Today's winner is Robert Dolan. He gets the award for the following.
BOSTON - A Massachusetts doctor has been fired and lost the right to renew his medical license for allegedly trying to give a pregnant woman an epidural while drunk.What else needs to be said? A doctor shouldn't be drinking or under the influence when practicing medicine. Robert Dolan doesn't deserve just to lose his license, but to be also today's Knucklehead of the Day.The state Board of Registration in Medicine says 39-year-old Robert Dolan was drinking from a bottle of bourbon he brought to work when he was called to perform the procedure at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center last November.
Dolan, an anesthesiologist, called another resident for help, who noticed he appeared drunk. The attending physician then called security. He was fired by the hospital a few days later.
Dolan's license to practice medicine lapsed in January and he will not be allowed to renew it unless he can stay sober for 18 months.
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Knucklehead of the Day, Medicine
Comments (3)
Wonder how many times the g... (Below threshold)1. Posted by GarandFan | September 8, 2008 12:30 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Wonder how many times the good doctor got away with being drunk on duty before someone decided enough is enough.
1. Posted by GarandFan | September 8, 2008 12:30 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 8, 2008 12:30
2. Posted by dooz | September 8, 2008 12:41 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
And so, was he fired for malfeasance or for embarrassing the hospital?
Sadly, the firing of a doctor is very newsworthy because it doesn't happen nearly as often as malfeasance does.
If you're an M.D., a public school teacher, or a government employee, you have to do something really, really bad (or embarrassing to your employer) to get fired.
2. Posted by dooz | September 8, 2008 12:41 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 8, 2008 12:41
3. Posted by epador | September 8, 2008 9:48 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Substance Abuse by physicians is a major problem for a small minority of physicians. Anesthesiologists are at very high risk. There is no routine drug screening outside of the military, and only State by State programs that vary in effectiveness and scope to deal with the problem. There is no routine Health Screening either. Heck, its harder to qualify for a CDL medically than an MD or a DO. Organized medicine ays it lip service, and although there have been some strides to address the problem, a comprehensive approach to dealing with impairment proactively is positively lacking in the US.
3. Posted by epador | September 8, 2008 9:48 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on September 8, 2008 21:48