From: baldwin@csservera.scs.usna.navy.mil (J.D. Baldwin)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: "Incompetent [military] doctors"
Date: 10 Sep 92 20:54:48 GMT
Organization: Comp. Sci. Dep't., U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
In-reply-to: werner@soe.berkeley.edu's message of 8 Sep 92 21:41:13 GMT

John Werner (werner@soe.berkeley.edu) writes:
>In article <16358@pitt.UUCP> Ken Mitchum, km@cs.pitt.edu writes:
>>If you are unhappy with the fact that your choice of physicians
>>within the military is more limited than you would like, please
>>state that, rather than to stereotype an entire group of
>>professionals.
>
>I'm sorry if I struck a raw nerve.  You're right.  Ihouldn't have
>stereotyped the entire group, and I'm sure there are good doctors in
>the military and VA.  At the risk of another stereotype, I'd
>actually expect the VA ones to be better; working there probably
>takes a fair bit of dedication, given the VAs reputation, deserved
>or not.

I'm sorry that I don't have the time to post all the horror stories 
I've seen and heard first- and second-hand, but I can't let this pass
without stating that the stereotype--like most stereotypes--didn't 
happen by accident; there is a reason for it.

In 14+ years of active duty, I've seen good, bad and idiot doctors,
mostly USN but a couple of Army guys, too.  I'll even go so far as to
say that most have been quite good.  I've also been treated in VA
hospitals and have a close friend who interned at one; also, my father
died in a VA hospital.  Believe me, the VA *richly* deserves its
reputation as the 20th century's "Bedlam."  (It didn't kill my father,
he was dying anyway, but what he and I saw during that experience
still turns my stomach.  God forbid I ever end up there.)

As for military doctors, I don't know what the rate of incompetence
is, compared to private sector medicine (side note: is there any such
thing in America anymore?), but I can tell you that the accountability
for incompetence and malpractice that is provided by the right to sue,
licensing boards, professional organizations, etc., is completely
missing from the military.  Recourse for bad medical care?  "Speak to
the Patient Affairs Representative."  HAHAHAHAHAHA!  That's about the
sum total of what you can do.  The last time I had a one-way
conversation with a Patient Affairs Representative over the many
identifiably lousy ways they ran their pediatric clinic the response
was (as verbatim as I can recall):

   "Yes, I know, we have a lot of problems.  I have two children
   myself, and I take them to a civilian pediatrician."

This was the PEDIATRIC NURSE AT THE CLINIC for chrissakes!  

My brother-in-law is severely retarded today because an arrogant Navy
physician told his mother (rather harshly, to hear her tell the story)
that for the last time, goddamit, his 104-degree fever was just a cold
and was nothing to worry about and go home and let him get back to
work!  (He slammed a door in her face.)  The meningitis destroyed his
brain within 24 hours.  Please don't even ask the question of whether
the bastard was ever held accountable in any way--you might make me
punch this monitor in from just thinking about it.

I'm sure gross malpractice occurs every hour of every day in other
places besides military medicine, and I know that it is sometimes hard
to get a "private-sector" doctor to testify against a colleague (but I
also know that it can be done) but NOWHERE does an entire organization
mobilize as efficiently as the U.S. Navy's Medical Corps to cover up
the incompetence of one of its own.  Just ask Dr. Billig. [*]
--
 From the catapult of:              |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I
   _,_  J. D. Baldwin, Comp Sci Dept|+| say, I am quite prepared not only to
 _|70|___:::)=}-  U.S. Naval Academy|+| retract it, but also to deny under
 \      /   baldwin@usna.navy.mil   |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[*] Dr. Billig was the three-quarters-blind idiot cardiologist who
kept killing patients at Bethesda Naval Hospital a few years back.  I
don't remember how long it went on, but I do remember it wasn't
stopped until someone outside the USN Medical Corps noticed, and then
it became apparent that there was no way his superiors could not have
known about his incompetence all those years.  This is the culture I
am describing.