What is the first thing that comes across
someone’s mind when they walk into a doctor’s office? Chances are, it is
probably something along the lines of, “I
wonder if I’m contagious?” or “I hope
it’s not broken!” Most of our society puts their trust into medical
professionals in order to treat sickness and disease; however, there is a small
percentage of the population that takes extreme caution when seeking treatment,
or even avoids treatment altogether. Medical malpractice is defined by Medical News Today as, “. . . professional
negligence by a health care professional or provider in which treatment
provided was substandard, and caused harm, injury or death to a patient.” (Nordqvist) When medical
malpractice cases are shown in the media, it can cause patients, as well as the
general public, to be more hesitant about trusting professionals with their
healthcare. Although medical malpractice is not an extremely common occurrence,
it is still a valid cause for many people to become apprehensive about medical
professionals and treatments.
One malpractice case that
received national attention was the Paul Lozano case from the late 1980’s. In
this case, Paul Lozano, who received treatment from Dr. Bean Bayog of Harvard
psychology, committed suicide following a five-year treatment for depression
and sexual abuse. Lozano began treatment with Dr. Bean-Bayog in 1986 because he
was suffering from depression. She assessed that Lozano had been sexually
abused by his mother as a child and, although there was no evidence to prove
her claim, concluded that the best option for treatment would be a method
called Schema Therapy Limited Reparenting, a highly controversial form of
therapy used to treat patients who were neglected or abused when they were
younger. During the treatment period, Bean-Bayog reduced Lozano to “the
emotional age of 3” in order to give him what his mother apparently never had. (Carpenter)
In the process of the treatment, Bean Bayog became attracted to Lozano and had
sexual relations with him as a part of his “treatment.” The treatment spanned a
five-year period and once it had concluded, Lozano committed suicide.
There
are many speculations as to what might have happened and since Dr. Bean-Bayog never
agreed to an interview and a lot of what we know about this case is based on
her paperwork and the notes she took while she was working with Lozano. These
documents were made public during the trial. After Lozano’s death, his family
found notes from Dr. Bean-Bayog “addressed
to "the boy" from "Mom."” (Carpenter) demonstrating how strange
Dr. Bean-Bayog’s treatment was. There were also what appeared to be journal
entries written by Dr. Bean-Bayog that detailed sexual relations between the
doctor and her patient as part of Lozano’s “treatment.” To avoid a lengthy
trial, Dr. Bean-Bayog agreed to a settlement and forfeited her license.
One reason that Lozano may
have chosen to end his life is the fact that he might have still been at a
three-year-old emotional state. A child can suffer separation anxiety when they
are removed from the presence of their caregiver and Lozano may have had a
similar reaction when treatment with Dr. Bean-Bayog was discontinued. It is
speculated that the reason that Bean-Bayog became so invested with her patient
in the first place was because she had not been able to have children. She had
suffered nine miscarriages and saw Lozano as her chance at raising a child. “Sadly, one of the reasons she allegedly
gave him for terminating therapy was that she had decided to adopt a baby of
her own.” (Carpenter) He may have felt like he was being “replaced,” not
realizing that the doctor was not actually his biological parent.
The Lozano case may be a
cause of anxiety for others seeking treatment for sexual abuse because it shows
that doctors and therapists are human, and therefore susceptible to
temptations. The New York Times describes
this situation in their article “Therapy or Seduction?” They say: “What safeguards, if any, exist to protect
patients from a doctor's human frailty? Even by psychiatry's own vague
standards, Ms. McNamara says, Dr. Bean-Bayog should have consulted her peers
before undertaking such an unusual treatment.” (Carpenter) This case may also
cause anxiety in young or expecting mothers who suffer from postpartum
depression. As defined by The National
Institute of Mental health, “Postpartum depression is a mood disorder that
can affect women after childbirth.” (NIMH) Women with postpartum depression
tend to, “worry or feel overly anxious” after their baby is born and when
someone suffering from postpartum depression hears about the Paul Lozano case,
they may become overly obsessed with providing for their child because Lozano
was “deprived” as a child. Some mothers may feel like they are also inadequate
mothers. Even though the Lozano case is a “one in a million” type of situation,
it was so heavily publicized that it instilled worry into many different groups
of people.
Another
widely known malpractice incident is the John/Joan case: a classic nature
versus nurture scenario. In 1966, Bruce Reimer suffered a failed circumcision
operation as a toddler and was raised as “Brenda” Reimer. This was a part of an
experiment conducted by Dr. John Money from John Hopkins University, who wanted
to prove that gender is only controlled by social and environmental values, not
by biological makeup. The New York Times reports that, “His sexual reassignment
was then widely reported as a success and proof that children are not by nature
feminine or masculine but through nurture are socialized to become girls or
boys.” (The Associated Press) However, time eventually proved this statement
inaccurate as Brenda became increasingly different from the other children at school.
After many years of living as a girl, Brenda’s parents finally told her the
truth of her gender identity. At this point, Brenda changed her name to David
and underwent a series of operations to restore his masculinity. David then
lived as a man for twenty years, eventually committing suicide in 2004 at the
age of 38. Dr. Money’s experiment, as described by The Los Angeles Times, “was a disaster for Reimer that created
psychological scars he ultimately could not overcome.”
When
this case first became public, it was a heavy debate that caused a lot of
political backlash. It was hard for people to believe that a medical
professional had conducted such a potentially controversial and unethical
experiment. It also proved to be upsetting to anyone who was dealing with their
gender identity. Because the results of Dr. Money’s experiment proved that
“biological factors can override gender role socialization.” someone struggling
with their gender identity may become confused. When someone is constantly
being told that they are one thing, but they feel like they are something
totally different, it can be confusing and emotionally upsetting.
Another
reason why the John/Joan case may cause people to become alarmed is the failed
circumcision operation. The doctors had performed the procedure many times, but
used an unconventional method on Bruce that resulted in serious damage to his
body. Bruce’s experience proves that even when a doctor has performed a surgery
hundreds of times, things can still go wrong. This idea causes anyone requiring
surgery to become less enthusiastic about putting their body into someone
else’s hands for even just a short period of time. There are nearly 160,000
deaths every year, caused by medical malpractice, definitely not a small
number, especially to someone already having worries about an operation.
In
the end, it all comes down to costs and consequences: Is it worth getting professional help when the consequences may be
detrimental? In some cases the answer is yes, but some cases it may be no.
For example: someone suffering from cancer is likely to get treatment because
the risk of medical negligence is less important than treating this deadly
illness. On the other hand, it isn’t necessary to consult a doctor about every
little runny nose. It is important to thoroughly research the treatment, the
doctor providing the treatment, and the risks involved with the treatment.
Increased knowledge may help ease worries, and help patients live a healthy,
stress free life.
Works Cited
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Case."The New
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Gammill, Marion B. "Bean-Bayog Case Ends After 6 Years."The
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Grison, Sarah, Todd F. Heatherton, and Michael S. Gazzaniga.Psychology
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Grossman, Ron. "When A Psychiatrist Carries Treatment Too
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Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
"Postpartum Depression."National Institute of Mental Health.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar.
2017.
"Schema Therapy Limited Reparenting."Cognitive Behavior
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Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
Schillo, Keith K. "Nature or Nurture: The Case of the Boy Who
Became a
Girl."Sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu.
National Center for Case Study Teaching In
Science, n.d. Web. 17 Mar.
2017.
Woo, Elaine. "David Reimer, 38: After Botched Surgery, He Was
Raised as a Girl in
Gender Experiment."LA Times. N.p.,
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