My daughter will see a male gynecologist after every female gynecologist on the planet magically vanishes. My job is to protect my daughter, not roll the die and hope the guy isn't a total creeper. Your hurt feelings are none of my concern.
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Victims of crimes need to file police reports, not complain to institutions who have conflicts of interest. This happens over and over in these cases. Olympic athlete's, employees students, members of congregations...if a person in the organization is a perpetrator do not go to the it employer. Go to law enforcement and file a detailed report. Get independent medical care to collaborate. Give the DA the chance to stop the criminals.
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I've been to the LAPD and I've seen them tell my friend that she doesn't have enough evidence to file a report. her word is not good enough. her text messages that confirm what happened aren't good enough.
law enforcement, at least in LA, does not support or believe women. even when they try to call out problematic gynecologists.
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It can be extremely difficult for any victim of sexual assault to get in those stirrups and go through a pelvic exam - it is, I imagine, akin to what male rape victims must feel about prostate exams. They're a critical component of health care, but can be psychologically damaging when one's physical boundaries have been violated.
To experience the assault at the hands of a doctor, on that exam table, is unspeakably horrifying. My heart goes out to every single one of the victims.
13
Might finally be time to rethink those USC Alumni license plate frames. Shame on USC.
8
DECADES???
This surpasses all imagination…
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U.S.C.'s admittance of fault must be followed by clear actions to prevent similar abuses in the future. Alertness and a healthy surveillance to dissuade any wanna-be abuser from even thinking about it is essential.
7
I am currently enrolled in a class at USC in which we are discussing Ethics and Compliance, particularly this week how to handle unethical behavior in an organization. They have people there who know how to handle this stuff. So why don't they? It will be an interesting discussion in class this week!
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You are young, you are lying on a table with no clothes on and a sheet is covering you. You are at the mercy of this doctor..what a frightening thought.
13
How about some comments from gynecologists about how to perform a pelvic exam correctly, not your brief line about what someone said.I have not done one since my medical student days, but how can you do an exam without using your fingers? Of course you wear gloves but that was not mentioned in the article. As I recall the speculum was used at the start of the exam to do the Pap smear. The speculum is used first to avoid contamination with lubricant After that, the gloved fingers are inserted into the vagina to palpate the pelvis. Of course the fingers must be moved in and out. I remember with great satisfaction that as a student I was able to find a pelvic mass with my fingers that had been missed by the intern. I suppose you could do a pelvic ultrasound on every patient which would make a lot more money for the doc. I just asked my wife about her exams, and she replied that in every exam done on her, the gynecologist had " used his fingers" and had also done a rectal exam with his finger. Again, why don't or didn't you ask a GYN professor from a medical school to describe current practice being taught to medical students in detail and give his credentials " Outside Medical Review Firms" commonly have reviews done by non-physicians . I am all for protecting students and disciplining bad behavior, but your article seemed very one sided and incomplete in discussing the medical facts.
One of your readers finds male GYNs creepy. Are female docs examining men creepy?
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How many female Docs molest male patients ??? How many Male Docs molest Female Patients ??? Go ahead, compare the NUMBERS. And, Male GYNs are creepy. Almost inevitably, they were the extreme Nerd in High school, that never touched a vagina until Medical School. Draw your own conclusions. I certainly have, and stand by my assertion. Most middle aged Women will completely agree. Ask them.
5
The original L.A. Times article has the detail and explanation you're looking for.
3
If you read the original article from the LA Times, you will find the answers to your questions.
5
And yet, USC continues to draw a record number of applicants and has an acceptance rate of just 13%. So much for these scandals harming the university.
2
Nikias must resign.
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USC is now getting a national reputation for covering up sexual misconduct. It is now time for either the President of USC, Dr. Max Nikkias, or the Board of Trustees to resign. This is just one of many coverups.
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Dear USC Hiring Committee,
If it hasn't already occurred to you, please consider the most highly qualified female candidate with impeccable bedside manner when you hire for this position.
Your students will be most grateful.
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"Last week, “in an abundance of caution” officials contacted the Los Angeles County district attorney and the Los Angeles Police Department."
More like an abundance of concern about liability.
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Well, that should open the University to unlimited liability. Lucky it's not the administrator's money used to settle the suits - it's taxpayers money. The settlements should be taken out of their salaries...
14
USC is a private university so taxpayers money is not involved.
6
USC is a private institution. Any settlement will be paid by the University’s insurance carrier or from its own funds, not from the taxpayers.
6
Private or Public, the endowment can be used. Example, someone sues Harvard, both Harvard's and The Ivy League's endowment can be tapped into to cover loss.
2
These severe ethical lapses are due to a lack of moral and servant leadership at this institution. Decades of verbal abuse and inappropriate touching? Medical School Dean partying out-of-bounds?
When those in leadership positions fail to exercise proper restraint, those who put and keep them there (Board of Overseers, Trustees, Major Donors, etc.) own the responsibility to (a) Know what's happening with their designated leaders and (b) Be aware of patterns of misbehavior and abuse.
18
There's something really creepy about a male GYN to start with. Go ahead, excoriate me, I'm a big girl. I'm nearly sixty, and have had my share of these exams. NOT a coincidence that many of the patients were not native English speakers, and young. The perfect, compliant prey. Every single person directly involved with supervising, hiring, and IGNORING the obvious
Crimes of this " Doctor " should be immediately Fired, and investigated.
Investigated criminally, as an accomplice. If these institutions will not police themselves, WE must do it. With extreme prejudice.
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Isn't it nice that he "agreed to retire"
21
Your biases and ignorance are appalling but, unfortunately, not uncommon.
An honest, ethical, well trained, and good male physician is as sexually interested in his female patients during an exam or discussion as he is in wading into a clogged sewer or cleaning out a stinking cesspool.
The GYN exam is medicine: nothing more, and nothing less.
If you feel differently then you are sadly mistaken - unless, of course, there IS something else in your particular instance.
3
I believe you are correct but why chance it? Female doctors for gyn issues should be standard practice.
5
It makes me so angry to think of all the lives of all the young women who needlessly endured contact with this awful doctor. That they are left with this memory, and worse - with the realization that the well being of female students was not truly valued by those in power to act - at least not enough to remove one bad doctor.
As an aside, my first gynecological exam was my first semester in college. I still remember the inappropriate comments made by that one, decades later. For years, I thought the fault lay with me.
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