Ethics in Sports (and All) Medicine
Posted on Mar 5, 2018 9:11am PST
The Larry Nassar sexual assault case was a life-altering journey of heartbreak
for his victims and a scandalous and hugely disappointing blow to the
field of sports medicine. And it has illuminated the distressing fact
that the moral compass of sports medicine (perhaps all of medicine) is
off. After more than 150 young women bravely came forward with their stories
of Nassar's sexual assault spanning more than two decades, the result
was concurrent convictions and a sentence that will leave this disgraced
doctor behind bars for the remainder of his life. But the story isn't
over for his victims, nor should it be for the rest of us in the medical
community. We have major lessons to learn here, and we have to put in
the work to ensure this never happens again to the most vulnerable among
us who entrust their doctors to "first do no harm."
It's clearer now than ever before that the trusting relationship between
physician and athlete (or any patient) has been tarnished and violated.
Like the feeling of relief when a police officer shows up to a crime scene,
patients have long held an innate feeling of trust in and comfort with
physicians, believing that we possess the knowledge
and the morality to always act in the patient's best interest. But what
happens when this agreement is broken?
Sexual assault in the doctor's office disguised as medical treatment robs patients of trust and leaves them
confused, helpless and broken. As more and more allegations become known,
it's a calling for all medical professionals to
reevaluate the ethical standards in our arena. Denouncing Larry Nassar and his preying upon young female athletes with
our words alone is simply not enough. No, this requires physicians throughout
the country to act so that we can ensure nobody has to endure this type
of emotional pain again.
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