Doctors and mistakes: big and small

Doctors are humans and we all make. Some are really big and others are small. Over the past week, we've seen two dramatic examples of physicians who appear to have done some terrible things. I don't write this to judge them, but to say that physicians are vulnerable to stress, mental health problems, greed, and other conditions.

• We've all heard of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a military psychiatrist who shot and killed people at Fort Hood (Military stress and tragedy at Fort Hood).
• If you've been following the FDA news, you may also know of Dr. Torrino Jennings who was sentenced in federal court on charges that he wrote prescriptions over the Internet for people whom he had never met or examined, as well as tax evasion (DOCTOR SENTENCED FOR WRITING PRESCRIPTIONS OVER THE INTERNET FOR PEOPLE WHOM HE HAD NEVER MET OR EXAMINED).

It's a sad reality, but doctors can fall and make some really big mistakes. I don't know if we'll ever fully understand why these individuals did the things they did. Some may think that it's a simple matter of greed, anger, or hatred. Perhaps they suffered serious mental trauma. I personally think that it probably involves a combination of many different psychological factors to cause physicians to make such poor decisions. After all, the brain is very complex and we really don't understand what makes certain people do crazy things that are irrational and bizarre.

A Sad Story on CNN

CNN has a tragic story of a U.S. soldier who killed his fellow comrades in Iraq. With all that violence and mental trauma, this person was suffering and was receiving therapy at a stress-relief clinic treatment center. I'm not sure anyone can ever receive enough counseling and therapy for going through actual combat. My heart goes out to the grieving families.