Two recent tragedies in medical education could not be more different on their surface.
In one case, a fourth-year medical student at a school in Minnesota posted crude, demeaning comments about female patients on social media. The videos went viral. The student was placed on leave and then reportedly expelled only months before graduation, losing his residency position in the process.
In another case, a third-year medical student in Texas died by suicide after a female patient complaint during his ob/gyn rotation triggered a disciplinary process. According to media reporting and the family's lawsuit, the student was barred from all patient contact pending review by the Committee of Student Grading and Promotion. Days later he purchased a gun, put on his white coat, and ended his life.
The alleged conduct in these two cases is not the same. The outcomes are not the same. One student was expelled; another is dead. Yet the cases share something deeply troubling: the opacity of how medical schools define and enforce "professionalism," and the near-automatic institutional response that they cannot comment on matters related to disciplinary action.
Professionalism as a Threat
