The ethics corner: Voicing concerns over good doctors who exhibit disruptive behaviors

As long as doctors treat patients effectively and efficiently, they are doing their jobs well, right? Maybe that was the case in years past, but the demands placed on today’s doctors are more complex than that. Although treating patients still remains at the heart of a doctor’s job description, medical staffs also expect that doctors will behave reasonably. When they don’t, hospitals and medical staffs face numerous ethical dilemmas, such as:

What if a doctor who does an excellent job treating patients exhibits disruptive behavior?

What if that doctor is well respected in the field by his or her peers who don’t know about the behavioral problems?

What if the medical staff works with an underserved population, worked hard to recruit the doctor, and doesn’t want to take any action to risk losing him or her?

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