Should a trainee be allowed to return to anesthesiology after narcotic diversion and presumed addiction?

Abstract

Strong rumors quickly solidified when a resident who was suspected of diverting narcotics was caught in the men’s locker room by his co-residents, injecting a drug in a ‘hep lock’ intravenous line that was placed in his left saphenous vein. The resident confessed that he was injecting fentanyl and begged the residents not to ‘rat him out.’ Although the residents agreed to his face, 2 went to the Chair’s office to report this issue immediately. The Chair grabbed a senior attending to serve as a witness in confronting the resident. Apparently, the Chair had experience with this ongoing issue. I was also asked to witness the event. Although I had been a program director for many years in the Deep South, this issue had never come up before in my career.