"Dancing Doc" Video....Just When You Think You've Seen It All...
I am sure by now most of you have seen the "dancing doc" youtube video of a physician and her surgical staff dancing over an unconscious patient's exposed body....unfortunately there is more to the story. Read on....
To all of us health professionals (professionals being the key word here), this one will leave you speechless. I am sure by now many of you have seen the viral YouTube video of an Atlanta dermatologist dancing and twerking with her staff over an unconscious and exposed patient. In the video Dr. Windell Davis-Boutte and her staff lip sync and dance pointing to the patient's exposed buttocks to a song about "big bottoms". During another video....yes I said another, as there are over 20 videos posted on her YouTube practice page, she cuts into the patients' flesh on cue to the song lyrics about cutting. She posts these as "marketing videos" for her Atlanta area practice.
Dr. Boutte is board certified in dermatology but also performs plastic surgery and general surgery neither of which she is board certified in. Her practice web page boasts rave reviews from hundreds of her patients over her 22 years in practice. The web page states that she specializes in Brazilian Butt Lifts and Smart Liposuction. Her surgeries are performed at an outpatient "full-service medical spa and cosmetic surgery center" that is not licensed or accredited.
If you type Dr. Windell Boutte's name into the Google tab you will come up with a plethora of hits from her videos to the growing number of malpractice lawsuits cited against her for a variety of reasons. She has settled at least 5 malpractice lawsuits and has 4 more pending. At Dr. Boutte's surgery center, no general anesthesia is used. One of the settlements is with a patient, who was a nurse, that now suffers permanent brain damage and requires round the clock care. This patient arrested on the surgical table after 8 hours of surgery under a cocktail of sedative medications including Propofol. Within the lawsuits, she is cited for not following "board guidelines for office-based surgeries that define you to report any incident that leads to a patient's death or to a hospital".
So where do we even begin to have a conversation about this? One of my questions would be how do 20 plus of these videos exist and who are the patients? Do the patients have knowledge or give consent to being on camera and presented to the world as the subject of Dr. Boutte's "marketing"? If patients have not consented, then how has she been able to continue not only making these videos but practicing medicine as well? Should patients in the videos be made aware that they unknowingly were filmed and that the videos were used as a marketing tactic? The HIPAA rights clearly were violated unless the patient waived these rights. Would you want to know if it were you?
My next question is who are the staff that are participating in this behavior? Have none of the staff members found this unethical or just plain wrong? Has no one spoken up on the patient's behalf? Should they be subjected to punishment as well? Are there no other physicians that practice in the same group that are aware of these videos or malpractice lawsuits and voice objection? Should they turn her into to governing bodies?
How did we get here? A few months ago the "funky flu" video filmed by a nurse in Florida went viral. In it, the emergency room nurse gave several informational facts and instructions on how to keep the flu at bay. The nurse was turned in to the board of nursing and was under a great deal of scrutiny over her "sarcastic tone". Somehow, these videos from Dr. Boutte have taken a while to reach the public's "spotlight". Why is that I wonder?
My next thought is that surgeons frequently use music as a background distraction during surgery. Each surgeon has his/ her own preference of music style. At what point does the line get crossed when you trust your physician and team to care for you at your most vulnerable moments? How much "goofing and fun" is acceptable when you are the professionals? I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts on this matter and the issues surrounding it. Does anyone have any similar experiences? What repercussions should Dr. Boutte face if any?
In addition to all of the dignity and ethical issues, isn't there a direct correlation between time a patient is open and risk for infection? How many microbes took up residence in these patients' exposed flesh while the doctor was expressing her artistic side? I always learned that you go in, do what you gotta do and then close up ASAP.
Yes, there is. My microbiology class taught me that; however, it depends what kind of injuries. Some injuries/infections needed to be exposed in the air.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Yes, there is. My microbiology class taught me that; however, it depends what kind of injuries. Some injuries/infections needed to be exposed in the air.
We're not talking about injuries, we're talking about surgery.
I saw this on the news last night and my first thought was, who are the assistants?? If they are nurses then I am totally disgusted that, being patient advocates, they allowed this unprofessional behavior to go on. Worse was that if they are nurses, that they participated in it!!! I don't care what type of facility it is. Doctors and nurses and any medical staff need to be professional at all times. Never mind the distraction of this while operating. I feel these types of procedures should be performed in a hosptial based facility, even if it is an outpatient surigcal center, where the proper emergency equipment is available with properly trained personnel to take care of any emergency. There needs to be some supervision to surgical procedures. Even the simpliest surgery can go wrong in a minute. Look at what happened to Joan Rivers. These people should have their licenses permanently revoked. What I saw was just plain criminal behavior to me. When profit comes before safety then there is something wrong with that picture. Why on earth would you even allow a non-board certified "doctor" and I use that title lightly, to operate on you in a spa setting?? You're setting yourself up for trouble. That office/spa needs to be closed until a full investigation is completed. This doctor should not be allowed to touch another patient.
I trained and worked as a Surgical Tech, and very interesting that if the people who were gowned and gloved in the 10 seconds of video I saw were actually involved in the surgical procedure because they violated sterility up down and sideways. The only areas considered sterile when gowned and gloved are the hands up to the elbows, and the gown from the chest down to the (natural) waist, so hands on hips-not sterile, hands on butt-not sterile, hands above head-not sterile... I try to avoid watching this type of stuff as it inflames me.
How many malpractice suits does it take for the state Medical Board to revoke a license? How is she even able to obtain malpractice insurance with 5 pay outs & 4 pending? If I were a prospective patient & saw those "marketing" videos, I would stay 100 miles away from her. Unbelievable.
As a former patient and family member who have watched patient rights violated, this truly bothers me. There are people in the medical system who violate their oath, rather they take an actual oath or not, to care for other humans and treat them with respect.
When I state take an oath, I want to qualify that statement when someone becomes a doctor, nurse, teacher, care giver of any kind and receive a certificate stating that fact they have a moral obligation to always treat the patient, child, dog, cat with compassion, professionalism, and observe their basic rights. In the past few years, my trust in certain individuals and institutions that provide care, teaching etc has been shaken to the core. These types of videos is proof that there is no standard that are set in law to protect unwitting patients, customers, parents, family members who are trusting that behind closed doors they are going to be treated with the basic respect that all humans and creatures deserve. Being aware that a doctor or teacher can go to another state and continue practicing after they have destroyed someone's life in one way or another is unbelievable that is allowed to happen.
In the medical setting, too many times patients could be victimized and that is exactly what has happened especially in this case. Although these patients may have signed given permission for pictures to be taken, surely, they did not expect to be put on display in this disrespectful manner. Of course, some surgeons and care givers may like to listen to music, may even hum when performing their duties. Because at times that tunes out other distractions and allows the person to concentrate on the job at hand. I have used music many times to help in my concentration and to block out distractions that is an entirely different scenario. But to poke fun at a sedated patient, to leave a patient exposed whether only medical professionals are present, to refuse to provide items of clothing that will cover the private areas of a patient that does not need to be exposed, to only provide small drapes and partial gowns during physical exams is wrong, for a patient not to be provided gowns during a physical exam in a doctors office that if necessary that patient can stand and walk out of the room and be totally covered, for a medical professional to treat patients with the cavalier attitude "I have seen it all and so it is okay for me to see your all", for a nurse to tell a patient we prefer you naked because it makes my job easier, to provide a private room but then expect the patient to have bed baths, use bedside toilet or bedpan, dressing changes, doctor and nurse exams without a privacy screen just in case someone walks into the room unexpectedly
After all that has been said, I do want to also state that I have had exceptional care and that in fact the vast majority of individuals in the healthcare, teaching, animal care, child care professionals are wonderful, compassionate individuals who have their own high moral standards.
Maybe I have this wrong, because apparently she took the videos of her site. But, I thought she actually publicly and knowingly posted these so that perspective patients could see them. And then choose her, partly because of these videos.
Nothing "unwitting" about it. Maybe there was the occasional patient who does not view social media, or go to the links on her page, but no way that is the majority.
People chose her as a surgeon after seeing her act. Do I have this wrong?:
Maybe I have this wrong, because apparently she took the videos of her site. But, I thought she actually publicly and knowingly posted these so that perspective patients could see them. And then choose her, partly because of these videos.
Nothing "unwitting" about it. Maybe there was the occasional patient who does not view social media, or go to the links on her page, but no way that is the majority.
People chose her as a surgeon after seeing her act. Do I have this wrong?:
It would be interesting to know how many patients were referred to her by other doctors, and how many patients self-referred, I'm sure some who saw the videos probably considered her as a "down to earth" doctor who was "fun", but ignorance is bliss. Those with even a modicum of knowledge will see her videos and cringe with every fiber of their being.
Any licensed "Nurse" (RN or LVN) or "OR tech" that participated in that spectacle should lose their license . No excuse. That moron "MD" was not holding a gun to their heads. Patient safety and dignity is paramount.
Wlaurie, RN
170 Posts
Don't have surgery at a "spa" and make sure your doc is board certified to do the procedure you'd like done.