I Have No Opinion

If you'll recall from a much earlier post I spoke of a Dr. Douche Bag (DB). Well, it seems Dr. DB has relatives, other doctors who for whatever reason are just complete and total incompetent asses. Please understand I have a great respect for the profession. My sister is a physician, and a fine one at that. Most doctors I come into contact with at work are fine doctors whom I would not hesitate to use for myself or my family, some are mediocre, and a few are just down right bad. There are two kinds of bad doctors- ones who are just dumb but they know it, and ones who are dumb and don't know it and are therefore dangerous. The first kind is not dangerous because he/she knows they are dumb and will consult smart doctors to take care of the things they do not understand. If they are a little smart but mostly dumb they will step back and not micromanage and let the smart guys run the show. The latter of the two kinds of dumb doctors is oh so dangerous. There is one in particular at the hospital where I work. I cannot mention his name for fear of retribution, but he is a royal jackass of the worst kind. Since the name Dr. DB has already been taken he receives the prestigious distinction of being Dr. Jackass (JA). It should suffice to say he is the only doctor I know who is routinely getting fired by families for his inability to care for people and inability to explain why he can't. So here is where I get to the meat of the issue: I am not allowed to have opinion of him if I want to have a job. WTH? If I tell a family that he is not a good doctor, if I admit his mistakes, if I verbalize any opinion of him, even when asked by a patient's family, I will lose my job. Why is it that I am legally required to turn in a nurse who makes medical mistakes but when we report a physicians medical mistakes to our administration we are told to basically turn our heads? Could it be that doctor is profitable for the hospital? It is really starting to make me question the job I do and the place I work. If I were the patient or if it were my family and I did not know better and somehow ended up with that doctor I would have the expectation that the hospital would not staff itself with doctors it knows are not competent to do the job. I am confronted frequently, more than I'd like to admit, by families wanting to know if it were my mother or my father would I switch doctors because they just don;t think he is doing a good job. I am not allowed to answer. I have bills to pay and kids to raise and I need a job but I also have a conscience and a soul that believes I am lying and doing something terribly wrong by not blowing the whistle and telling these people the truth. I believe that a lie of omission is just as bad as an outright lie. My prayer is that these people can see it in my eyes and that my eyes say what my mouth is not allowed to...