Espinoza M, Hsiehchen D.
JAMA. 2020;323(15):1503–1505.
doi:10.1001/jama.2020.1810
Abstract
Despite protections mandated in educational environments, unwanted sexual behaviors have been reported in medical training. Policies to combat such behaviors need to be based on better understanding of the perpetrators. We characterized faculty accused of sexual misconduct resulting in institutional or legal actions that proved or supported guilt at US higher education institutions in the biomedical and health sciences.
Discussion
Of biomedical and health sciences faculty accused of sexual misconduct resulting in institutional or legal action, a majority were full professors, chairs or directors, or deans. Sexual misconduct was rarely an isolated event. Accused faculty frequently resigned or remained in academics, and few were sanctioned by governing boards.
Limitations include that only data on accused faculty who received media attention or were involved in legal proceedings were captured. In addition, the duration of behaviors, the exact number of targets, and the outcome data could not be identified for all accused faculty. Thus, this study cannot determine the prevalence of faculty who commit sexual misconduct, and the characteristics may not be generalizable across institutions.
The lack of transparency in investigations suggests that misconduct behaviors may not have been wholly captured by the public documents. Efforts to eliminate nondisclosure agreements are needed to enhance transparency. Further work is needed on mechanisms to prevent sexual misconduct at teaching institutions.
The info is here.
Welcome to the Nexus of Ethics, Psychology, Morality, Philosophy and Health Care
Welcome to the nexus of ethics, psychology, morality, technology, health care, and philosophy
Showing posts with label Sexual Misconduct. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sexual Misconduct. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
UNRWA Leaders Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Ethics’ Violations
jns.org
Originally published July 29, 2019
An internal ethics report sent to the UN secretary-general in December alleges that the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other officials at the highest levels of the UN agency have committed a series of serious ethics violations, AFP has reported.
According to AFP, Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl and other top officials at the UN agency are being accused of abuses including “sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority, for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent, and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives.”
The allegations are currently being probed by UN investigators.
In one instance, Krähenbühl, a married father of three from Switzerland, is accused of having a lover appointed to a newly-created role of senior adviser to the commissioner-general after an “extreme fast-track” process in 2015, which also entitled her to travel with him around the world with top accommodations.
The info is here.
Originally published July 29, 2019
An internal ethics report sent to the UN secretary-general in December alleges that the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other officials at the highest levels of the UN agency have committed a series of serious ethics violations, AFP has reported.
According to AFP, Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl and other top officials at the UN agency are being accused of abuses including “sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority, for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent, and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives.”
The allegations are currently being probed by UN investigators.
In one instance, Krähenbühl, a married father of three from Switzerland, is accused of having a lover appointed to a newly-created role of senior adviser to the commissioner-general after an “extreme fast-track” process in 2015, which also entitled her to travel with him around the world with top accommodations.
The info is here.
Friday, February 2, 2018
Confidential deals can obscure sexual misconduct allegations against doctors
Jayne O'Donnell
USA TODAY
Originally published January 5, 2018
Here are two excerpts:
Hospitals will often take over doctors' liability in confidential settlements, which Washington plaintiffs' attorney Patrick Malone calls a "frequent dodge" to keep medical negligence claims out of the National Practitioners Data Bank. Before they hire doctors, hospitals check the data bank, which also includes disciplinary actions by hospitals, medical societies and boards, which also have access to it.
Duncan's case, however, was a "miscellaneous tort claim," filed after Ohio's one-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims had passed.
That's just one of the many laws working in the favor of the Cleveland Clinic and the health care industry in Ohio. Plaintiff lawyer Michael Shroge, a former Cleveland Clinic associate general counsel, says major health care systems are "very often more interested in protecting their brand than protecting the health of patients."
(cut)
Critics of settlement deals' gag clauses say they compromise patients' health and safety and are unethical.
Confidential settlements are particularly problematic when it comes to health care, as "we take off our clothes in front of doctors," said Malone, who specializes in medical malpractice cases. "For a doctor to violate that in a sexual way is the ultimate wrong," he said, adding that he only agrees to confidential settlements if his client insists and only of the settlement amount.
The information is here.
USA TODAY
Originally published January 5, 2018
Here are two excerpts:
Hospitals will often take over doctors' liability in confidential settlements, which Washington plaintiffs' attorney Patrick Malone calls a "frequent dodge" to keep medical negligence claims out of the National Practitioners Data Bank. Before they hire doctors, hospitals check the data bank, which also includes disciplinary actions by hospitals, medical societies and boards, which also have access to it.
Duncan's case, however, was a "miscellaneous tort claim," filed after Ohio's one-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims had passed.
That's just one of the many laws working in the favor of the Cleveland Clinic and the health care industry in Ohio. Plaintiff lawyer Michael Shroge, a former Cleveland Clinic associate general counsel, says major health care systems are "very often more interested in protecting their brand than protecting the health of patients."
(cut)
Critics of settlement deals' gag clauses say they compromise patients' health and safety and are unethical.
Confidential settlements are particularly problematic when it comes to health care, as "we take off our clothes in front of doctors," said Malone, who specializes in medical malpractice cases. "For a doctor to violate that in a sexual way is the ultimate wrong," he said, adding that he only agrees to confidential settlements if his client insists and only of the settlement amount.
The information is here.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Three professors under criminal investigation for sexual misconduct
The Dartmouth Senior Staff
The Dartmouth
Originally posted October 31, 2017
Three professors are alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct and are being investigated by law enforcement, College President Phil Hanlon wrote in a campus-wide email Tuesday morning. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office, the Grafton County Attorney’s office, the New Hampshire State Police, the Grafton County Sheriff’s office and the Hanover Police Department have all launched criminal investigations of the professors.
Psychology and brain sciences professors Todd Heatherton, Bill Kelley and Paul Whalen are on paid leave and their access to campus has been restricted, College spokesperson Diana Lawrence confirmed on Oct. 25. Lawrence said the professors were being investigated by the College for “allegations of serious misconduct.”
“It is important to remember that investigations are ongoing, with no official findings yet produced,” Hanlon wrote. “However, we take these allegations very seriously and are pursuing our own independent investigations in coordination with law enforcement officials.”
The College is cooperating with law enforcement officials, Hanlon wrote.
“I want to say in the most emphatic way possible that sexual misconduct and harassment are unacceptable and have no place at Dartmouth,” Hanlon wrote in his email. “Such acts harm us as individuals and as members of the community.”
The article is here.
The Dartmouth
Originally posted October 31, 2017
Three professors are alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct and are being investigated by law enforcement, College President Phil Hanlon wrote in a campus-wide email Tuesday morning. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office, the Grafton County Attorney’s office, the New Hampshire State Police, the Grafton County Sheriff’s office and the Hanover Police Department have all launched criminal investigations of the professors.
Psychology and brain sciences professors Todd Heatherton, Bill Kelley and Paul Whalen are on paid leave and their access to campus has been restricted, College spokesperson Diana Lawrence confirmed on Oct. 25. Lawrence said the professors were being investigated by the College for “allegations of serious misconduct.”
“It is important to remember that investigations are ongoing, with no official findings yet produced,” Hanlon wrote. “However, we take these allegations very seriously and are pursuing our own independent investigations in coordination with law enforcement officials.”
The College is cooperating with law enforcement officials, Hanlon wrote.
“I want to say in the most emphatic way possible that sexual misconduct and harassment are unacceptable and have no place at Dartmouth,” Hanlon wrote in his email. “Such acts harm us as individuals and as members of the community.”
The article is here.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 1039 U.S. Physicians Reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank for Sexual Misconduct, 2003-2013
Azza AbuDagga , Sidney M. Wolfe , Michael Carome , Robert E. Oshel
PLoS ONE 11(2): e0147800.
Background
Little information exists on U.S. physicians who have been disciplined with licensure or restriction-of-clinical-privileges actions or have had malpractice payments because of sexual misconduct. Our objectives were to: (1) determine the number of these physicians and compare their age groups’ distribution with that of the general U.S. physician population; (2) compare the type of disciplinary actions taken against these physicians with actions taken against physicians disciplined for other offenses; (3) compare the characteristics and type of injury among victims of these physicians with those of victims in reports for physicians with other offenses in malpractice-payment reports; and (4) determine the percentages of physicians with clinical-privileges or malpractice-payment reports due to sexual misconduct who were not disciplined by medical boards.
The article is here.
PLoS ONE 11(2): e0147800.
Background
Little information exists on U.S. physicians who have been disciplined with licensure or restriction-of-clinical-privileges actions or have had malpractice payments because of sexual misconduct. Our objectives were to: (1) determine the number of these physicians and compare their age groups’ distribution with that of the general U.S. physician population; (2) compare the type of disciplinary actions taken against these physicians with actions taken against physicians disciplined for other offenses; (3) compare the characteristics and type of injury among victims of these physicians with those of victims in reports for physicians with other offenses in malpractice-payment reports; and (4) determine the percentages of physicians with clinical-privileges or malpractice-payment reports due to sexual misconduct who were not disciplined by medical boards.
The article is here.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
California psychology board issues sex misconduct charge against Peter J. Murphy
PsychCrime Database
Originally published August 11, 2012
On February 7, 2012, the California Board of Psychology issued and Accusation against Peter J. Murphy, Ph.D., alleging sexual misconduct and unprofessional conduct.
(cut)
From March 2009 through at least December 2010, Murphy engaged in a sexual relationship with the intern, whom he first met when he provided group therapy to her young son, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.
The entire story is here.
Originally published August 11, 2012
On February 7, 2012, the California Board of Psychology issued and Accusation against Peter J. Murphy, Ph.D., alleging sexual misconduct and unprofessional conduct.
(cut)
From March 2009 through at least December 2010, Murphy engaged in a sexual relationship with the intern, whom he first met when he provided group therapy to her young son, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.
The entire story is here.
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