Boy with Downs Syndrome gets MD

The title sounds rather absurd, doesn't it? Maybe Corky really wants to be a doctor, but when it comes right down to it, no matter how hard he tries he is just not going to have the goods to do it.

So why is this being celebrated? Yeah, it is neat to see how he compensated for his blindness, but when it comes right down to it, there are certain things that are medically necessary to be able to do, and he is physically incapable of being able to do them. No MD for you. Period.

And that's not the limits of medical absurdity by any stretch... our MD/PhD program tried to accept a girl who was essentially a quadriplegic. Twice (she re-applied). I would imagine there is some sort of common sense AMA guideline out there to the effect that if you can't feed yourself or wipe your own ass, then perhaps you should think about another profession other than doctor.

Does that sound harsh? Well then, what about me? I really would have loved to have been a major league pitcher, but I can't throw 80 mph, let alone 90. So does that mean I get to move the mound up 15ft and add a foot of height? I played football too; does my horrid 40 time allow me to get a head start against a cornerback?

I have heard some folks say "well, she wouldn't be a licensed doctor... and there is a lot of crap in 3rd and 4th year that you don't really have to do" Oh really? Then why the hell should I have to do them?!? And if she won't practice, then why the MD in the first place? She could get her PhD (which would be hard enough) and take didactic medical school courses and get the same thing she would by taking up excessive resources and some other kid's spot in the class who would actually, you know, be able to treat patients.

Do these two students have a lot of drive? Sure. A lot of brains? Hell yeah. Empathy? I would imagine. But can they physically perform all the necessary duties of the profession and not just some limited subset with help from a bunch of PA's? No.

Reality sucks, and we shouldn't let ourselves be manipulated by human interest stories with Disney endings into making mistakes in critically important areas of society.

Update: I forgot another case that would fit into this catagory: a kid from my medical school class had cystic fibrosis... bad enough that he already had a heart/lung transplant. And what was the relatively predictable result when he went on his 3rd year peds rotation? He caught some virus and died.

Don't get me wrong... he was a smart guy and was very nice and all that... but it doesn't mean we as a society have to pony up the expensive resources to indulge him in his deathwish (particularly since he wanted to do CF research and could have just gotten his PhD and been a lot safer). There were very good reasons as to why he was rejected from medical school three times before getting in.