Unprofessional doctors--are they really born this way?

1Department of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore 2Offi ce of Neurological Education, Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore Address for Correspondence: A/Prof Nigel Tan, Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore 308433. Email: [email protected] • Ms M, a third-year medical student, posts a derogative comment on her Facebook account about a patient undergoing her fourth termination of pregnancy. • Dr R, a junior resident, yells on the phone, “I’m arranging an urgent CT scan, stop calling me about stupid ward changes!” • Mr S, a senior surgeon, slaps the hand of the scrub nurse when she hands him the wrong instrument. • Dr P, a senior physician responsible for hospital purchasing decisions, travels frequently on industrysponsored trips to conferences.