Medical school student says she 'missed' vein on patient after he laughed at her 'pronoun pin' — then 'he had to get stuck twice'
A student from Wake Forest School of Medicine on Tuesday tweeted that after a patient laughed at her "pronoun pin" in front of other medical staff, she "missed his vein" during a blood draw — and added that "he had to get stuck twice."
The student soon deleted her Twitter account, and the medical school said the student's tweet doesn't reflect its values and added that officials are "taking measures to address this with the student."
What are the details?
Libs of TikTok posted a screenshot of a Twitter reply from @kdel_2023, who is the medical school student in question:
A @wakeforestmed 4th year medical student says she abused a patient because he laughed at her pronoun pin. She has since deleted her account.pic.twitter.com/2m3DsjTFZx— Libs of Tik Tok (@Libs of Tik Tok) 1648589483
"I had a patient I was doing a blood draw on see my pronoun pin and loudly laugh to the staff, 'She/Her? Well of course it is! What other pronouns even are there? It?'" the student wrote. "I missed his vein so he had to get stuck twice."
The student's tweet was a response to a tweet from @shirleneobuobi, who wrote that her ID badge "has had she/her pronouns for a year. I’m cis, & I wear it to help my patients & colleagues who fall under the trans umbrella feel a little more comfy. In the last few weeks, several cis patients have berated me for it."
What did Wake Forest have to say?
The medical school on Tuesday said the student's tweet doesn't reflect the school's values and that officials are "taking measures to address this with the student":
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This student\u2019s tweet does not reflect how Wake Forest University School of Medicine treats patients and provides patient care. We are taking measures to address this with the student.— Wake Forest School of Medicine (@Wake Forest School of Medicine) 1648591518
The student's Twitter account has been deleted.
Anything else?
Fox News said it reached out to the medical school student in question, noting that the Post Millennial identified her as fourth-year student Kychelle Del Rosario. Fox News said it's unclear if the student will face any disciplinary action or criminal charges.
The cable network said Del Rosario published a piece last March in opposition to the so-called bathroom bill in North Carolina requiring that people use public restrooms that correspond to their biological sex.
Fox News added that Del Rosario — an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship recipient — argued in a piece on the fellowship’s website that "policies like these have consequential impacts on the health of transgender people." She also said she was a leader in Safe Zone in Medicine, which she described as "an organization run by health care trainees whose goal is to educate health professionals about the needs and disparities in LGBTQ+ healthcare," the cable network added.
"This role prepares me to become a trustworthy doctor and advocate for the transgender community — a population which the medical field has harmed greatly in the past," she wrote in the piece titled "The Senate Must Protect Transgender Health," Fox News said. "It also allows me to train other health care professionals who aim to improve their practice to be more welcoming and gender-affirming."
In addition, the student in question retweeted a response to doctors who don't care about pronouns that said, "You better f***ing care."
How are folks reacting?
Twitter users who've caught wind of the controversy aren't happy:
- "This irresponsible, unethical, liability should be terminated immediately," one commenter tweeted to the medical school. "An individual's self beliefs should not translate into subpar medical treatment because the physician disagrees. Abhorrent."
- "As I type this, I have a nasty bruise from a botched blood draw. It was an honest mistake on the nurse's part, but it was nonetheless quite painful," another user said. "Doing something like this intentionally is downright cruel. This person be expelled from school and face criminal charges."
- "What else will she do to a patient who offends her?" another commenter wondered. "This is demonstration of her character. Confessing this without remorse on Twitter also shows that this person doesn’t deserve to be a physician."
Not everyone sees it that way, however:
- "Doctors miss veins all the time," one commenter said. "It's not malpractice to be human."
- "Is there any indication this was deliberate?" another user asked. "It's dumb/unethical to post about it, but seems like it could also just be an 'amusing coincidence.' I'm sure y'all know how much it sucks when people interpret ambiguous comments as proof of your malicious character. No smoking gun?"
Former officers criminally charged over arrest of 73-year-old dementia patient
Two former Colorado police officers have been criminally charged in connection with the arrest of a 73-year-old dementia patient last year, which landed the elderly woman in a hospital.
The woman, Karen Garner, had left a Walmart without paying for $13.88 worth of items, and the former members of the Loveland Police Department were later seen on surveillance footage laughing and joking about the incident.
What are the details?
Ex-cops Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali, the first two officers to arrive on scene in the June 2020 incident, both face multiple charges, according to The New York Daily News.
Hopp has been charged with two felonies, second-degree assault and attempt to influence a public servant, and a misdemeanor charge of first-degree official misconduct. Jalali has been charged with three misdemeanors: failure to perform the duty to report excessive use of force, failure to perform the duty to intervene in excessive use of force, and first-degree official misconduct.
Hopp was the arresting officer and first to arrive, finding Garner in a field picking flowers. Body camera footage shows him throwing Garner to the ground to handcuff her. Jalali arrived on the scene later, and video shows Garner being thrown against a patrol vehicle as officers push her left arm behind her back and up near her head.
Witnesses were also seen stopping to protest the officers' roughness with the elderly Garner, but officers dismissed their concerns.
Last month, video was released by the Garner family's attorney showing Hopp and Jalali laughing and joking about Garner's arrest as they held her detained in a cell at the station. Hopp could be heard telling his colleagues, "Ready for the pop? Listen to the pop," while watching video of Garner's arrest.
"What did you pop?" one officer asks Hopp, who replies, "I think it was her shoulder."
Officer Dalali can be seen laughing along with other officers at some points in the surveillance video, but eventually asks, "Can you stop it now?" covering her head while the bodycam footage plays.
She also states, "I hate this," before Hopp says, "I love it."
Dalali can also be seen checking in on Garner in her cell.
Both Hopp, Jalali, and a third officer were gone from the department soon after the surveillance video was released, Police Chief Robert Ticer announced.
According to a lawsuit against the department filed by Garner's family, the dementia patient did not receive medical assistance for six hours after the violent arrest, and was later found to have suffered a dislocated shoulder, a sprained wrist and a broken arm stemming from the incident.
She has also been moved from her home into an assisted care facility, which family members say was due to her dementia being exacerbated by the trauma she experienced during the arrest.
Colorado officers seen on video laughing about arrest that hospitalized 73-year-old dementia patient.
The attorney for a 73-year-old dementia patient has released surveillance video showing Loveland, Colorado, police officers laughing as they reviewed body camera footage of the arrest of her client — who was later hospitalized for her injuries.
What are the details?
The dementia patient, Karen Garner, was arrested last summer by officers responding to a call from a local Walmart that she had left without paying for $14 worth of items, ABC News reported.
Bodycam footage shows Officer Austin Hopp approaching her while she's picking wildflowers in a field near the store, where he asks why she did not stop. She appears confused and repeatedly insists she is "going home" as he throws her to the ground and handcuffs her.
She is then pressed against the hood of a patrol vehicle and officers push her left arm up near her head. Another officer, Daria Jalali, assisted in the arrest.
During her arrest, officers struggled with Garner, and concerned onlookers can be seen on the footage confronting the officers over their level of force.
Lawsuit claims excessive force after Loveland police arrest woman with dementia www.youtube.com
Garner's attorney, Sarah Schieke, says her client was hospitalized after her detainment for a broken arm, separated shoulder, and a sprained wrist, the Washington Examiner reported. The lawyer filed a lawsuit against the department afterward, claiming Garner was not given medical assistance for six hours.
Then on Monday, Schieke released surveillance video from within the police department, showing Hopp, Dalali, and another officer watching the bodycam footage following Garner's arrest.
Hopp can be seen telling the other officers, "Ready for the pop? Hear the pop?" acknowledging that something snapped when he was detaining Garner.
Another male officer asks, "What did you pop?" and Hopp responds, "I think it was her shoulder."
Officer Dalali can be seen laughing along with other officers at some points in the surveillance video, but eventually asks, "Can you stop it now?" covering her head while the bodycam footage plays.
She also states, "I hate this," before Hopp says, "I love it."
Dalali can also be seen checking in on Garner in her cell.
The released surveillance video may be viewed below in its entirety. The point where the officers are reviewing the footage together starts around the 45:45 mark:
Karen Garner Arrest - Complete Uncut Booking Video from Police Station www.youtube.com
According to a news release from the Loveland Police Department prior to the surveillance footage being released, Hopp has been placed on administrative leave pending the department's investigation of the incident. Dalali and a supervising officer on the scene have both been placed on administrative duties.
Anything else?
Family members of Garner say she has never been the same since her arrest and the injuries she sustained. They moved her out of her apartment and into an assisted living facility, saying her dementia symptoms were exacerbated by the incident.
Garner's loved ones told The Denver Post, that when they picked her up from the hospital, she kept repeatedly asking, "Why did they hurt me?"
Her daughter-in-law, Shannon Steward, told the newspaper, "She hasn't come back the way she was before."
Alissa Swartz, Garner's daughter, told the outlet, "I just feel like I didn't protect her. I wasn't there to keep her safe from the police, who are supposed to protect her."
Steward argued, "They could've walked her home."