gu said he also was put on probation until March. Documentation he shared and posted on Twitter said his tweets about the colleague violated VUMC policy.

The issue picked up steam this month after VUMC broke with its typical protocol and released a statement about Gu in response to an article on the controversy published by Duke University's student newspaper.

Gu's large Twitter following has been consistently sympathetic as he has documented his problems at the hospital, putting VUMC on the defensive. VUMC denied Gu's claims of discrimination. Although the statement did not confirm or deny specific disciplinary actions, it mentioned "VUMC’s actions concerning Dr. Gu."

"His assertion that he had been disciplined for expressing political or social views on social media is untrue," the statement said. "Dr. Gu is not presently on a leave of any kind."

In a statement updated Wednesday, VUMC said it was speaking out in response to articles published in Duke University's student newspaper and "to address inaccuracies circulating on social media."

"Any actions relating to Dr. Gu’s progress as a surgery resident have been and will continue to be based on his performance and adherence to VUMC’s policies," the statement read.

"He has never been told that he must change his political views or the substantive content related to his personal participation on social media platforms. He has been advised of the need to adhere to VUMC’s social media policy, which requires that persons who are identified as representatives of VUMC clearly state that their views are their own."

Vanderbilt's public statements have only seemed to fuel the feud. Gu tweeted Friday morning that the hospital's statements had caused "grave safety concerns."

In an interview, Gu said VUMC's statement, which was pinned to the top of the hospital's Twitter account, "funnels almost 40,000 followers to me." He said it put him at risk of public bullying and harassment, and warned that it would have "a very chilling effect" on anyone else who wants to speak out about politics or institutional concerns.

"Vanderbilt can respond to whichever criticism they want, but why would they put someone's specific name out there?" he said.

"They want to make an example so that anybody who dares to speak out against the institution (or) about an injustice would be destroyed," he said. "Who wants to be the next Dr. Gu?"

John Howser, chief communications officer at VUMC, said in an email that the hospital posted its response on Twitter because that was where "the bulk of the dialogue around this matter is taking place."

Gu is continuing to work at the hospital, where he helps with kidney transplants. He said he wants to continue his residency at another, more "supportive" hospital, but said it was a complicated process.

Reach Adam Tamburin at atamburin@tennessean.com or 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.