Seems that several doctors from Puerto Rico are chugging down big mugs of regret after posing for some objectionable pictures taken during a mission trip to Haiti.  CNN dug up pictures of the group on Facebook, posing with Haitian military, holding guns and smiling for the camera.

CNN reports, as can be read in an online article, that several doctors were sent to Haiti by the government of Puerto Rico just days after the earthquake in order to set up a field hospital to assist in addressing health care needs.  Although the intentions and work of the group were honest and admirable, several members of the team of doctors took pictures with Haitian military, holding machine guns and smiling.  This picture, shown above, as well as others were posted on Facebook.  Other pictures showed the doctors drinking beer and scotch inside the field clinic, dressed in surgical gear, with patients in the pictures as well.  The Puerto Rican government is quite ashamed of the situation, and has said that these photos may compromise the careers of the individuals involved.

I have to say that I too am embarrassed that these pictures surfaced.  I am sad for the doctors, who must have been under great stress to perform in those conditions, but whose actions are inexcusable.  I am sad that this has tarnished the public opinion of medical missions.  But it also illustrates a predicament that most doctors have to face at some point.  This job is so much more than a job.  The public holds doctors at such a high moral standard that something that would otherwise seem a minor indescretion to another profession becomes an unforgiveable grievance for a medical professional.

Tags: doctors in the public eye, Facebook, Haiti, surgery

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