Los Gatos ER Physician in the News

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Anyone have any thoughts on the ER doctor from Los Gatos who has been all over the news today? Apparently a college student came in complaining of an anxiety attack and according to the news, the patient was "taunted." The patient was asking for pain and anxiety meds. I definitely think this is an example of burnout. It seems like the physician didn't think a visit to the ER was warranted and she was upset because she had sicker people to take care of. I'm not condoning how she handled the situation, I just think we really need to address burnout.

EDITED TO ADD VIDEO

[video=youtube_share;aFsADPmU64w]

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
If the very FIRST time a provider walks into a room with a nonviolent patient is with a security guard, then yes it very much IS a racial thing.

This is like the ridiculous woman calling the cops on the family BBQ'ing.

I would agree unless it is not the first time the provider has met the patient and/or the patient was abusive to other staff members.

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I would agree unless it is not the first time the provider has met the patient and/or the patient was abusive to other staff members.

Yeah except given her actions in the video, I think the simplest explanation is the most likely.

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My understanding is, although I cannot find the proof of it now, this patient was actually discharged but claimed he could not walk or breathe so refused to leave which is why she went in with security. While I do not condone the rough handling by the physician I think there is much more to this than what is being presented. If the patient was in fact malingering, which I am inclined to believe, being tossed out by security would have been much worse. I'm also fairly certain a psych consult would have elicited a great deal of anger from the patient and family who seemed to have a pre-conceived idea of what the treatment should have been although I think one is definitely needed. A panic attack in a person with a known history of panic attacks who did not pick up his medication does not exactly constitute an emergency. Frankly it would have been more appropriate for him to stay home, take his meds and let his mama fuss over him.

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Doc was highly unprofessional and behaving like a idiot. If a patient won't leave following discharge call security. Don't grab him, swear and make all round patronising comments. If I got treated like this I wouldn't leave either, I'd want a second opinion from someone who could actually be professional.

Obviously there are people in ED with things worse than anxiety attacks but unfortunately he was admitted. So treat him. Is it that hard to get information from a previous ED discharge? Sounds like it would have been a good place to start, back up your discharge and send him off with a mental health referral.

I don't deal with drug seekers in my role but I'm interested in the other nurses that do and have commented here: what exactly am I looking at that screams drug seeking to you? He hasn't specifically asking for any certain drug, is that something they build up to later on?

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My understanding is, although I cannot find the proof of it now, this patient was actually discharged but claimed he could not walk or breathe so refused to leave which is why she went in with security. While I do not condone the rough handling by the physician I think there is much more to this than what is being presented. If the patient was in fact malingering, which I am inclined to believe, being tossed out by security would have been much worse. I'm also fairly certain a psych consult would have elicited a great deal of anger from the patient and family who seemed to have a pre-conceived idea of what the treatment should have been although I think one is definitely needed. A panic attack in a person with a known history of panic attacks who did not pick up his medication does not exactly constitute an emergency. Frankly it would have been more appropriate for him to stay home, take his meds and let his mama fuss over him.

Except numerous statements say this was the first time she walked into the room so I highly doubt he had already been discharged.

Look was the young man acting like an idiot? Of course! But that doesnt mean as the provider you stoop to their level, which is exactly what she did.

And again it's not her job to forcibly eject patients. Hence why she is now unemployed.

Call security. The end.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Yeah except given her actions in the video, I think the simplest explanation is the most likely.

I don't see how racism is the simplest explanation in this case but it very well could be a factor in it I guess.

Do you think there is more to this story or do you think that 3 mins of video is the entire story?

The doc was absolutely unprofessional I am not defending that.

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Except numerous statements say this was the first time she walked into the room so I highly doubt he had already been discharged.

Look was the young man acting like an idiot? Of course! But that doesnt mean as the provider you stoop to their level, which is exactly what she did.

And again it's not her job to forcibly eject patients. Hence why she is now unemployed.

Call security. The end.

There were several news blurbs that stated he was discharged and refusing to leave which I can no longer find (media manipulation perhaps) and I don't recall condoning the MD's actions. All I said was that I think there is much more to this story then what is being presented in the 3 minutes of video available. This is extremely one-sided and I hesitate to rush to judgement.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Pain meds for anxiety.......right......

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Specializes in ER.

There are definitely 2 sides, but the physician is held to a higher standard than a neurotic young man who still thinks the world owes him a living.

It's perfectly obvious that the doctor was obnoxious, unprofessional, histrionic, and totally unlikable. I'm glad I don't work with that difficult woman!

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When trying to determine whether a patient is a drug seeker or not, it is common to look for physical findings to back up a patients complaint. Normal vital signs would not be expected when a patient is having a full blown anxiety attack and 10/10 pain as he stated. The father is trying to tell the doctor that his sons breathing is labored, however the son is speaking calmly and O2 saturation is 100%. He states his pain is 10/10 but never stated where the pain was. 650 of Tylenol would have been a perfect option IMO, narcotics are not meant to be given out for every complaint and ailment. The father also stated in an interview that other emergency rooms have not treated them this way and that they just give him pain medication. He needs to be seeing a psych doc for the anxiety and ptsd and a pain specialist for his 10/10 pain instead of visiting emergency rooms. The son also claims he has a rx for klonopin but that he was too busy to go pick it up. If these panic attacks were "life threatening" as the father states, I would think picking up the rx would be more of a priority. I am not saying that he was definitely just there for narcotics because that's not my place to say and I don't have enough information even if it was my place to say. I am just trying to comment to the poster above who nicely asked what signs we look for that indicate seeking but I'm not the best with technology so I don't know if this will show up as a reply to them lol. As many have stated, this doctor's behavior was terrible and any actions by the patient do not and should not justify it, however, as nurses we see behavior like this daily, unlike the reporters covering the story.

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Do you think there is more to this story or do you think that 3 mins of video is the entire story?

Some other stations have posted the full video of what was taken, rather than the short one linked to at the top.

It shows the young man was being utterly ridiculous, but it shows her unprofessionalism in an even clearer light.

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Some other stations have posted the full video of what was taken, rather than the short one linked to at the top.

It shows the young man was being utterly ridiculous, but it shows her unprofessionalism in an even clearer light.

It would have been nice for you to include the longer video. I just looked at the fathers Facebook page to see if he uploaded the original video and I think this is it. If you have something better please post. When I posted this the other day I didn't realize there were different lengths. The following one is definitely more detailed.

Donald Bardwell - This is how they treat black people in... | Facebook

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