On January 20 Stephen Pasceri walked into Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and shot and killed cardiac surgeon Dr. Michael Davidson before turning the gun on himself. Pasceri's mother was a former patient of Davidson's and passed away last November. Marguerite Joly, sister to the gunman told the Boston Herald "I think it comes down to the fact that my brother thought it was the doctor's fault that my mother died." It is believed that Pasceri believed a drug therapy given to his mother by Davidson was the cause of her fatality.
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The untimely death of Dr. Davidson brings to light the growing concern of personal safety for medical providers. Attacks by patients are truly a physician nightmare and last week's event is just one of a string of attacks against physicians in the past few years. For example, in 1999 a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital was stabbed by a patient during a therapy session before the patient was shot dead by a security guard.
Why are physicians suffering in the hands of those we have dedicated our lives to serving? I believe it comes down to perception. Point blank, many in the public think we are God. (We are far from it!). If things go wrong or not as anticipated the assumption is the doctor made a mistake. However often times the person being treated is either very sick or has a condition not amenable to treatment. Unfortunately you cannot save everyone, in spite of your best efforts. I like to think that God uses physicians to carry out His work here on Earth and ultimately what happens to patients is His decision. Yes, there are times when malpractice is the cause of unnecessary fatality or increased morbidity, but I don't think that warrants the death of the person who made the mistake.
Working in a high crime area, I have always been nervous about being caught in the middle of the various shootings and incidents that occur outside the hospital. Never would I have imagined that I now need to be concerned with what happens inside the building. Hospitals and medical centers are supposed to be places of healing, not causes for anxiety and fear for your life. So what do we do now? Do we increase security at hospitals and implement hospital wide metal detectors? Should we evoke the idea of physician right to bear arms in the work place? Or do we just stand and pray that we never encounter a patient or patient acquaintance who wants to take matters into their own hands? I honestly don't know what the answer is.I do believe education should be given to medical staff on how to deal with aggressive and potentially dangerous patients.
I do feel an open discussion needs to be had on changing the public perception of physicians and health care providers. There needs to also be a dialogue on how to extensively explain to patients and family members the extent of someones illness and realistic expectations. Understanding the depth of an illness may help people realize that sometimes no matter how hard a physician may work, the outcome may not be a positive one.
Despite the tragedy at Brigham and Women's Hospital and others in the past, I still believe in the purity of human nature. I'm thankful for the opportunity to help others and believe the majority of people are grateful for the work physicians do. We at OhemaasMD send our condolences to Dr. Davidson's family and Brigham and Women's Hospital who lost a hard working surgeon, mentor and teacher. Interventional cardiologist Dr. Andrew Eisenhauer said "You should all be assured that Michael Davidson was one of the kindest and best physicians and men that ever walked on this earth,". May his legacy live on through his wife, children, and all the patients who benefited from his work.
