a how to guide...

.. .to screwing up your life in 4 short years.

a couple of months ago we had a message on our machine. "i know this is short notice, but i'm having people over in an hour for a big announcement."

is that who i think it is? why the hell is tp (this person) calling us? we haven't seen or spoken to him in 3 1/2 years. we don't go.

come to find out the next day what the big announcement was. tp is quitting his residency to pursue another one. ok. weird, i don't know why we were called. a few weeks later, tp is knocking on the derm door. question answered. tp tells the head of derm he is on medical leave from his current residency (has rheumatoid arthritis) and would like to do a rotation with the derm department. still weird, but they allow it, even try and help him get into a derm research program. things are moving along, some strange behavior is noticed but nothing is thought of it. half way through the rotation, the head of tp's residency calls and asks if he is rotating with them. apparently tp is not on medical leave, options were discussed but nothing was ever set in stone. tp has been ignoring pages and not seeing any of his patients. one of tp's fellow residents sees him in the hospital and reports that he is on the premises.

this catches everyone completely off guard. what the hell is going on? apparently tp has been taking fentanyl patches off cancer patients and using them himself. i'm not sure if someone actually saw him doing this or why this was suspected. he denied the allegations. was asked to submit to a drug test. found to have the drug in his system and, this is the kicker, did not have any of the drug for the treatment of arthritis in his system. so now everyone is wondering if he even had the disease to begin with. he was soon dismissed from his program, and pretty much from being a doctor forever. we've since learned that tp was treated for heroin addiction in college and has shown signs of having a manic personality. 8 years of medical training wasted.

unbelievable.