Duntsch’s case is a frightening example of what happens when systems of accountability, from reporting to professional associations to civil suits, fail or are purposefully dismantled. While it’s a good thing that he was criminally prosecuted and has been sentenced to life in prison, the criminal justice system is a blunt instrument of accountability that requires overwhelming evidence and the “evidence” in this case was the trail of dead and injured patients he left while he was allowed to practice for far too long.
Fascinatingly enough, Duntsch also seem to be the product of a distinctly USAmerican fixation to work hard and achieve, and to medicate away--with cocaine and alcohol in this case--any doubts or fallout. From his fixation on playing football to the decision to be a neurosurgeon, he seems a driven, confident, and determined person just like USAmericans are told to be. He is a product of that distinctly USAmerican entrepreneurial spirit, except without the discipline, skill, or follow-through.
In the extreme and ungrounded versions of the myth of entrepreuneurship, however, it didn’t matter that his reality did not match his aspirations. All that mattered was that he believe in himself and stay positive, and the reality would catch up. He tried to do just that, leaving horrifically poor surgery outcomes in the path of his self-realization, and the systems designed to stop someone like him were inadequate to stopping him.
Duntsch is a failure, but his is more than a personal failure. This is a failure of a mindset and a system that is overflowing with can-do spirit but is dry on any sober reckoning with reality, that has no room for discipline, personal or professional, no room for setback and growth except as launching pads to even more dizzying heights of achievement. I mean this part of his supervising physician’s comments to a hospital he recommended Duntsch to?
“When asked about Dr. Duntsch’s weaknesses or areas for improvement, the supervising physician communicated that the only weakness Duntsch had was that he took on too many tasks for one person.”
This should have raised red flags right there, because it shows someone whose ambitions outstrips their capabilities, who is overstretched and cannot be up to his responsibilities in the long run. Making sure you have the time to meet your commitments is a responsibility, especially in a job as delicate and crucial as a doctor’s.
But no, this kind of overstretching is encouraged and lauded in his society and no one thought it was the serious fault it is. This is how even well-meaning people burn out and fall apart, with consequences that can be catastrophic in high-stakes jobs.
Duntsch is a shallow, superficially charming, destructive substance abuser, the kind of person that exists in any society. His specific way of being these things, however, was shaped and abetted by his society. He is a symptom and cutting him out, while necessary, was far from a cure.