Safety First

It was heartwarming to learn in the November 2, 2007, issue of the new award to honor Wayne Fenton, M.D., who was tragically killed by a patient a little more than a year ago. To mark the anniversary, the September 20, 2007, Schizophrenia Bulletin announced the award and published many papers devoted to his memory and contributions.

One topic that has seemed relatively taboo with regard to Dr. Fenton's death is to explore what we can learn ethically from the tragedy. Perhaps enough time and grieving have passed now to do so. From all I've heard, Dr. Fenton often courageously extended boundaries in his work with patients. In the situation in question, he apparently saw a high-risk patient alone in his office on a weekend to try to get him to take intramuscular medication. Should this have been handled differently, and, if so, how? After all, we can't help patients unless we take care of our own well-being and life. I have a sense that Dr. Fenton would like us to learn from his death.