Resident doesn’t bite the bullet for attending physician
What do residents do when they see attending physicians doing something unethical? Chances are, not much. Unfortunately, residents are in a position where there is virtually no upside to blowing the whistle on a superior’s behavior. Unfortunately, this environment does nothing to help the greater cause of ensuring the highest quality of patient care.
Kudos to USF medical school for having a culture where at least one resident felt comfortable reporting his attending physician’s wrongdoings. The first-year plastic surgery resident witnessed the attending surgeon allegedly hiding a bullet removed from a murder suspect’s body, according to an article in the St. Petersburg Times.
The attending put the bullet in his glove rather than turn it over to law enforcement as medical evidence. The resident reported the incident to supervisors, and the attending physician was confronted and eventually returned the bullet, the article says.
The attending physician was suspended for 10 days and must perform community service, including giving a lecture to house staff about gathering evidence for law enforcement.
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Julie McCoy
Julie McCoy is the associate editor for the residency market at HCPro, Inc.
Julie has written 192 posts.
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