It’s a recurring story that played itself out again recently. A medical student takes pictures of a patient and posts them on Facebook. This time the alleged victim is an inebriated supermodel and the student, one who defied direct orders to cease and desist. The result is a $1.5m lawsuit, an embarrassed institution, a ruined career, and most importantly, a patient violated in the most humiliating way.
I’ve always believed that we’re obligated to train the next generation in professionalism and the use of social media. But after reading this story, I have to wonder whether any amount of training would have made a difference. You can’t fix stupid. Perhaps we should screen for it.
While reading my initial thought was that this story is one that’s stale and overplayed. But thinking better of it, we apparently need to keep hearing it.