I have not worked on Haitian history per se, but I have interviewed some Haitian immigrants who fled Papa Doc in the 50s or their relatives for an oral history project. I can also find some answers in Sean Mills wonderful work on Haitian immigration in Quebec.

Papa Doc and his followers were defending an indigenist and populist agenda which was wildly unpopular in the Haitian bourgeoisie at that time. As a doctor, you would most likely have been educated in the United States or in France. The Haitian liberal bourgeoisie was (and still is) well versed in contemporary culture and philosophical debates, and chances are that you would have been a communist - as it was the case for many French intellectuals at that time - or at least a left-leaning socialist. These universal ideals would have been contradicted by Duvalier's black nationalist rhetoric that was more appealing to people in the countryside who held grudge against the Mulatto elite ruling the country.

Haitian culture is still very politicized and it was also the case at that time, so it is likely that you or some of your friends would have been involved in politics, or at least that your opinions on the matter would have been known as you were one of the few college-educated notables, especially in the countryside. If you would have been running for office, the populist agenda of Duvalier would have been clear to you, and you would know that the military was behind him. If it wasn't clear enough, some of his cronies would probably come knocking at you door shortly after his electoral victory to suggest strongly that you start a new life in Montreal or New York. Not obeying would have landed you in more and more trouble, especially after the failed coup of 1958 or the rise of the Tonton Macoute.

Sean Mills, A place in the Sun: Haiti, Haitians and the Remaking of Quebec, Montreal, McGill-Queens UP, 2016.

Michel-Rodolphe Trouillot, Les racines historiques de l'État duvaliérien, Port-au-Prince, Editions Deschamps, 1986.