Comments on: Medical students who kill http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/12/medical-students-who-kill.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:18:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Anonymoushttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/12/medical-students-who-kill.html#comment-88522 Anonymous Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:49:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/12/medical-students-who-kill.html#comment-88522 There is no reliable way to screen sociopaths out of any profession and therefore they are found in all. What is shameful is when their behavior becomes known but those in authority don't have the guts to get them out professions where they have power requiring trust--such as law, medicine, clergy, and psychology.<br/><br/>But most who kill and certainly most who threaten are not sociopaths. Most people who threaten are rather just narcissistic bullies and back off when appropriately firm measures are taken, some unfortunately are paranoid and escalate.<br/><br/>But humans are natural killers, it no psychopathology. As long as medical students (insert any other categorization of humans) are human, some will kill. There is no reliable way to screen sociopaths out of any profession and therefore they are found in all. What is shameful is when their behavior becomes known but those in authority don’t have the guts to get them out professions where they have power requiring trust–such as law, medicine, clergy, and psychology.

But most who kill and certainly most who threaten are not sociopaths. Most people who threaten are rather just narcissistic bullies and back off when appropriately firm measures are taken, some unfortunately are paranoid and escalate.

But humans are natural killers, it no psychopathology. As long as medical students (insert any other categorization of humans) are human, some will kill.

]]> By: Anonymoushttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/12/medical-students-who-kill.html#comment-88515 Anonymous Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:40:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/12/medical-students-who-kill.html#comment-88515 The better and more relevant question is whether antisocial personality disorder is more common among medical students than the population at large.<br/><br/>My take: it is probably less common, but not necessarily perceived as so. First, as a disorder, it likely would interfere with the screening process on application to medical school, which, despite its critics, is still fairly rigorous and thorough. Second, the clinical environment and direct observation by trained professionals and fellow students would be more, not less likely to identify pathological behavior. I know that was true in my large medical school class. The better and more relevant question is whether antisocial personality disorder is more common among medical students than the population at large.

My take: it is probably less common, but not necessarily perceived as so. First, as a disorder, it likely would interfere with the screening process on application to medical school, which, despite its critics, is still fairly rigorous and thorough. Second, the clinical environment and direct observation by trained professionals and fellow students would be more, not less likely to identify pathological behavior. I know that was true in my large medical school class.

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