European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 07, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse 5% of . Physicians too mentally impaired to practice Ama finds saturday May 7, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 11 by Boyce Rensberger new York not one out of every 20 doctors in the . Suffers from a psychiatric disturbance severe enough to damage his or her ability to care properly for patients the american medical association has estimated. Only about five years ago the Psychia Mically impaired doctor was either ignored or discreetly protected by his Peers. Many doctors insisted at least in Public that such doctors either did not exist or were very few. That attitude is changing. The medical association itself has held several conferences to Alert medical leaders to the matter and to discuss ways to protect patients and rehabilitate doctors. Although the Overall rate of mental ill Ness among doctors by the medical association estimate is comparable with thai of the population in general doctors Are far More Likely to resort to alcohol or drugs usually prescription opiates sedatives or stimulants. The drug addiction rate among doctors is estimated at anywhere Between 30 or 60 times that of the population a Gen eral. In addition Medicine is plagued with doctors who become senile but keep on practising. More vulnerable at one medical association conference on these questions in february or. Her Bert a. Raskin a Detroit psychiatrist observed that doctors seem More vulnerable to mental troubles than other occupational of the same psychodynamics that propelled us toward the profession he said citing a compulsive striving for perfection Are the same psychodynamics that predispose to emotional disturbance alcoholism drug abuse and mental ill noted that patients come to a physician because they have some difficulty that they cannot handle themselves they Are often frightened and invariably seeking someone who can be expected not Only to care for them with almost parental concern but also with flawless scientific skills and personal presenting ourselves As physicians Raskin said we implicitly assure our patient that we have attained All the professional and personal qualities he is human being who tries to play the role of a Demigod Raskin observed is bound to fall Short. Add growing pressures due to government and Public scrutiny of medical practice and the demands for perfection implied by the threat of malpractice Law suits and the temptation to escape through drugs or alcohol becomes even greater. One of the difficulties often cited by Doc tors who try to help their sick colleagues Isth reluctance of the afflicted physician to admit that he is in trouble. This is some times attributed to a doctor s feeling of in vulnerability but a significant Factor is also that doctors May be reluctant to give up their principal source of income to take time out for treatment. It is presumably easier for a doctor to convince himself that he is not that sick. In 1972 the medical association s policy making House of delegates approved a statement that doctors have an ethical responsibility to assist impaired colleagues to seek help and to advise them on whether to curtail or suspend their practices. If the impaired doctor will not in effect go quietly the colleague is urged to report him to the local medical society and if necessary to the state licensing body. In 1974 the medical association proposed a Model state Law that would make state medical societies agents of the state Licens ing Board with Power to identify and Evalu ate sick doctors. The idea behind the Law was that such doctors persuaded by their Peers to accept treatment voluntarily might accept it More Model Law was largely patterned on an existing Florida Law that had demonstrated some Success in either taking away the licenses of sick doctors or rehabilitating the physicians and returning them to practice. At that time three years ago Only Florida and Texas had Laws of this sort. To Date. 27 states have enacted legis lation on sick physicians including some or most of the medical association proposals. In Many states where sick doctor Laws operate medical societies have appointed committee of doctors usually psychiatrists specializing in addiction and sometimes including doctors who them selves have recovered from addictions to confront the sick doctor. The con fronting physicians visit the doctor both to investigate allegations of impairment and to persuade the doctor to seek the obstacles to helping sick physicians according to Many doctors is the reluctance of their colleagues to report one really knows whether die risk to the Public from disturbed doctors is grow ing. But if the increasing criticism of Doc tors and questioning of medical judgment contribute to making a doctor s life More difficult As they surely must the temptation to escape into whatever oblivion can Only grow. Hearing ear dogs Given to deaf to make life easier letters to the editor civilians and Goyt. Quarters Boston a Lake the Blind who Are led through the hazards of life by seeing Eye dogs deaf people Are getting their own guides hearing ear dogs. The dogs Many of them mongrels Are being trained to hear what their owners cannot. The ring of a phone jangle of a Doorbell or blare of a fire alarm sends the hounds racing to Alert their dogs respond to sounds that you and i take for granted around the House said Robert White director of the program for the american humane association. One of the first dogs trained this Way was delivered by the association to a hard of hearing couple in Arlington a suburb of Boston. I i won t have to worry about people knocking at the door or missing phone Calls said Phillip Watson the new owner of Penny a mixed Breed. When somebody knocks Penny runs to the door races Back to Watson circles him and then speeds to the door again. She keeps it up until Watson opens the dogs Are provided free by the Denver based association. Since the pro Gram began last october the group has trained 11 of them. The deaf for instance cannot hear alarm clocks so they have trouble waking up on time. The dogs can be trained to leap onto the bed and lick their master s face at the sound of the alarm. At Home the dogs can warn their owners when babies Are crying. And on the Street they let them know about approaching traffic. They can be trained As Well to pick up objects that the owners drop. Each dog is taught to respond to three sounds. The three month training program costs about $1.500. As a 10-year career civil service individual recently arrived for duty in usar eur i have been puzzled Over the underlying reasons Usa eur no longer permits the occupancy of government quarters by members of the civilian work to my departure from conus vague rumblings of disenchantment Over a Usa eur assignment had reached my ears with the inability of career civilians to occupy government quarters the Root cause for such alienation. Is this discrimination a local policy of the command or an emanation of the department of the army or Dod what is the civil service commis Sion doing about this that great protector of the masses the Union morale of our military and their dependents certainly must have been a Strong consideration for this decision and 1 must confess that in my 21 years of military service i always looked with envy at my civilian counterparts who resided in government quarters while i lived on the econ omy but in each instance. I waited my the absence of government quarters resulted in a stifling of the civilian recruit ing system do foreign nationals employed by Usa eur occupy government quarters does one s Grade have any Bear ing on such occupancy?.what a potential Story for an enterprising investigative reporter. Unrest Berli editor s note col. Jerome b. Hilmes chief engineering and housing division Usa eur replies the critical shortage of military family housing throughout Usa eur has existed for some time. It is a matter of prime concern at Usa eur a and Dod level and is under constant scrutiny at con Gressional and a policy require civilian employees to normally rely on the civilian communities for housing support and pro Vides that assignment i of civilians to Mili tary family housing should normally delimited to those considered key and Essen tial to Mission accomplishment and to other eligible civilian employees in situations where adequate Safe and sanitary housing support cannot be obtained in local s present policy which Amelco dealer weren t Stone hearted on a recent shopping trip to Italy with the no wives club of Augsburg sponsored by the american express our tour bus stopped at Sirenia to Purchase Alabas Ter. The items i wanted could be found at Only one store. Jim s. 1 watched them wrap and place my purchases in the bus. After a very enjoyable weekend Wear Rived Home and i unwrapped my one of the items tape held the lid of the lamp to the Alabaster Shade and when i re moved the tape the finish came off. I considered writing the shop or waiting until i could make it Down to Italy again but i decided to first Check with american express to see if they could help. I talked with is. Behrer of the tour Sec Tion. She said that since i had been on an american express tour she would see what she could do. She was unable to have the lamp replaced but the store refunded my Money. I would like to thank Jim s for refunding my Money is. Behrer for her help and the american express for their Friendly serv ice. I am looking Forward to my next tour with american express. Mart i. Mill Augsburg Germany became effective get a 1171, is direct result of Dod and a guidance to increase the number of existing housing resources that could be nude available for use by military s policy is in conformance with Dod and a policy which limits occupancy of military family quarters to those appropriated and civil Ian whose positions hive been designated As key and essential to Mission a com push ment and those in grades gs16 through is and equivalent and foreign service employees in Grade 01 and nato status of forces agreement provides that certain foreign National employees primarily Loose in the medical held May occupy military family quarters however Only when these quarters Are excess to . Military requirements. The policy change was announced and disseminated through a channels to allow Tor necessary changes affecting Conns recruitment. Civilian employees recruited for positions in Usa eur Are normally advise Dat the time of recruitment that . Mili tary family housing is not available Andare counselled on matters relating to living quarters allowances Qai As Well As weight allowances authorized for shipment of household of dec. 30,1978, approximately 3,300 civilian employees and 35,000 military Spon sors eligible and ineligible were residing in private rental quarters. These figures substantiate the availability of housing inthe civilian Community and also support the urgent requirement to increase the number of Xiii Ting military family hous ing resources that can be made available for use by eligible military families. The current policy has not appeared Mohave an Adverse Impact on civilian recruit ment. It is noted with interest that the writer is assigned to Berlin where because of the unique situation the present policy pertaining to civilian occupancy of Mili tary family housing does not apply and air eligible civilian appropriated and Novach Propri ated fund employees in grades gs7 and above and comparable Are authorized to occupy military family thes european edition col. Billy e. Spangler Usa. Char in Jjwel Ltd Larry e. Joyce Usa. Deputy editor a pm of meet Proctor managing editor Elmer o. Frank production Mam gof Henry s. Epstein. Circulation Mana to inn Rwm paper an Auto fwd not Timtai publication Lor us armed Ferm Everi Aav the Sun and it pud timed in conjunction w the int Arr ried Fri i into i a Don program of in department old Lensa Content l the Star and step than the official View of Tow . 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