A female physician is murdered. A call to action to end intimate partner abuse.

This week, the community of women physicians was rocked by the death of one in our midst, an anesthesiologist, intensivist, medical school faculty member, and mother, in an apparent domestic violence homicide. Dr. Casey Drawert (yes, we will say her name) was a highly accomplished physician married to a “prominent businessman” adding to the media-stickiness of the story.  Her success clashes with our deeply entrenched biases about the demographics of domestic violence victims. Yet again, we were reminded that although certain groups may be more susceptible, domestic violence (I prefer the more specific term “intimate partner abuse”) is remarkably inclusive; its lifetime membership includes more than one-third of women in the country. I would venture to guess that having survived partner abuse is the most unifying experience of womanhood second only to childbirth. So, of course, it is not surprising that women physicians — and other well educated, well informed, and well-resourced women and men — quite commonly experience abuse at the hands of an intimate partner. Yet what renders this case particularly painful for us is that as physicians, we have a professional obligation to inquire about and address abuse. The fact that one of us was at risk and failed to get help is a profound and incomprehensible failure. The Facebook phenomenon Physician Mothers Group (PMG), a group honored to have Dr. Drawert as a member, has exploded with ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Emergency Source Type: blogs