From solidarity to isolation: Why do doctors distance themselves from colleagues accused of an offence?

Abstract

A doctor in Madhya Pradesh was arrested when several children died, after consuming a toxin-contaminated cough syrup he had prescribed. The Indian Medical Association condemned the arrest, stating that the prescribing doctor could not have known about the contamination [1]. Social media posts poured in from all quarters, including doctors, condemning the government for making the doctor a scapegoat to cover up their own inefficiency. But, when the police report filed in court, - opposing the doctor's bail application - charged him with taking a 10% commission from the manufacturer, the attitude of the doctors changed completely [2]. The medical fraternity disowned him overnight and declared him guilty before he was even tried on the charges. Imagine that he had been a politician or an individual belonging to an organisation. There would have been a plethora of statements like, "He is a victim of political vendetta", "We shall fight it to the end", and "We have full faith in the judiciary" … etc. This incident gives us an insight into the attitude of doctors as a group, which makes them take the moral high ground and judge their own colleague as an offender long before the person has been tried, rather than lend him support.