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Psychiatry resident’s viral posts reveal his own mental health battle
First-year psychiatry resident Jake Goodman, MD, knew he was taking a chance when he opened up on his popular social media platforms about his personal mental health battle. He mulled over the decision for several weeks before deciding to take the plunge.
As he voiced recently on his TikTok page, his biggest social media fanbase, with 1.3 million followers, it felt freeing to get his personal struggle off his chest.
“I’m a doctor in training, and most doctors would advise me not to post this,” the 29-year-old from Miami said in the video last month, which garnered 1.2 million views on TikTok alone. “They would say it’s risky for my career. But I didn’t join the medical field to continue the toxic status quo. I’m part of a new generation of health care professionals that are not afraid to be vulnerable and talk about mental health.”
“Dr. Jake,” as he calls himself on social media, admitted he was a physician who treats mental illness and also takes medication for it. “It felt good to say that. And by the way, I’m proud of it,” he said in the TikTok post.
A champion of mental health throughout the pandemic, Dr. Goodman called attention to the illness in the medical field. In a message on Instagram, he stated, “Opening up about your mental health as a medical professional, especially as a doctor who treats mental illness, can be taboo ... So here’s me leading by example.”
He also cited statistics on the challenge: “1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with a mental health illness at some point in their life. Yet many of us will never take medication that can help correct the chemical imbalance in our brains due to medication stigma: the fear that taking medications for our mental health somehow makes us weak.”
Mental health remains an issue among residents. Nearly 70% of residents polled by Medscape in its 2021 Residents Lifestyle & Happiness Report said they strongly or somewhat agree there’s a stigma against seeking mental health help. And nearly half, or 47% of those polled, said they sometimes (36%) or always/most of the time (11%) were depressed. The latter category rose in the past year.
Dr. Goodman told this news organization that he became passionate about mental health when he lost a college friend to suicide. “It really exposed the stigma” of mental health, he said. “I always knew it was there, but it took me seeing someone lose his life and [asking] why didn’t he feel comfortable talking to us, and why didn’t I feel comfortable talking to him?”
Stress of medical training
The decision to pursue psychiatry as his specialty came after a rotation in a clinic for people struggling with substance use disorders. “I was enthralled to see people change their life ... just by mental health care.” It’s why he went into medicine, he tells this news organization. “I always wanted to be in a field to help people [before they hit] rock bottom, when no one else could be there for them.”
Dr. Goodman’s personal battle with mental health didn’t arise until he started residency. “I was not really myself.” He said he felt numb and burned out. “I was not getting as much enjoyment out of things.” A friend pointed out that he might be depressed, so he went to see a therapist and then a psychiatrist and started on medication. “It had a profound impact on how I felt.”
Still, it took a while before Dr. Goodman was comfortable sharing his story with the 1.6 million followers he had already built across his social media platforms.
“I started on social media in 2020 with the goal of advocating for mental health and inspiring future doctors.” He said the message seemed to resonate with people struggling during the early part of the pandemic. On his social media accounts, he also talks about medical school, residency, and being a health care provider. His fiancé is also a resident doctor, in internal medicine.
Dr. Goodman is also trying to create a more realistic image of doctors than the superheroes he believed they were growing up. He wants those who grow up wanting to be doctors and who look up to him to see him as a human being with vulnerabilities, such as mental health.
“You can be a doctor and have mental health issues. Seeking treatment for mental health makes you a better doctor, and for other health care workers suffering in the midst of the pandemic, I want to let them know they are not alone.”
He pointed to the statistic that doctors have one of the highest suicide rates of any professions. “It’s better to talk about that in the early stages of training.”
Students, residents, or attending physicians who have mental health challenges shouldn’t allow their symptoms to go untreated, Dr. Goodman added. “Holding in all the stress and anxiety and feelings in a very traumatic field may be dangerous. ”
One of his goals is to campaign for the removal of a question on state medical licensing forms requiring doctors to report any mental health diagnosis. It’s why doctors may be afraid to admit that they are struggling. “I’m still here. It didn’t ruin my career.”
Doctors who seek treatment for mental health are theoretically protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act from being refused a license on the basis of that diagnosis. Dr. Goodman hopes to advocate at the state level to reduce discrimination and increase accessibility for doctors to seek mental health care.
Still, Dr. Goodman concedes he was initially fearful of the repercussions. “I opened up about it because this post could save lives. I was doing what I believed in.”
So if he runs into barriers to receive his medical license because of his admission, “that’s a serious problem,” he said. “There is already a shortage of doctors. We’ll see what happens in a few years. I am not the only one who will answer ‘yes’ to having sought treatment for a mental illness. The questions do not really need to be there.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
First-year psychiatry resident Jake Goodman, MD, knew he was taking a chance when he opened up on his popular social media platforms about his personal mental health battle. He mulled over the decision for several weeks before deciding to take the plunge.
As he voiced recently on his TikTok page, his biggest social media fanbase, with 1.3 million followers, it felt freeing to get his personal struggle off his chest.
“I’m a doctor in training, and most doctors would advise me not to post this,” the 29-year-old from Miami said in the video last month, which garnered 1.2 million views on TikTok alone. “They would say it’s risky for my career. But I didn’t join the medical field to continue the toxic status quo. I’m part of a new generation of health care professionals that are not afraid to be vulnerable and talk about mental health.”
“Dr. Jake,” as he calls himself on social media, admitted he was a physician who treats mental illness and also takes medication for it. “It felt good to say that. And by the way, I’m proud of it,” he said in the TikTok post.
A champion of mental health throughout the pandemic, Dr. Goodman called attention to the illness in the medical field. In a message on Instagram, he stated, “Opening up about your mental health as a medical professional, especially as a doctor who treats mental illness, can be taboo ... So here’s me leading by example.”
He also cited statistics on the challenge: “1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with a mental health illness at some point in their life. Yet many of us will never take medication that can help correct the chemical imbalance in our brains due to medication stigma: the fear that taking medications for our mental health somehow makes us weak.”
Mental health remains an issue among residents. Nearly 70% of residents polled by Medscape in its 2021 Residents Lifestyle & Happiness Report said they strongly or somewhat agree there’s a stigma against seeking mental health help. And nearly half, or 47% of those polled, said they sometimes (36%) or always/most of the time (11%) were depressed. The latter category rose in the past year.
Dr. Goodman told this news organization that he became passionate about mental health when he lost a college friend to suicide. “It really exposed the stigma” of mental health, he said. “I always knew it was there, but it took me seeing someone lose his life and [asking] why didn’t he feel comfortable talking to us, and why didn’t I feel comfortable talking to him?”
Stress of medical training
The decision to pursue psychiatry as his specialty came after a rotation in a clinic for people struggling with substance use disorders. “I was enthralled to see people change their life ... just by mental health care.” It’s why he went into medicine, he tells this news organization. “I always wanted to be in a field to help people [before they hit] rock bottom, when no one else could be there for them.”
Dr. Goodman’s personal battle with mental health didn’t arise until he started residency. “I was not really myself.” He said he felt numb and burned out. “I was not getting as much enjoyment out of things.” A friend pointed out that he might be depressed, so he went to see a therapist and then a psychiatrist and started on medication. “It had a profound impact on how I felt.”
Still, it took a while before Dr. Goodman was comfortable sharing his story with the 1.6 million followers he had already built across his social media platforms.
“I started on social media in 2020 with the goal of advocating for mental health and inspiring future doctors.” He said the message seemed to resonate with people struggling during the early part of the pandemic. On his social media accounts, he also talks about medical school, residency, and being a health care provider. His fiancé is also a resident doctor, in internal medicine.
Dr. Goodman is also trying to create a more realistic image of doctors than the superheroes he believed they were growing up. He wants those who grow up wanting to be doctors and who look up to him to see him as a human being with vulnerabilities, such as mental health.
“You can be a doctor and have mental health issues. Seeking treatment for mental health makes you a better doctor, and for other health care workers suffering in the midst of the pandemic, I want to let them know they are not alone.”
He pointed to the statistic that doctors have one of the highest suicide rates of any professions. “It’s better to talk about that in the early stages of training.”
Students, residents, or attending physicians who have mental health challenges shouldn’t allow their symptoms to go untreated, Dr. Goodman added. “Holding in all the stress and anxiety and feelings in a very traumatic field may be dangerous. ”
One of his goals is to campaign for the removal of a question on state medical licensing forms requiring doctors to report any mental health diagnosis. It’s why doctors may be afraid to admit that they are struggling. “I’m still here. It didn’t ruin my career.”
Doctors who seek treatment for mental health are theoretically protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act from being refused a license on the basis of that diagnosis. Dr. Goodman hopes to advocate at the state level to reduce discrimination and increase accessibility for doctors to seek mental health care.
Still, Dr. Goodman concedes he was initially fearful of the repercussions. “I opened up about it because this post could save lives. I was doing what I believed in.”
So if he runs into barriers to receive his medical license because of his admission, “that’s a serious problem,” he said. “There is already a shortage of doctors. We’ll see what happens in a few years. I am not the only one who will answer ‘yes’ to having sought treatment for a mental illness. The questions do not really need to be there.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
First-year psychiatry resident Jake Goodman, MD, knew he was taking a chance when he opened up on his popular social media platforms about his personal mental health battle. He mulled over the decision for several weeks before deciding to take the plunge.
As he voiced recently on his TikTok page, his biggest social media fanbase, with 1.3 million followers, it felt freeing to get his personal struggle off his chest.
“I’m a doctor in training, and most doctors would advise me not to post this,” the 29-year-old from Miami said in the video last month, which garnered 1.2 million views on TikTok alone. “They would say it’s risky for my career. But I didn’t join the medical field to continue the toxic status quo. I’m part of a new generation of health care professionals that are not afraid to be vulnerable and talk about mental health.”
“Dr. Jake,” as he calls himself on social media, admitted he was a physician who treats mental illness and also takes medication for it. “It felt good to say that. And by the way, I’m proud of it,” he said in the TikTok post.
A champion of mental health throughout the pandemic, Dr. Goodman called attention to the illness in the medical field. In a message on Instagram, he stated, “Opening up about your mental health as a medical professional, especially as a doctor who treats mental illness, can be taboo ... So here’s me leading by example.”
He also cited statistics on the challenge: “1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with a mental health illness at some point in their life. Yet many of us will never take medication that can help correct the chemical imbalance in our brains due to medication stigma: the fear that taking medications for our mental health somehow makes us weak.”
Mental health remains an issue among residents. Nearly 70% of residents polled by Medscape in its 2021 Residents Lifestyle & Happiness Report said they strongly or somewhat agree there’s a stigma against seeking mental health help. And nearly half, or 47% of those polled, said they sometimes (36%) or always/most of the time (11%) were depressed. The latter category rose in the past year.
Dr. Goodman told this news organization that he became passionate about mental health when he lost a college friend to suicide. “It really exposed the stigma” of mental health, he said. “I always knew it was there, but it took me seeing someone lose his life and [asking] why didn’t he feel comfortable talking to us, and why didn’t I feel comfortable talking to him?”
Stress of medical training
The decision to pursue psychiatry as his specialty came after a rotation in a clinic for people struggling with substance use disorders. “I was enthralled to see people change their life ... just by mental health care.” It’s why he went into medicine, he tells this news organization. “I always wanted to be in a field to help people [before they hit] rock bottom, when no one else could be there for them.”
Dr. Goodman’s personal battle with mental health didn’t arise until he started residency. “I was not really myself.” He said he felt numb and burned out. “I was not getting as much enjoyment out of things.” A friend pointed out that he might be depressed, so he went to see a therapist and then a psychiatrist and started on medication. “It had a profound impact on how I felt.”
Still, it took a while before Dr. Goodman was comfortable sharing his story with the 1.6 million followers he had already built across his social media platforms.
“I started on social media in 2020 with the goal of advocating for mental health and inspiring future doctors.” He said the message seemed to resonate with people struggling during the early part of the pandemic. On his social media accounts, he also talks about medical school, residency, and being a health care provider. His fiancé is also a resident doctor, in internal medicine.
Dr. Goodman is also trying to create a more realistic image of doctors than the superheroes he believed they were growing up. He wants those who grow up wanting to be doctors and who look up to him to see him as a human being with vulnerabilities, such as mental health.
“You can be a doctor and have mental health issues. Seeking treatment for mental health makes you a better doctor, and for other health care workers suffering in the midst of the pandemic, I want to let them know they are not alone.”
He pointed to the statistic that doctors have one of the highest suicide rates of any professions. “It’s better to talk about that in the early stages of training.”
Students, residents, or attending physicians who have mental health challenges shouldn’t allow their symptoms to go untreated, Dr. Goodman added. “Holding in all the stress and anxiety and feelings in a very traumatic field may be dangerous. ”
One of his goals is to campaign for the removal of a question on state medical licensing forms requiring doctors to report any mental health diagnosis. It’s why doctors may be afraid to admit that they are struggling. “I’m still here. It didn’t ruin my career.”
Doctors who seek treatment for mental health are theoretically protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act from being refused a license on the basis of that diagnosis. Dr. Goodman hopes to advocate at the state level to reduce discrimination and increase accessibility for doctors to seek mental health care.
Still, Dr. Goodman concedes he was initially fearful of the repercussions. “I opened up about it because this post could save lives. I was doing what I believed in.”
So if he runs into barriers to receive his medical license because of his admission, “that’s a serious problem,” he said. “There is already a shortage of doctors. We’ll see what happens in a few years. I am not the only one who will answer ‘yes’ to having sought treatment for a mental illness. The questions do not really need to be there.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Emergency docs cite ‘dire’ situation as COVID grows, nurses scarce
With emergency departments straining to keep up with the latest COVID surge, the American College of Emergency Physicians
The organization said that it is “very concerned that nursing shortages in emergency departments can complicate patient access to care and add to incredible levels of stress already on physician-led care teams,” according to a press release.
ACEP President Gillian Schmitz, MD, told this news organization, “The situation is dire in many emergency departments around the country. Emergency physicians are seeing more patients with fewer resources and less staff.
“Emergency physicians in the hardest hit communities are scrambling to locate available experts, exhausting federal support, and doing all they can to adapt to the demands of the current surge – everyone is being stretched to their limit.”
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) agrees with ACEP’s call for a team approach to stemming the shortage.
ENA President Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, said in an interview, “The pandemic has only amplified several long-standing issues impacting emergency nurses, such as workplace violence, a healthy work environment, and concerns about staffing shortages and the pipeline of new nurses. That said, we can’t lose focus on what’s most important in these challenging moments – ensuring every patient receives the high quality of care.”
The responsibility falls on the “collaborative effort” of the emergency department with emergency nurses playing a pivotal role, he said. But the stress, fatigue, and burnout driving nurses away from their jobs “should not be viewed as added inconvenience to anyone during a pandemic, but as a long-term threat to our health care system.”
ACEP’s press release stated that with fewer nurses available in the emergency department, team members are clocking extra hours, caring for more patients, and stretched to take on additional clinical and nonclinical duties.
“I am hearing from colleagues from Washington state to Michigan to New York that this is the worst they have seen since the beginning of the pandemic,” Dr. Schmitz said. “Everyone available is filling gaps as best they can, but the current path for many frontline workers is not sustainable,” she said in the release.
Meanwhile, ACEP is also tackling violence in the emergency department and has initiatives to protect the mental health of those working on the front lines, the release states.
“Emergency physicians will continue to do everything necessary to treat patients,” Dr. Schmitz said in the release, “but it will take a collaborative effort with legislators, policymakers and health system leaders to strengthen care teams, improve access and address capacity concerns with solutions that can save lives right now and in the months ahead.”
Dr. Schmitz stated that in Washington state, ICUs are at 97% to 100% capacity and less than 30 pediatric inpatient beds are available in the western part of the state.
“In Michigan and New York, several emergency departments are overflowing, and doctors are being called in to triage people in the waiting room because all of the emergency department beds are holding admissions. There are scenarios where entire hospitals are backing up into the emergency department and waiting room and we are physically running out of space and nursing staff.”
ACEP represents its 40,000 emergency physician members.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
With emergency departments straining to keep up with the latest COVID surge, the American College of Emergency Physicians
The organization said that it is “very concerned that nursing shortages in emergency departments can complicate patient access to care and add to incredible levels of stress already on physician-led care teams,” according to a press release.
ACEP President Gillian Schmitz, MD, told this news organization, “The situation is dire in many emergency departments around the country. Emergency physicians are seeing more patients with fewer resources and less staff.
“Emergency physicians in the hardest hit communities are scrambling to locate available experts, exhausting federal support, and doing all they can to adapt to the demands of the current surge – everyone is being stretched to their limit.”
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) agrees with ACEP’s call for a team approach to stemming the shortage.
ENA President Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, said in an interview, “The pandemic has only amplified several long-standing issues impacting emergency nurses, such as workplace violence, a healthy work environment, and concerns about staffing shortages and the pipeline of new nurses. That said, we can’t lose focus on what’s most important in these challenging moments – ensuring every patient receives the high quality of care.”
The responsibility falls on the “collaborative effort” of the emergency department with emergency nurses playing a pivotal role, he said. But the stress, fatigue, and burnout driving nurses away from their jobs “should not be viewed as added inconvenience to anyone during a pandemic, but as a long-term threat to our health care system.”
ACEP’s press release stated that with fewer nurses available in the emergency department, team members are clocking extra hours, caring for more patients, and stretched to take on additional clinical and nonclinical duties.
“I am hearing from colleagues from Washington state to Michigan to New York that this is the worst they have seen since the beginning of the pandemic,” Dr. Schmitz said. “Everyone available is filling gaps as best they can, but the current path for many frontline workers is not sustainable,” she said in the release.
Meanwhile, ACEP is also tackling violence in the emergency department and has initiatives to protect the mental health of those working on the front lines, the release states.
“Emergency physicians will continue to do everything necessary to treat patients,” Dr. Schmitz said in the release, “but it will take a collaborative effort with legislators, policymakers and health system leaders to strengthen care teams, improve access and address capacity concerns with solutions that can save lives right now and in the months ahead.”
Dr. Schmitz stated that in Washington state, ICUs are at 97% to 100% capacity and less than 30 pediatric inpatient beds are available in the western part of the state.
“In Michigan and New York, several emergency departments are overflowing, and doctors are being called in to triage people in the waiting room because all of the emergency department beds are holding admissions. There are scenarios where entire hospitals are backing up into the emergency department and waiting room and we are physically running out of space and nursing staff.”
ACEP represents its 40,000 emergency physician members.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
With emergency departments straining to keep up with the latest COVID surge, the American College of Emergency Physicians
The organization said that it is “very concerned that nursing shortages in emergency departments can complicate patient access to care and add to incredible levels of stress already on physician-led care teams,” according to a press release.
ACEP President Gillian Schmitz, MD, told this news organization, “The situation is dire in many emergency departments around the country. Emergency physicians are seeing more patients with fewer resources and less staff.
“Emergency physicians in the hardest hit communities are scrambling to locate available experts, exhausting federal support, and doing all they can to adapt to the demands of the current surge – everyone is being stretched to their limit.”
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) agrees with ACEP’s call for a team approach to stemming the shortage.
ENA President Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, said in an interview, “The pandemic has only amplified several long-standing issues impacting emergency nurses, such as workplace violence, a healthy work environment, and concerns about staffing shortages and the pipeline of new nurses. That said, we can’t lose focus on what’s most important in these challenging moments – ensuring every patient receives the high quality of care.”
The responsibility falls on the “collaborative effort” of the emergency department with emergency nurses playing a pivotal role, he said. But the stress, fatigue, and burnout driving nurses away from their jobs “should not be viewed as added inconvenience to anyone during a pandemic, but as a long-term threat to our health care system.”
ACEP’s press release stated that with fewer nurses available in the emergency department, team members are clocking extra hours, caring for more patients, and stretched to take on additional clinical and nonclinical duties.
“I am hearing from colleagues from Washington state to Michigan to New York that this is the worst they have seen since the beginning of the pandemic,” Dr. Schmitz said. “Everyone available is filling gaps as best they can, but the current path for many frontline workers is not sustainable,” she said in the release.
Meanwhile, ACEP is also tackling violence in the emergency department and has initiatives to protect the mental health of those working on the front lines, the release states.
“Emergency physicians will continue to do everything necessary to treat patients,” Dr. Schmitz said in the release, “but it will take a collaborative effort with legislators, policymakers and health system leaders to strengthen care teams, improve access and address capacity concerns with solutions that can save lives right now and in the months ahead.”
Dr. Schmitz stated that in Washington state, ICUs are at 97% to 100% capacity and less than 30 pediatric inpatient beds are available in the western part of the state.
“In Michigan and New York, several emergency departments are overflowing, and doctors are being called in to triage people in the waiting room because all of the emergency department beds are holding admissions. There are scenarios where entire hospitals are backing up into the emergency department and waiting room and we are physically running out of space and nursing staff.”
ACEP represents its 40,000 emergency physician members.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Authorities charge woman after long history of pretending to be a nurse
Online news reports indicate the suspect has a long history of similar deception in other locations in Canada and the United States dating back 30 years.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) charged the woman, who goes by the name of Brigitte Cleroux, 49, with fraud over $5,000 and personation with intent. VPD launched an investigation in June after learning that an employee at BC Women’s Hospital had fraudulently identified herself as a nurse while working there between June 2020 and June 2021, according to a VPD press release. At press time, Ms. Cleroux was in custody, and her next court appearance was set for Jan. 5, according to BC court records.
In June, the British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives (BCCNM) issued a warning that Ms. Cleroux might be using aliases, including Melanie Smith. It stated that it had “received a report that Melanie Smith has held herself out as a registered nurse in British Columbia in order to seek employment in a hospital, dental surgery clinic, and in residential care.” The aliases included Melanie Thompson and Melanie Cleroux.
“This person has never been and is not a registrant of BCCNM and is not entitled to practice as a registered nurse in British Columbia.”
“Our detectives worked collaboratively with the Ottawa Police Service, which was conducting a parallel investigation into the same suspect,” said Constable Tania Visintin. “We don’t yet know how many people in Vancouver may have received treatment from the fraudulent nurse, but we’re working with the Provincial Health Services Authority to identify patients who may have had contact with her.”
Ottawa Police had charged Ms. Cleroux in September with more serious offenses of assault with a weapon and criminal negligence causing bodily harm along with “personation to gain advantage,” obtaining by false pretense, and using a forged document.
The charges followed an investigation into “personation, criminal negligence and fraud-related incidents after falsely gaining employment and conducting duties as a nurse at a medical and dental clinic in Ottawa. Some of those duties included the administration of medications, including injections, to patients,” police said in a statement.
“The investigation began when police were told that a woman had used aliases and assumed the identifies of registered nurses that she fraudulently obtained.” Police said they believed there might be other clinics and victims.
The College of Nurses of Ontario also issued a warning about Ms. Cleroux and a list of seven other aliases under the Ottawa region heading.
Ms. Cleroux’s past includes reports of a long string of deception dating back about three decades and including incidents in Florida and Colorado. Ms. Cleroux was in nursing school in Colorado but only competed 2 years of a 4-year nursing course and was never certified as a nurse, according to CBC Radio-Canada.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Online news reports indicate the suspect has a long history of similar deception in other locations in Canada and the United States dating back 30 years.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) charged the woman, who goes by the name of Brigitte Cleroux, 49, with fraud over $5,000 and personation with intent. VPD launched an investigation in June after learning that an employee at BC Women’s Hospital had fraudulently identified herself as a nurse while working there between June 2020 and June 2021, according to a VPD press release. At press time, Ms. Cleroux was in custody, and her next court appearance was set for Jan. 5, according to BC court records.
In June, the British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives (BCCNM) issued a warning that Ms. Cleroux might be using aliases, including Melanie Smith. It stated that it had “received a report that Melanie Smith has held herself out as a registered nurse in British Columbia in order to seek employment in a hospital, dental surgery clinic, and in residential care.” The aliases included Melanie Thompson and Melanie Cleroux.
“This person has never been and is not a registrant of BCCNM and is not entitled to practice as a registered nurse in British Columbia.”
“Our detectives worked collaboratively with the Ottawa Police Service, which was conducting a parallel investigation into the same suspect,” said Constable Tania Visintin. “We don’t yet know how many people in Vancouver may have received treatment from the fraudulent nurse, but we’re working with the Provincial Health Services Authority to identify patients who may have had contact with her.”
Ottawa Police had charged Ms. Cleroux in September with more serious offenses of assault with a weapon and criminal negligence causing bodily harm along with “personation to gain advantage,” obtaining by false pretense, and using a forged document.
The charges followed an investigation into “personation, criminal negligence and fraud-related incidents after falsely gaining employment and conducting duties as a nurse at a medical and dental clinic in Ottawa. Some of those duties included the administration of medications, including injections, to patients,” police said in a statement.
“The investigation began when police were told that a woman had used aliases and assumed the identifies of registered nurses that she fraudulently obtained.” Police said they believed there might be other clinics and victims.
The College of Nurses of Ontario also issued a warning about Ms. Cleroux and a list of seven other aliases under the Ottawa region heading.
Ms. Cleroux’s past includes reports of a long string of deception dating back about three decades and including incidents in Florida and Colorado. Ms. Cleroux was in nursing school in Colorado but only competed 2 years of a 4-year nursing course and was never certified as a nurse, according to CBC Radio-Canada.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Online news reports indicate the suspect has a long history of similar deception in other locations in Canada and the United States dating back 30 years.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) charged the woman, who goes by the name of Brigitte Cleroux, 49, with fraud over $5,000 and personation with intent. VPD launched an investigation in June after learning that an employee at BC Women’s Hospital had fraudulently identified herself as a nurse while working there between June 2020 and June 2021, according to a VPD press release. At press time, Ms. Cleroux was in custody, and her next court appearance was set for Jan. 5, according to BC court records.
In June, the British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives (BCCNM) issued a warning that Ms. Cleroux might be using aliases, including Melanie Smith. It stated that it had “received a report that Melanie Smith has held herself out as a registered nurse in British Columbia in order to seek employment in a hospital, dental surgery clinic, and in residential care.” The aliases included Melanie Thompson and Melanie Cleroux.
“This person has never been and is not a registrant of BCCNM and is not entitled to practice as a registered nurse in British Columbia.”
“Our detectives worked collaboratively with the Ottawa Police Service, which was conducting a parallel investigation into the same suspect,” said Constable Tania Visintin. “We don’t yet know how many people in Vancouver may have received treatment from the fraudulent nurse, but we’re working with the Provincial Health Services Authority to identify patients who may have had contact with her.”
Ottawa Police had charged Ms. Cleroux in September with more serious offenses of assault with a weapon and criminal negligence causing bodily harm along with “personation to gain advantage,” obtaining by false pretense, and using a forged document.
The charges followed an investigation into “personation, criminal negligence and fraud-related incidents after falsely gaining employment and conducting duties as a nurse at a medical and dental clinic in Ottawa. Some of those duties included the administration of medications, including injections, to patients,” police said in a statement.
“The investigation began when police were told that a woman had used aliases and assumed the identifies of registered nurses that she fraudulently obtained.” Police said they believed there might be other clinics and victims.
The College of Nurses of Ontario also issued a warning about Ms. Cleroux and a list of seven other aliases under the Ottawa region heading.
Ms. Cleroux’s past includes reports of a long string of deception dating back about three decades and including incidents in Florida and Colorado. Ms. Cleroux was in nursing school in Colorado but only competed 2 years of a 4-year nursing course and was never certified as a nurse, according to CBC Radio-Canada.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Video of nurse escorted from hospital for refusing vaccine goes viral
It had been viewed more than 6 million times at press time.
The 5-minute video of the nurse leaving the hospital, both of which are unidentified in the clip, was a peaceful protest by the frontline worker against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which many employers globally are enforcing.
In her video, which was originally posted October 30 on Rumble, the nurse explained, “I am being escorted out of Kaiser Permanente hospital for my religious beliefs because I don’t want to get the jab. And I asked all day for someone to explain to me why my sincerely held religious beliefs are not good enough for Kaiser. And no one was able to do that for me,” she continued.
“So now they’re escorting me out because I wanted an answer. And I’m not leaving without an answer. I have some nurses here who are standing with me in solidarity, and I appreciate that.”
The nurse, seen walking through the halls of the hospital surrounded by masked personnel, including a security guard, further stated that she had been put on unpaid administrative leave. Kaiser Permanente had not responded at press time to media requests for comment.
“I just want all of you to count the costs,” she said. “I want you to watch this and think, what really matters to me? Because I am willing to lose my safety and security, my house, everything, for my freedom. And I want you to think about that.”
While waiting for an elevator, she also posed questions to a few random people about their views on the subject. “Let me ask you, do you believe in religious freedom?” Offscreen, those responding indicated affirmatively. “Well, Kaiser doesn’t. Because they are not accepting my religious exemption based on my sincerely held religious beliefs. So that’s a problem.”
Also on the video she stated that she has worked since the beginning of the pandemic, “when we didn’t know what was going on,” and that she had shown up the day of her expulsion “happy to work.” She also touted Kaiser for paying well. She even quoted the company’s signs in a parking garage that encourages employees to climb the stairs for exercise as she went with the security guard who was escorting her up seven flights to the top of the parking garage.
“It’s a sad day. I don’t know what kind of a pandemic it is if they’re firing nurses who are willing to work. I don’t know,” she concluded. “It doesn’t make sense to me. So you have got to ask yourself that question: what kind of world are we living in when we have a pandemic where my kids have to wear masks at school and they have to get a vaccine for something that they are not at risk of dying from at all.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
It had been viewed more than 6 million times at press time.
The 5-minute video of the nurse leaving the hospital, both of which are unidentified in the clip, was a peaceful protest by the frontline worker against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which many employers globally are enforcing.
In her video, which was originally posted October 30 on Rumble, the nurse explained, “I am being escorted out of Kaiser Permanente hospital for my religious beliefs because I don’t want to get the jab. And I asked all day for someone to explain to me why my sincerely held religious beliefs are not good enough for Kaiser. And no one was able to do that for me,” she continued.
“So now they’re escorting me out because I wanted an answer. And I’m not leaving without an answer. I have some nurses here who are standing with me in solidarity, and I appreciate that.”
The nurse, seen walking through the halls of the hospital surrounded by masked personnel, including a security guard, further stated that she had been put on unpaid administrative leave. Kaiser Permanente had not responded at press time to media requests for comment.
“I just want all of you to count the costs,” she said. “I want you to watch this and think, what really matters to me? Because I am willing to lose my safety and security, my house, everything, for my freedom. And I want you to think about that.”
While waiting for an elevator, she also posed questions to a few random people about their views on the subject. “Let me ask you, do you believe in religious freedom?” Offscreen, those responding indicated affirmatively. “Well, Kaiser doesn’t. Because they are not accepting my religious exemption based on my sincerely held religious beliefs. So that’s a problem.”
Also on the video she stated that she has worked since the beginning of the pandemic, “when we didn’t know what was going on,” and that she had shown up the day of her expulsion “happy to work.” She also touted Kaiser for paying well. She even quoted the company’s signs in a parking garage that encourages employees to climb the stairs for exercise as she went with the security guard who was escorting her up seven flights to the top of the parking garage.
“It’s a sad day. I don’t know what kind of a pandemic it is if they’re firing nurses who are willing to work. I don’t know,” she concluded. “It doesn’t make sense to me. So you have got to ask yourself that question: what kind of world are we living in when we have a pandemic where my kids have to wear masks at school and they have to get a vaccine for something that they are not at risk of dying from at all.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
It had been viewed more than 6 million times at press time.
The 5-minute video of the nurse leaving the hospital, both of which are unidentified in the clip, was a peaceful protest by the frontline worker against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which many employers globally are enforcing.
In her video, which was originally posted October 30 on Rumble, the nurse explained, “I am being escorted out of Kaiser Permanente hospital for my religious beliefs because I don’t want to get the jab. And I asked all day for someone to explain to me why my sincerely held religious beliefs are not good enough for Kaiser. And no one was able to do that for me,” she continued.
“So now they’re escorting me out because I wanted an answer. And I’m not leaving without an answer. I have some nurses here who are standing with me in solidarity, and I appreciate that.”
The nurse, seen walking through the halls of the hospital surrounded by masked personnel, including a security guard, further stated that she had been put on unpaid administrative leave. Kaiser Permanente had not responded at press time to media requests for comment.
“I just want all of you to count the costs,” she said. “I want you to watch this and think, what really matters to me? Because I am willing to lose my safety and security, my house, everything, for my freedom. And I want you to think about that.”
While waiting for an elevator, she also posed questions to a few random people about their views on the subject. “Let me ask you, do you believe in religious freedom?” Offscreen, those responding indicated affirmatively. “Well, Kaiser doesn’t. Because they are not accepting my religious exemption based on my sincerely held religious beliefs. So that’s a problem.”
Also on the video she stated that she has worked since the beginning of the pandemic, “when we didn’t know what was going on,” and that she had shown up the day of her expulsion “happy to work.” She also touted Kaiser for paying well. She even quoted the company’s signs in a parking garage that encourages employees to climb the stairs for exercise as she went with the security guard who was escorting her up seven flights to the top of the parking garage.
“It’s a sad day. I don’t know what kind of a pandemic it is if they’re firing nurses who are willing to work. I don’t know,” she concluded. “It doesn’t make sense to me. So you have got to ask yourself that question: what kind of world are we living in when we have a pandemic where my kids have to wear masks at school and they have to get a vaccine for something that they are not at risk of dying from at all.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
PA defends against license suspension for COVID treatment
The suspension stemmed from allegations against Scott C. Miller, PA-C, by at least six COVID patients, including some who weren’t his patients or whom he never examined and a few who later died from the virus, according to the Washington Medical Commission.
“Miller’s treatment of COVID-19 patients fell below the standard of care,” the suspension report states. “Miller began a public campaign promoting ivermectin as a curative for COVID-19, and prescribing it without adequate examination to at least one person, with no reliable clinical studies that establish its efficacy in preventing or treating COVID-19.”
Mr. Miller has until early November to respond to the allegations. On his clinic’s website, Mr. Miller stated, “In response to the charges, I want to reassure all of you that the initial attacks against me have been brought on by a small handful of people that have no ties to our medical practice, and by pharmacies and hospitals that have a zero tolerance policy on family members asking that I help them advocate for loved ones that have been admitted and written off in our current system of dismissiveness and neglect.”
Mr. Miller also expressed gratitude for the support he has received recently. A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mr. Miller’s legal fund had raised more than $59,000 at press time. His GoFundMe page had been shared 2,400 times. He has more than 550 followers and more than 400 donors.
“I don’t know that I have the words to adequately describe the deep sense of love and connection I have received from you, the families I serve, and those that have reached out to me in this deeply challenging time,” he wrote on the clinic website.
Mr. Miller has spoken publicly about his anti-mask views and his support for ivermectin, according to the commission report. As part of the suspension, he was charged with making “misleading representations regarding the efficacy of non-FDA approved treatment and mask use.”
In one case that was cited in the report, a 39-year-old patient contacted the pediatric clinic, and Mr. Miller spoke with the patient by phone. The patient reported that he had tested positive for COVID. Mr. Miller advised the patient to take supplements, including vitamin D and C, zinc, and melatonin, and he prescribed ivermectin, dexamethasone, and azithromycin. He did not perform an exam, verify the information that the patient had provided, advise the patient regarding interactions, or order follow-up testing, the report states.
Other charges against Mr. Miller include harassing hospital staff by making threatening statements about hospitals and doctors who treat COVID-19 patients and misrepresenting his original 2013 license application. He denied on the application that he was being investigated by another licensing board. At the time, the California Physician Assistant Board was investigating him for providing medical care and prescribing without a supervising doctor’s authorization and without conducting physical exams, among other charges.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
The suspension stemmed from allegations against Scott C. Miller, PA-C, by at least six COVID patients, including some who weren’t his patients or whom he never examined and a few who later died from the virus, according to the Washington Medical Commission.
“Miller’s treatment of COVID-19 patients fell below the standard of care,” the suspension report states. “Miller began a public campaign promoting ivermectin as a curative for COVID-19, and prescribing it without adequate examination to at least one person, with no reliable clinical studies that establish its efficacy in preventing or treating COVID-19.”
Mr. Miller has until early November to respond to the allegations. On his clinic’s website, Mr. Miller stated, “In response to the charges, I want to reassure all of you that the initial attacks against me have been brought on by a small handful of people that have no ties to our medical practice, and by pharmacies and hospitals that have a zero tolerance policy on family members asking that I help them advocate for loved ones that have been admitted and written off in our current system of dismissiveness and neglect.”
Mr. Miller also expressed gratitude for the support he has received recently. A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mr. Miller’s legal fund had raised more than $59,000 at press time. His GoFundMe page had been shared 2,400 times. He has more than 550 followers and more than 400 donors.
“I don’t know that I have the words to adequately describe the deep sense of love and connection I have received from you, the families I serve, and those that have reached out to me in this deeply challenging time,” he wrote on the clinic website.
Mr. Miller has spoken publicly about his anti-mask views and his support for ivermectin, according to the commission report. As part of the suspension, he was charged with making “misleading representations regarding the efficacy of non-FDA approved treatment and mask use.”
In one case that was cited in the report, a 39-year-old patient contacted the pediatric clinic, and Mr. Miller spoke with the patient by phone. The patient reported that he had tested positive for COVID. Mr. Miller advised the patient to take supplements, including vitamin D and C, zinc, and melatonin, and he prescribed ivermectin, dexamethasone, and azithromycin. He did not perform an exam, verify the information that the patient had provided, advise the patient regarding interactions, or order follow-up testing, the report states.
Other charges against Mr. Miller include harassing hospital staff by making threatening statements about hospitals and doctors who treat COVID-19 patients and misrepresenting his original 2013 license application. He denied on the application that he was being investigated by another licensing board. At the time, the California Physician Assistant Board was investigating him for providing medical care and prescribing without a supervising doctor’s authorization and without conducting physical exams, among other charges.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
The suspension stemmed from allegations against Scott C. Miller, PA-C, by at least six COVID patients, including some who weren’t his patients or whom he never examined and a few who later died from the virus, according to the Washington Medical Commission.
“Miller’s treatment of COVID-19 patients fell below the standard of care,” the suspension report states. “Miller began a public campaign promoting ivermectin as a curative for COVID-19, and prescribing it without adequate examination to at least one person, with no reliable clinical studies that establish its efficacy in preventing or treating COVID-19.”
Mr. Miller has until early November to respond to the allegations. On his clinic’s website, Mr. Miller stated, “In response to the charges, I want to reassure all of you that the initial attacks against me have been brought on by a small handful of people that have no ties to our medical practice, and by pharmacies and hospitals that have a zero tolerance policy on family members asking that I help them advocate for loved ones that have been admitted and written off in our current system of dismissiveness and neglect.”
Mr. Miller also expressed gratitude for the support he has received recently. A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Mr. Miller’s legal fund had raised more than $59,000 at press time. His GoFundMe page had been shared 2,400 times. He has more than 550 followers and more than 400 donors.
“I don’t know that I have the words to adequately describe the deep sense of love and connection I have received from you, the families I serve, and those that have reached out to me in this deeply challenging time,” he wrote on the clinic website.
Mr. Miller has spoken publicly about his anti-mask views and his support for ivermectin, according to the commission report. As part of the suspension, he was charged with making “misleading representations regarding the efficacy of non-FDA approved treatment and mask use.”
In one case that was cited in the report, a 39-year-old patient contacted the pediatric clinic, and Mr. Miller spoke with the patient by phone. The patient reported that he had tested positive for COVID. Mr. Miller advised the patient to take supplements, including vitamin D and C, zinc, and melatonin, and he prescribed ivermectin, dexamethasone, and azithromycin. He did not perform an exam, verify the information that the patient had provided, advise the patient regarding interactions, or order follow-up testing, the report states.
Other charges against Mr. Miller include harassing hospital staff by making threatening statements about hospitals and doctors who treat COVID-19 patients and misrepresenting his original 2013 license application. He denied on the application that he was being investigated by another licensing board. At the time, the California Physician Assistant Board was investigating him for providing medical care and prescribing without a supervising doctor’s authorization and without conducting physical exams, among other charges.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Community mourns nurse knocked over, killed in Times Square
in New York City. The Mass was promoted by the local consulate general of the Philippines.
Maria Ambrocio, 58, was visiting Times Square with a friend on October 1 when she was shoved to the ground by a man who reportedly snatched a cellphone and was running away. He later collided with a police officer before being arrested.
Ms. Ambrosio, of Bayonne, N.J., was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with a traumatic brain injury. She was taken off life support a day later.
Jermaine Foster, 26, was charged with murder and robbery and is scheduled to appear in New York Criminal Court Thursday, according to court records.
Ms. Ambrocio, who had been a nurse for 25 years at Bayonne Medical Center in New Jersey, treated cancer patients, even during the height of the pandemic. The medical community at the hospital posted on social media, “Maria’s untimely death is a profound loss to us all, especially those whose lives she touched each day at Bayonne Medical Center.”
New York organizations expressed sympathy after the incident. Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in a statement shared with this news organization, “Our deepest condolences to the family of Maria Ambrocio. The killing of Maria Ambrocio near Times Square highlights one of our city’s greatest public safety challenges, the proliferation of people with untreated mental illness and drug addictions on our streets committing crimes without an effective strategy to address them. Our city needs to come together and solve these problems and those of us who work in these areas are willing and able to help. Let her death not be in vain.”
The New York Philippine consulate reported on its Facebook page that Ms. Ambrocio had just visited its office when the incident occurred. “We grieve with the rest of the Filipino Community over the death of our kababayan [countryman], Maria Ambrocio, a 58-year-old health frontliner from Bayonne, New Jersey....
“Maria’s passing was announced shortly after she was removed from life support a few hours ago. She had been on life support for the head trauma she sustained on Friday afternoon after she was knocked down by someone who was described as a mentally disturbed homeless man. Maria was walking with a kababayan near Times Square after visiting the Philippine consulate general when she was struck by the suspect, who was reportedly being chased after grabbing a mobile phone from someone.”
On the day she passed away, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis shared an emotional message on Facebook: “I’m asking for all Bayonne people to say a prayer for Maria Ambrocio. Maria, an Oncology nurse at Bayonne Medical Center, was viciously attacked in an unprovoked assault by a deranged man in Times Square yesterday.
“Please keep Maria and her family in your thoughts through these difficult days.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
in New York City. The Mass was promoted by the local consulate general of the Philippines.
Maria Ambrocio, 58, was visiting Times Square with a friend on October 1 when she was shoved to the ground by a man who reportedly snatched a cellphone and was running away. He later collided with a police officer before being arrested.
Ms. Ambrosio, of Bayonne, N.J., was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with a traumatic brain injury. She was taken off life support a day later.
Jermaine Foster, 26, was charged with murder and robbery and is scheduled to appear in New York Criminal Court Thursday, according to court records.
Ms. Ambrocio, who had been a nurse for 25 years at Bayonne Medical Center in New Jersey, treated cancer patients, even during the height of the pandemic. The medical community at the hospital posted on social media, “Maria’s untimely death is a profound loss to us all, especially those whose lives she touched each day at Bayonne Medical Center.”
New York organizations expressed sympathy after the incident. Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in a statement shared with this news organization, “Our deepest condolences to the family of Maria Ambrocio. The killing of Maria Ambrocio near Times Square highlights one of our city’s greatest public safety challenges, the proliferation of people with untreated mental illness and drug addictions on our streets committing crimes without an effective strategy to address them. Our city needs to come together and solve these problems and those of us who work in these areas are willing and able to help. Let her death not be in vain.”
The New York Philippine consulate reported on its Facebook page that Ms. Ambrocio had just visited its office when the incident occurred. “We grieve with the rest of the Filipino Community over the death of our kababayan [countryman], Maria Ambrocio, a 58-year-old health frontliner from Bayonne, New Jersey....
“Maria’s passing was announced shortly after she was removed from life support a few hours ago. She had been on life support for the head trauma she sustained on Friday afternoon after she was knocked down by someone who was described as a mentally disturbed homeless man. Maria was walking with a kababayan near Times Square after visiting the Philippine consulate general when she was struck by the suspect, who was reportedly being chased after grabbing a mobile phone from someone.”
On the day she passed away, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis shared an emotional message on Facebook: “I’m asking for all Bayonne people to say a prayer for Maria Ambrocio. Maria, an Oncology nurse at Bayonne Medical Center, was viciously attacked in an unprovoked assault by a deranged man in Times Square yesterday.
“Please keep Maria and her family in your thoughts through these difficult days.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
in New York City. The Mass was promoted by the local consulate general of the Philippines.
Maria Ambrocio, 58, was visiting Times Square with a friend on October 1 when she was shoved to the ground by a man who reportedly snatched a cellphone and was running away. He later collided with a police officer before being arrested.
Ms. Ambrosio, of Bayonne, N.J., was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with a traumatic brain injury. She was taken off life support a day later.
Jermaine Foster, 26, was charged with murder and robbery and is scheduled to appear in New York Criminal Court Thursday, according to court records.
Ms. Ambrocio, who had been a nurse for 25 years at Bayonne Medical Center in New Jersey, treated cancer patients, even during the height of the pandemic. The medical community at the hospital posted on social media, “Maria’s untimely death is a profound loss to us all, especially those whose lives she touched each day at Bayonne Medical Center.”
New York organizations expressed sympathy after the incident. Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in a statement shared with this news organization, “Our deepest condolences to the family of Maria Ambrocio. The killing of Maria Ambrocio near Times Square highlights one of our city’s greatest public safety challenges, the proliferation of people with untreated mental illness and drug addictions on our streets committing crimes without an effective strategy to address them. Our city needs to come together and solve these problems and those of us who work in these areas are willing and able to help. Let her death not be in vain.”
The New York Philippine consulate reported on its Facebook page that Ms. Ambrocio had just visited its office when the incident occurred. “We grieve with the rest of the Filipino Community over the death of our kababayan [countryman], Maria Ambrocio, a 58-year-old health frontliner from Bayonne, New Jersey....
“Maria’s passing was announced shortly after she was removed from life support a few hours ago. She had been on life support for the head trauma she sustained on Friday afternoon after she was knocked down by someone who was described as a mentally disturbed homeless man. Maria was walking with a kababayan near Times Square after visiting the Philippine consulate general when she was struck by the suspect, who was reportedly being chased after grabbing a mobile phone from someone.”
On the day she passed away, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis shared an emotional message on Facebook: “I’m asking for all Bayonne people to say a prayer for Maria Ambrocio. Maria, an Oncology nurse at Bayonne Medical Center, was viciously attacked in an unprovoked assault by a deranged man in Times Square yesterday.
“Please keep Maria and her family in your thoughts through these difficult days.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Med student’s skills put to the test saving life of accident victim
Third-year medical student Liz Groesbeck was like other excited Las Vegas Raiders fans recently headed to the first full-capacity game in the new Allegiant Stadium since the team moved to “Sin City.” She was in an Uber on a first date just blocks from the game that would pit her Raiders against the Seattle Seahawks when she saw a man on the ground and people gathered around him.
Abandoning her keys, cellphone, and date in the Uber, Ms. Groesbeck popped out to see if she could help. The Uber had been stuck in traffic, so Ms. Groesbeck thought she’d still be able to jump back in the car if she wasn’t needed.
Then she heard screams. “That didn’t concern me. People scream whenever anything unexpected happens,” said the 28-year-old student from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). But the screams were only a small indication of what she would discover on closer inspection. The arm of the middle-aged man lying on the ground was detached. An abandoned gold SUV remained on the curb nearby. It would turn out to be a hit-and-run of pedestrians by a driver later charged by police with DUI.
“I was one of the first people there,” Ms. Groesbeck recounted for this news organization. “I knew this guy did not just fall. I told someone to call EMS and I got someone to take his wife somewhere else [away from the bloody scene]. She was obviously very distraught. …At a couple of points she was hysterical.”
Next, Ms. Groesbeck, who, ironically, had finished her emergency general surgery rotation the day before, focused on the patient. Kneeling beside him, she determined that the immediate priorities were to stop the bleeding and clear his airway. “He was barely breathing,” she recounted. Another student who Ms. Groesbeck believes was pursuing a medical degree — there wasn’t time for formal introductions — offered to help, along with bystanders headed to the game.
“The crowd was very energetic. It was a beautiful thing.” Ms. Groesbeck cited the spirit of saving lives that developed from the October 1, 2017, Las Vegas country music festival shooting. “People are very willing to try to help others in any way they can.”
MS. Groesbeck, leading the effort, asked for belts, “and bystanders immediately provided that,” and the other student followed Ms. Groesbeck’s directions to apply tourniquets with the help of those around her. With the blood loss being stemmed, Ms. Groesbeck’s next priority was making sure the patient could breathe.
Appealing for clothing to clear the man’s airway, “five shirts were handed in a circle to me.” She only needed one jersey to scoop the blood out of his mouth manually to free his airway.
She overruled well-meaning suggestions to lay the man on his side — which she was concerned could paralyze him — or use a straw to help him breathe. “I did not want to stick anything down his throat.” Meanwhile, there was so much traffic that night around Allegiant Stadium that when the ambulance couldn’t get any closer the firefighters and paramedics exited the vehicle and ran to the scene.
From training to practice
The decisions Ms. Groesbeck made until they could arrive called upon her years of training to be a doctor, and specifically an EMT certification course she had to pass before beginning medical school, she said.
She credits the life-saving methods she learned in that course to Douglas Fraser, MD, FACS, associate professor of surgery at UNLV and University Medical Center (UMC) trauma medical director. He happened to be the attending physician when the accident victim was admitted to the hospital that night in critical condition. The man’s wife also was injured, but not to the extent of her husband.
Dr. Fraser said he didn’t know at the time that his student had been involved in saving the man’s life until Ms. Groesbeck reached out to say thanks for teaching her what to do in an emergency. “I [first] was overly impressed that she did that. Students are so busy; they move after they graduate or finish their rotations. You don’t get to see them time and time again; your short time with them could have a lasting impact and that is my goal,” Dr. Fraser told this news organization.
“They rarely thank you or reflect back. It renewed my sense that I want to teach more, to see the positive impact it had on Elizabeth” and other students, he said.
In terms of the emergency situation she navigated, Dr. Fraser said he was very proud of his student, but was also concerned she could have gotten hurt herself in the middle of a busy intersection. “She was selfless and put herself in harm’s way to help someone.” He also noted it was the first time he knew of a student putting her skills to the test so soon after learning them. “It was a good outcome and she truly provided lifesaving care to this victim.”
He attributed her training to the Stop the Bleed program, which began after the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. UNLV requires new med students to complete the American College of Surgeons’ first aid program to learn how to stop the bleeding of a severely injured person by applying tourniquets and pressure. “You have to stop the bleeding right away…and look to see whether their airway is open and if it’s not, open their airway or you won’t have a patient very long. I know she did that. These are the two most important lifesaving skills that she did.”
Medical students are often called upon as doctors by their family and friends, Dr. Fraser continued. “Everyone looks to you. It can happen on an airplane; you can be anywhere. She heard a person was in need and jumped to action and was able to use the training her school provided and was able to put it to good use.”
Not her first call to action
Just the week before the incident, Ms. Groesbeck was on clinical rotations at UMC helping in the emergency and operating rooms. “She was always very engaged and mature beyond her years,” Dr. Fraser said. “She definitely had that ‘it’ factor. She was sincere with patients and their families and performed well in the operating room. …She was very comfortable around the patients; very comfortable in stressful situations.”
He added, “I look forward to her participating in trauma surgery rotations in the near future.”
In the meantime, Ms. Groesbeck was pleased to learn that the man she saved survived and thrilled to be part of that effort. As of press time, he had not contacted her. Nor has the other student who helped save his life.
“A lot of people stepped up and donated their time to help. He got lucky on a very unlucky day,” Ms. Groesbeck said.
She recalled a previous accident victim years ago who wasn’t as lucky. On the way to pick up her white coat for the ceremony before her first year of medical school, she came upon a car that had flipped upside down. “It sheared the roof away. I checked on the restrained passenger. He was partially scalped. The windows were broken and I climbed in next to him.” This time, she used her own shirt to hold pressure on the wound. “He, unfortunately did not make it.” There was nothing she could have done, she was told.
“That one got me mentally. Very graphic imaging was stuck in my head,” Ms. Groesbeck said. With a masters in neuroscience, she was accustomed to seeing the brain, “but not like this. I felt sad he passed in such a violent way.” So the more recent life-saving experience was redemptive, she said. “I’ve been through hell and back.”
And she’s still on track to become the doctor she envisioned as a child, mummifying her cats with gauze wraps and covering her little sister with adhesive bandages. “It felt good knowing what I could do,” Ms. Groesbeck said. “I’m glad this [man] made it. He got lucky and he could go home to his family. I was not positive when he left in the ambulance. It was a huge relief.”
Of her role in the episode and her future career ambitions, Ms. Groesbeck noted: “We are studying all the time. It’s not very rewarding. But this, not thinking but having sprung into action, doing the right thing and he could go home to his family a week later. It’s things like this that make the endless hours of studying worth it. I feel like I accomplished something.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Third-year medical student Liz Groesbeck was like other excited Las Vegas Raiders fans recently headed to the first full-capacity game in the new Allegiant Stadium since the team moved to “Sin City.” She was in an Uber on a first date just blocks from the game that would pit her Raiders against the Seattle Seahawks when she saw a man on the ground and people gathered around him.
Abandoning her keys, cellphone, and date in the Uber, Ms. Groesbeck popped out to see if she could help. The Uber had been stuck in traffic, so Ms. Groesbeck thought she’d still be able to jump back in the car if she wasn’t needed.
Then she heard screams. “That didn’t concern me. People scream whenever anything unexpected happens,” said the 28-year-old student from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). But the screams were only a small indication of what she would discover on closer inspection. The arm of the middle-aged man lying on the ground was detached. An abandoned gold SUV remained on the curb nearby. It would turn out to be a hit-and-run of pedestrians by a driver later charged by police with DUI.
“I was one of the first people there,” Ms. Groesbeck recounted for this news organization. “I knew this guy did not just fall. I told someone to call EMS and I got someone to take his wife somewhere else [away from the bloody scene]. She was obviously very distraught. …At a couple of points she was hysterical.”
Next, Ms. Groesbeck, who, ironically, had finished her emergency general surgery rotation the day before, focused on the patient. Kneeling beside him, she determined that the immediate priorities were to stop the bleeding and clear his airway. “He was barely breathing,” she recounted. Another student who Ms. Groesbeck believes was pursuing a medical degree — there wasn’t time for formal introductions — offered to help, along with bystanders headed to the game.
“The crowd was very energetic. It was a beautiful thing.” Ms. Groesbeck cited the spirit of saving lives that developed from the October 1, 2017, Las Vegas country music festival shooting. “People are very willing to try to help others in any way they can.”
MS. Groesbeck, leading the effort, asked for belts, “and bystanders immediately provided that,” and the other student followed Ms. Groesbeck’s directions to apply tourniquets with the help of those around her. With the blood loss being stemmed, Ms. Groesbeck’s next priority was making sure the patient could breathe.
Appealing for clothing to clear the man’s airway, “five shirts were handed in a circle to me.” She only needed one jersey to scoop the blood out of his mouth manually to free his airway.
She overruled well-meaning suggestions to lay the man on his side — which she was concerned could paralyze him — or use a straw to help him breathe. “I did not want to stick anything down his throat.” Meanwhile, there was so much traffic that night around Allegiant Stadium that when the ambulance couldn’t get any closer the firefighters and paramedics exited the vehicle and ran to the scene.
From training to practice
The decisions Ms. Groesbeck made until they could arrive called upon her years of training to be a doctor, and specifically an EMT certification course she had to pass before beginning medical school, she said.
She credits the life-saving methods she learned in that course to Douglas Fraser, MD, FACS, associate professor of surgery at UNLV and University Medical Center (UMC) trauma medical director. He happened to be the attending physician when the accident victim was admitted to the hospital that night in critical condition. The man’s wife also was injured, but not to the extent of her husband.
Dr. Fraser said he didn’t know at the time that his student had been involved in saving the man’s life until Ms. Groesbeck reached out to say thanks for teaching her what to do in an emergency. “I [first] was overly impressed that she did that. Students are so busy; they move after they graduate or finish their rotations. You don’t get to see them time and time again; your short time with them could have a lasting impact and that is my goal,” Dr. Fraser told this news organization.
“They rarely thank you or reflect back. It renewed my sense that I want to teach more, to see the positive impact it had on Elizabeth” and other students, he said.
In terms of the emergency situation she navigated, Dr. Fraser said he was very proud of his student, but was also concerned she could have gotten hurt herself in the middle of a busy intersection. “She was selfless and put herself in harm’s way to help someone.” He also noted it was the first time he knew of a student putting her skills to the test so soon after learning them. “It was a good outcome and she truly provided lifesaving care to this victim.”
He attributed her training to the Stop the Bleed program, which began after the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. UNLV requires new med students to complete the American College of Surgeons’ first aid program to learn how to stop the bleeding of a severely injured person by applying tourniquets and pressure. “You have to stop the bleeding right away…and look to see whether their airway is open and if it’s not, open their airway or you won’t have a patient very long. I know she did that. These are the two most important lifesaving skills that she did.”
Medical students are often called upon as doctors by their family and friends, Dr. Fraser continued. “Everyone looks to you. It can happen on an airplane; you can be anywhere. She heard a person was in need and jumped to action and was able to use the training her school provided and was able to put it to good use.”
Not her first call to action
Just the week before the incident, Ms. Groesbeck was on clinical rotations at UMC helping in the emergency and operating rooms. “She was always very engaged and mature beyond her years,” Dr. Fraser said. “She definitely had that ‘it’ factor. She was sincere with patients and their families and performed well in the operating room. …She was very comfortable around the patients; very comfortable in stressful situations.”
He added, “I look forward to her participating in trauma surgery rotations in the near future.”
In the meantime, Ms. Groesbeck was pleased to learn that the man she saved survived and thrilled to be part of that effort. As of press time, he had not contacted her. Nor has the other student who helped save his life.
“A lot of people stepped up and donated their time to help. He got lucky on a very unlucky day,” Ms. Groesbeck said.
She recalled a previous accident victim years ago who wasn’t as lucky. On the way to pick up her white coat for the ceremony before her first year of medical school, she came upon a car that had flipped upside down. “It sheared the roof away. I checked on the restrained passenger. He was partially scalped. The windows were broken and I climbed in next to him.” This time, she used her own shirt to hold pressure on the wound. “He, unfortunately did not make it.” There was nothing she could have done, she was told.
“That one got me mentally. Very graphic imaging was stuck in my head,” Ms. Groesbeck said. With a masters in neuroscience, she was accustomed to seeing the brain, “but not like this. I felt sad he passed in such a violent way.” So the more recent life-saving experience was redemptive, she said. “I’ve been through hell and back.”
And she’s still on track to become the doctor she envisioned as a child, mummifying her cats with gauze wraps and covering her little sister with adhesive bandages. “It felt good knowing what I could do,” Ms. Groesbeck said. “I’m glad this [man] made it. He got lucky and he could go home to his family. I was not positive when he left in the ambulance. It was a huge relief.”
Of her role in the episode and her future career ambitions, Ms. Groesbeck noted: “We are studying all the time. It’s not very rewarding. But this, not thinking but having sprung into action, doing the right thing and he could go home to his family a week later. It’s things like this that make the endless hours of studying worth it. I feel like I accomplished something.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Third-year medical student Liz Groesbeck was like other excited Las Vegas Raiders fans recently headed to the first full-capacity game in the new Allegiant Stadium since the team moved to “Sin City.” She was in an Uber on a first date just blocks from the game that would pit her Raiders against the Seattle Seahawks when she saw a man on the ground and people gathered around him.
Abandoning her keys, cellphone, and date in the Uber, Ms. Groesbeck popped out to see if she could help. The Uber had been stuck in traffic, so Ms. Groesbeck thought she’d still be able to jump back in the car if she wasn’t needed.
Then she heard screams. “That didn’t concern me. People scream whenever anything unexpected happens,” said the 28-year-old student from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). But the screams were only a small indication of what she would discover on closer inspection. The arm of the middle-aged man lying on the ground was detached. An abandoned gold SUV remained on the curb nearby. It would turn out to be a hit-and-run of pedestrians by a driver later charged by police with DUI.
“I was one of the first people there,” Ms. Groesbeck recounted for this news organization. “I knew this guy did not just fall. I told someone to call EMS and I got someone to take his wife somewhere else [away from the bloody scene]. She was obviously very distraught. …At a couple of points she was hysterical.”
Next, Ms. Groesbeck, who, ironically, had finished her emergency general surgery rotation the day before, focused on the patient. Kneeling beside him, she determined that the immediate priorities were to stop the bleeding and clear his airway. “He was barely breathing,” she recounted. Another student who Ms. Groesbeck believes was pursuing a medical degree — there wasn’t time for formal introductions — offered to help, along with bystanders headed to the game.
“The crowd was very energetic. It was a beautiful thing.” Ms. Groesbeck cited the spirit of saving lives that developed from the October 1, 2017, Las Vegas country music festival shooting. “People are very willing to try to help others in any way they can.”
MS. Groesbeck, leading the effort, asked for belts, “and bystanders immediately provided that,” and the other student followed Ms. Groesbeck’s directions to apply tourniquets with the help of those around her. With the blood loss being stemmed, Ms. Groesbeck’s next priority was making sure the patient could breathe.
Appealing for clothing to clear the man’s airway, “five shirts were handed in a circle to me.” She only needed one jersey to scoop the blood out of his mouth manually to free his airway.
She overruled well-meaning suggestions to lay the man on his side — which she was concerned could paralyze him — or use a straw to help him breathe. “I did not want to stick anything down his throat.” Meanwhile, there was so much traffic that night around Allegiant Stadium that when the ambulance couldn’t get any closer the firefighters and paramedics exited the vehicle and ran to the scene.
From training to practice
The decisions Ms. Groesbeck made until they could arrive called upon her years of training to be a doctor, and specifically an EMT certification course she had to pass before beginning medical school, she said.
She credits the life-saving methods she learned in that course to Douglas Fraser, MD, FACS, associate professor of surgery at UNLV and University Medical Center (UMC) trauma medical director. He happened to be the attending physician when the accident victim was admitted to the hospital that night in critical condition. The man’s wife also was injured, but not to the extent of her husband.
Dr. Fraser said he didn’t know at the time that his student had been involved in saving the man’s life until Ms. Groesbeck reached out to say thanks for teaching her what to do in an emergency. “I [first] was overly impressed that she did that. Students are so busy; they move after they graduate or finish their rotations. You don’t get to see them time and time again; your short time with them could have a lasting impact and that is my goal,” Dr. Fraser told this news organization.
“They rarely thank you or reflect back. It renewed my sense that I want to teach more, to see the positive impact it had on Elizabeth” and other students, he said.
In terms of the emergency situation she navigated, Dr. Fraser said he was very proud of his student, but was also concerned she could have gotten hurt herself in the middle of a busy intersection. “She was selfless and put herself in harm’s way to help someone.” He also noted it was the first time he knew of a student putting her skills to the test so soon after learning them. “It was a good outcome and she truly provided lifesaving care to this victim.”
He attributed her training to the Stop the Bleed program, which began after the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012. UNLV requires new med students to complete the American College of Surgeons’ first aid program to learn how to stop the bleeding of a severely injured person by applying tourniquets and pressure. “You have to stop the bleeding right away…and look to see whether their airway is open and if it’s not, open their airway or you won’t have a patient very long. I know she did that. These are the two most important lifesaving skills that she did.”
Medical students are often called upon as doctors by their family and friends, Dr. Fraser continued. “Everyone looks to you. It can happen on an airplane; you can be anywhere. She heard a person was in need and jumped to action and was able to use the training her school provided and was able to put it to good use.”
Not her first call to action
Just the week before the incident, Ms. Groesbeck was on clinical rotations at UMC helping in the emergency and operating rooms. “She was always very engaged and mature beyond her years,” Dr. Fraser said. “She definitely had that ‘it’ factor. She was sincere with patients and their families and performed well in the operating room. …She was very comfortable around the patients; very comfortable in stressful situations.”
He added, “I look forward to her participating in trauma surgery rotations in the near future.”
In the meantime, Ms. Groesbeck was pleased to learn that the man she saved survived and thrilled to be part of that effort. As of press time, he had not contacted her. Nor has the other student who helped save his life.
“A lot of people stepped up and donated their time to help. He got lucky on a very unlucky day,” Ms. Groesbeck said.
She recalled a previous accident victim years ago who wasn’t as lucky. On the way to pick up her white coat for the ceremony before her first year of medical school, she came upon a car that had flipped upside down. “It sheared the roof away. I checked on the restrained passenger. He was partially scalped. The windows were broken and I climbed in next to him.” This time, she used her own shirt to hold pressure on the wound. “He, unfortunately did not make it.” There was nothing she could have done, she was told.
“That one got me mentally. Very graphic imaging was stuck in my head,” Ms. Groesbeck said. With a masters in neuroscience, she was accustomed to seeing the brain, “but not like this. I felt sad he passed in such a violent way.” So the more recent life-saving experience was redemptive, she said. “I’ve been through hell and back.”
And she’s still on track to become the doctor she envisioned as a child, mummifying her cats with gauze wraps and covering her little sister with adhesive bandages. “It felt good knowing what I could do,” Ms. Groesbeck said. “I’m glad this [man] made it. He got lucky and he could go home to his family. I was not positive when he left in the ambulance. It was a huge relief.”
Of her role in the episode and her future career ambitions, Ms. Groesbeck noted: “We are studying all the time. It’s not very rewarding. But this, not thinking but having sprung into action, doing the right thing and he could go home to his family a week later. It’s things like this that make the endless hours of studying worth it. I feel like I accomplished something.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
Two Colorado nurses admit to stealing drugs from hospital patients
, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Denver.
Alicia Nickel-Tangeman, 44, formerly of Woodland Park, Colo., pled guilty to four counts of obtaining controlled substances using fraud and deception. She gained access to rooms of patients who weren’t assigned to her and diverted drugs from their pain-on-demand devices, according to federal officials.
The defendant told patients she was conducting a study on the pumps that deliver drugs to relieve pain when the patient pushes a button, the officials stated. She would open the machine and would remove a portion of the drug with a syringe. She obtained drugs in this way from three patients on four occasions, a press release stated.
When questioned by law enforcement, Ms. Nickel-Tangeman continued to lie about her conduct and produced a false email address to substantiate her claims, the Department of Justice reported. She is scheduled to be sentenced November 30.
Ms. Nickel-Tangeman’s LinkedIn profile shows that she was a nurse with UCHealth in Colorado for 17 years, ending in May 2019.
Katie Muhs, 34, of Littleton, Colo., was convicted of a felony for using fraud and deception to divert fentanyl for her personal use while serving as an intensive care nurse.
The defendant admitted that between June and September 2019 she stole fentanyl by removing it from the IV bags of patients using a syringe. She also admitted to stealing fentanyl that remained in vials after fentanyl had been administered to patients. She would replace the stolen drug with saline and would “then have a fellow nurse witness her ‘waste,’ or dispose of the saline.”
U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore sentenced Ms. Muhs to 3 months of probation as a result of “the defendant’s confession and her cooperation in disclosing full information on her diversion, which is a matter potentially affecting the public health and the integrity of the health care system. The felony offense is punishable by up to four years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, per count.”
In pleading guilty to the single count in the case, Ms. Muhs admitted that on September 8, 2019, “she removed a bag of fentanyl from the automated medication control machine at the hospital under a different nurse’s login credentials. She then removed fentanyl from the IV bag for personal use.”
In April, the Colorado Court of Appeals denied her request for unemployment benefits. Court documents reveal that Ms. Muhs lost her job at St. Anthony Hospital after it was discovered that she stole and self-injected fentanyl while working as a registered nurse there.
The investigations in these cases were conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“We want it to be known that healthcare professionals who take advantage of patients in need by stealing their medications will be held accountable to the law,” said Deanne Reuter, DEA Denver Field Division special agent in charge.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Denver.
Alicia Nickel-Tangeman, 44, formerly of Woodland Park, Colo., pled guilty to four counts of obtaining controlled substances using fraud and deception. She gained access to rooms of patients who weren’t assigned to her and diverted drugs from their pain-on-demand devices, according to federal officials.
The defendant told patients she was conducting a study on the pumps that deliver drugs to relieve pain when the patient pushes a button, the officials stated. She would open the machine and would remove a portion of the drug with a syringe. She obtained drugs in this way from three patients on four occasions, a press release stated.
When questioned by law enforcement, Ms. Nickel-Tangeman continued to lie about her conduct and produced a false email address to substantiate her claims, the Department of Justice reported. She is scheduled to be sentenced November 30.
Ms. Nickel-Tangeman’s LinkedIn profile shows that she was a nurse with UCHealth in Colorado for 17 years, ending in May 2019.
Katie Muhs, 34, of Littleton, Colo., was convicted of a felony for using fraud and deception to divert fentanyl for her personal use while serving as an intensive care nurse.
The defendant admitted that between June and September 2019 she stole fentanyl by removing it from the IV bags of patients using a syringe. She also admitted to stealing fentanyl that remained in vials after fentanyl had been administered to patients. She would replace the stolen drug with saline and would “then have a fellow nurse witness her ‘waste,’ or dispose of the saline.”
U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore sentenced Ms. Muhs to 3 months of probation as a result of “the defendant’s confession and her cooperation in disclosing full information on her diversion, which is a matter potentially affecting the public health and the integrity of the health care system. The felony offense is punishable by up to four years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, per count.”
In pleading guilty to the single count in the case, Ms. Muhs admitted that on September 8, 2019, “she removed a bag of fentanyl from the automated medication control machine at the hospital under a different nurse’s login credentials. She then removed fentanyl from the IV bag for personal use.”
In April, the Colorado Court of Appeals denied her request for unemployment benefits. Court documents reveal that Ms. Muhs lost her job at St. Anthony Hospital after it was discovered that she stole and self-injected fentanyl while working as a registered nurse there.
The investigations in these cases were conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“We want it to be known that healthcare professionals who take advantage of patients in need by stealing their medications will be held accountable to the law,” said Deanne Reuter, DEA Denver Field Division special agent in charge.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Denver.
Alicia Nickel-Tangeman, 44, formerly of Woodland Park, Colo., pled guilty to four counts of obtaining controlled substances using fraud and deception. She gained access to rooms of patients who weren’t assigned to her and diverted drugs from their pain-on-demand devices, according to federal officials.
The defendant told patients she was conducting a study on the pumps that deliver drugs to relieve pain when the patient pushes a button, the officials stated. She would open the machine and would remove a portion of the drug with a syringe. She obtained drugs in this way from three patients on four occasions, a press release stated.
When questioned by law enforcement, Ms. Nickel-Tangeman continued to lie about her conduct and produced a false email address to substantiate her claims, the Department of Justice reported. She is scheduled to be sentenced November 30.
Ms. Nickel-Tangeman’s LinkedIn profile shows that she was a nurse with UCHealth in Colorado for 17 years, ending in May 2019.
Katie Muhs, 34, of Littleton, Colo., was convicted of a felony for using fraud and deception to divert fentanyl for her personal use while serving as an intensive care nurse.
The defendant admitted that between June and September 2019 she stole fentanyl by removing it from the IV bags of patients using a syringe. She also admitted to stealing fentanyl that remained in vials after fentanyl had been administered to patients. She would replace the stolen drug with saline and would “then have a fellow nurse witness her ‘waste,’ or dispose of the saline.”
U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore sentenced Ms. Muhs to 3 months of probation as a result of “the defendant’s confession and her cooperation in disclosing full information on her diversion, which is a matter potentially affecting the public health and the integrity of the health care system. The felony offense is punishable by up to four years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, per count.”
In pleading guilty to the single count in the case, Ms. Muhs admitted that on September 8, 2019, “she removed a bag of fentanyl from the automated medication control machine at the hospital under a different nurse’s login credentials. She then removed fentanyl from the IV bag for personal use.”
In April, the Colorado Court of Appeals denied her request for unemployment benefits. Court documents reveal that Ms. Muhs lost her job at St. Anthony Hospital after it was discovered that she stole and self-injected fentanyl while working as a registered nurse there.
The investigations in these cases were conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“We want it to be known that healthcare professionals who take advantage of patients in need by stealing their medications will be held accountable to the law,” said Deanne Reuter, DEA Denver Field Division special agent in charge.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
PA gets prison time for knowingly prescribing unneeded addictive drugs
A U.S. District Judge sentenced William Soyke, 68, of Hanover, Penn., for acting outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland. The 37-month prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to the plea agreement, Mr. Soyke worked as a physician assistant with Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management from 2011 to 2018, where he treated patients during follow-up doctor appointments. As a physician assistant, Mr. Soyke had privileges to prescribe controlled substance medications, but was required to operate under a delegation agreement with the Rosen-Hoffberg owners.
In his plea, Mr. Soyke said that he believed the owners, Norman Rosen, MD, and Howard Hoffberg, MD, prescribed excessive levels of opioids. Despite Mr. Soyke’s attempts to lower patient’s prescription doses, both doctors overruled the PA’s opinion, according to the plea agreement. Also, if another health care provider within the practice declined to treat a patient because of the patient’s aberrant behavior – such as failing a drug screening test for illicit drugs or selling their prescriptions – Dr. Rosen and Dr. Hoffberg would assume that patient’s care, the report continued.
As stated in the plea agreement, Mr. Sokye was aware that many of the patients presenting to Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management did not have a legitimate medical need for the oxycodone, fentanyl, alprazolam, and methadone they were being prescribed. Nevertheless, Mr. Soyke issued prescriptions for these drugs to patients without a legitimate medical need and outside the bounds of acceptable medical practice, according to the release.
Mr. Soyke also admitted that in several instances he engaged in sexual, physical contact with female patients who were attempting to get prescriptions, the plea agreement stated. Specifically, Mr. Soyke asked some female customers to engage in a range of motion test, and while they were bending over, he would position himself behind them such that his genitalia would rub against the customers’ buttocks through their clothes. These patients often submitted to this sexual abuse for fear of not getting the medications to which they were addicted, according to the press release.
Although the female patients complained to Dr. Rosen and Dr. Hoffberg about Mr. Soyke’s behavior, the doctors did not fire Mr. Soyke because the PA saw the largest number of patients at the practice and generated significant revenue, according to federal officials.
Dr. Hoffberg, the associate medical director and part-owner of the practice, pleaded guilty in June to accepting kickbacks from pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing an opioid drug called Subsys (a fentanyl sublingual spray) marketed by Insys for breakthrough pain in cancer patients for off-label purposes. He will be sentenced in September and faces a maximum of 5 years in federal prison.
Mr. Soyke pled guilty to a federal drug charge in July 2019. In announcing the guilty plea then, U.S. Attorney Robert Hur said, “Opioid overdoses are killing thousands of Marylanders each year, and opioid addiction is fueled by health care providers who prescribe drugs for people without a legitimate medical need. Doctors and other medical professionals who irresponsibly write opioid prescriptions are acting like street-corner drug pushers.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
A U.S. District Judge sentenced William Soyke, 68, of Hanover, Penn., for acting outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland. The 37-month prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to the plea agreement, Mr. Soyke worked as a physician assistant with Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management from 2011 to 2018, where he treated patients during follow-up doctor appointments. As a physician assistant, Mr. Soyke had privileges to prescribe controlled substance medications, but was required to operate under a delegation agreement with the Rosen-Hoffberg owners.
In his plea, Mr. Soyke said that he believed the owners, Norman Rosen, MD, and Howard Hoffberg, MD, prescribed excessive levels of opioids. Despite Mr. Soyke’s attempts to lower patient’s prescription doses, both doctors overruled the PA’s opinion, according to the plea agreement. Also, if another health care provider within the practice declined to treat a patient because of the patient’s aberrant behavior – such as failing a drug screening test for illicit drugs or selling their prescriptions – Dr. Rosen and Dr. Hoffberg would assume that patient’s care, the report continued.
As stated in the plea agreement, Mr. Sokye was aware that many of the patients presenting to Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management did not have a legitimate medical need for the oxycodone, fentanyl, alprazolam, and methadone they were being prescribed. Nevertheless, Mr. Soyke issued prescriptions for these drugs to patients without a legitimate medical need and outside the bounds of acceptable medical practice, according to the release.
Mr. Soyke also admitted that in several instances he engaged in sexual, physical contact with female patients who were attempting to get prescriptions, the plea agreement stated. Specifically, Mr. Soyke asked some female customers to engage in a range of motion test, and while they were bending over, he would position himself behind them such that his genitalia would rub against the customers’ buttocks through their clothes. These patients often submitted to this sexual abuse for fear of not getting the medications to which they were addicted, according to the press release.
Although the female patients complained to Dr. Rosen and Dr. Hoffberg about Mr. Soyke’s behavior, the doctors did not fire Mr. Soyke because the PA saw the largest number of patients at the practice and generated significant revenue, according to federal officials.
Dr. Hoffberg, the associate medical director and part-owner of the practice, pleaded guilty in June to accepting kickbacks from pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing an opioid drug called Subsys (a fentanyl sublingual spray) marketed by Insys for breakthrough pain in cancer patients for off-label purposes. He will be sentenced in September and faces a maximum of 5 years in federal prison.
Mr. Soyke pled guilty to a federal drug charge in July 2019. In announcing the guilty plea then, U.S. Attorney Robert Hur said, “Opioid overdoses are killing thousands of Marylanders each year, and opioid addiction is fueled by health care providers who prescribe drugs for people without a legitimate medical need. Doctors and other medical professionals who irresponsibly write opioid prescriptions are acting like street-corner drug pushers.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
A U.S. District Judge sentenced William Soyke, 68, of Hanover, Penn., for acting outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland. The 37-month prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to the plea agreement, Mr. Soyke worked as a physician assistant with Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management from 2011 to 2018, where he treated patients during follow-up doctor appointments. As a physician assistant, Mr. Soyke had privileges to prescribe controlled substance medications, but was required to operate under a delegation agreement with the Rosen-Hoffberg owners.
In his plea, Mr. Soyke said that he believed the owners, Norman Rosen, MD, and Howard Hoffberg, MD, prescribed excessive levels of opioids. Despite Mr. Soyke’s attempts to lower patient’s prescription doses, both doctors overruled the PA’s opinion, according to the plea agreement. Also, if another health care provider within the practice declined to treat a patient because of the patient’s aberrant behavior – such as failing a drug screening test for illicit drugs or selling their prescriptions – Dr. Rosen and Dr. Hoffberg would assume that patient’s care, the report continued.
As stated in the plea agreement, Mr. Sokye was aware that many of the patients presenting to Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management did not have a legitimate medical need for the oxycodone, fentanyl, alprazolam, and methadone they were being prescribed. Nevertheless, Mr. Soyke issued prescriptions for these drugs to patients without a legitimate medical need and outside the bounds of acceptable medical practice, according to the release.
Mr. Soyke also admitted that in several instances he engaged in sexual, physical contact with female patients who were attempting to get prescriptions, the plea agreement stated. Specifically, Mr. Soyke asked some female customers to engage in a range of motion test, and while they were bending over, he would position himself behind them such that his genitalia would rub against the customers’ buttocks through their clothes. These patients often submitted to this sexual abuse for fear of not getting the medications to which they were addicted, according to the press release.
Although the female patients complained to Dr. Rosen and Dr. Hoffberg about Mr. Soyke’s behavior, the doctors did not fire Mr. Soyke because the PA saw the largest number of patients at the practice and generated significant revenue, according to federal officials.
Dr. Hoffberg, the associate medical director and part-owner of the practice, pleaded guilty in June to accepting kickbacks from pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing an opioid drug called Subsys (a fentanyl sublingual spray) marketed by Insys for breakthrough pain in cancer patients for off-label purposes. He will be sentenced in September and faces a maximum of 5 years in federal prison.
Mr. Soyke pled guilty to a federal drug charge in July 2019. In announcing the guilty plea then, U.S. Attorney Robert Hur said, “Opioid overdoses are killing thousands of Marylanders each year, and opioid addiction is fueled by health care providers who prescribe drugs for people without a legitimate medical need. Doctors and other medical professionals who irresponsibly write opioid prescriptions are acting like street-corner drug pushers.”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.