Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Mayo Clinic arrested

It wasn't my call. I just read somewhere that the individual who blew the whistle on the doctor was granted some kind of whistleblower protection. Apparently, the same will apply to anyone else stepping forward now.

I'm repeating myself: I didn't decide this. I'm simply asking questions. 🙄

rowdylynx38 said:It’s not like I made a decision or anything—I just read somewhere that whoever reported the doctor ended up getting some kind of protection. And apparently, it’s going to be the same for anyone else who decides to come forward now.

I’m telling you, it’s not like I’ve made up my mind. I’m just asking questions here. 🙄

I think they were talking about protection in the sense of—like, we'll perform your surgery at a different hospital instead of under the guy you actually reported (there was some talk about having surgeries done elsewhere and stuff like that)

nimblestag31 said:hm, honestly, for a specific gentleman over at Mayo Clinic, I don't think any salary would ever be enough to stop him from looking for a bribe. I mean, he had a management contract that sounds like it was pulling in at least $30,000 a month. Or am I exaggerating?
Even if he were pulling in $60,000, he’d still be hunting for kickbacks because, let's face it, he clearly suffers from a nasty case of greed paired with a chronic lack of morals and medical ethics. It's a pretty terrible combination, I suppose.
If he actually had an ounce of shame, it would be 🙈 instead of him actually trying to crawl back into his job... But then again, if he actually had some dignity, he wouldn't have ended up in this mess to begin with... hm 🤔

That’s exactly how I see it too. There isn't a paycheck in the world large enough to satisfy a doctor who's already decided to take bribes. As far as I know, every physician takes the Hippocratic Oath, where they swear to perform their humanitarian duties with honor and responsibility. Unfortunately, there's a handful of "doctors" out there who have essentially turned their profession into something else entirely—corrupt hypocrites profiting off people's misery. I feel for the honest, humble doctors who give their all to their work; because of cases like this, people tend to generalize and lump them in with the crooks.

Ashley Moore8 said:I think it was about witness protection—like, they’ll perform the surgery at some other hospital instead of with the colleague you reported (there were mentions of out-of-town surgeries and stuff).

I just hope the guy survives the surgery. It would be a real tragedy if he kicked the bucket on the operating table just out of solidarity with his colleague.
I don't get why National decided to leak the identity of a protected witness. Seriously, that Pukanić guy...🙄

goldengull3 said:On another note, here’s a little extra:

After taking a $5,000 bribe from that Woman from Rijeka, Ognjen Šimić—the surgeon—actually lost control of his bowels right when the Police Department showed up to arrest him.
Some officers on the scene gave us the unofficial word on that one.

🤣 🤣

jadetinker85 said:Honestly, I’m just hoping the guy survives the surgery—hopefully his colleagues don't decide to take him out right there on the operating table just out of some weird solidarity with their buddy.

Oh my god, seriously? He's not even going under the knife with Mengele, 🙄
your whole theory that his coworkers would intentionally kill him is kind of 🤮 🤮 😲
I mean, heart surgery isn't exactly the same thing as getting your toe calluses nipped off, you know? The risk is... well, a little higher, I guess... 🙄

Justin Gray89 said:I've been scrolling through all the posts and noticed there's a huge debate about doctors taking bribes...
I'm curious—what kind of salary do you think it would actually take to satisfy specialists like the guy over at Mayo Clinic so they aren't "forced" to take kickbacks? 😕

That depends on who you're talking about. There are plenty of honest people out there, but let's be real: some folks would still look for a bribe even if they had a massive $10 paycheck. It’s just how our culture works; you can't fix it. 😈

Rachel Kim52 said:It really depends on who you ask. I mean, sure, there are honest folks out there, but then you’ve got those people who would basically demand a bribe just to get their standard $10 paycheck. It’s just part of our national mindset, I guess—there's honestly no fixing it. 😈

It’s that whole "our way" mentality—you know, how some people feel like they absolutely have to tip a doctor, a teacher, or even a priest 🙄
If we actually made it so people stopped offering bribes, while simultaneously making sure anyone caught taking one loses their license, gets a longer prison sentence, and has all their ill-gotten gains seized... well, maybe we could establish some actual order pretty quickly...

The thing is, though—and I hate to say it—but people can be pretty clueless. They actually think if they slide some cash to Professor X or whatever, they'll get better treatment at the hospital. Yeah, right! As if 🙄
(usually, the resident on duty is the one who "handles" them anyway 😛 )

Ashley Moore8 said:Good grief, she isn't going under the knife with Mengele.🙄
Your theory about his colleagues intentionally taking him out is 🤮 🤮 😲
Heart surgery isn't quite the same thing as getting nipples plucked off your feet; the stakes are a bit higher...🙄

Look, lady, when you're dealing with someone willing to let a patient die just because they didn't pay up for their surgery, you can't trust anything they do. Just look at what happened at Rebro—they kept delaying urgent heart surgeries for kids who needed them immediately, leading to mass fatalities, yet the media barely even touched it.

Ashley Moore8 said:it's just part of "our" culture and the mindset where people feel like they absolutely have to tip off a doctor, a teacher, or a priest 🙄
if we actually wanted to stop bribery, on the flip side, if someone gets caught taking a bribe, they should lose their professional license, get a longer prison sentence, and have all that dirty money seized immediately... then maybe we'd see some actual order around here pretty fast...

The thing is, people are just plain stupidand honestly think that if they grease the palms of some professor or whatever, they’ll get VIP treatment at the hospital, yeah right, as if 🙄
(usually the doctor on duty just "handles" them instead 😛)

I see you constantly tearing everyone else down, acting like you're the only genius left on the planet in every single aspect of life...😳
And what's with the attitude? You really think there isn't a chance that one day, you'll be the one getting "handled" by the doctor on call...🤣

Ashley Moore8 said:It’s that whole "us" mentality—this idea that you absolutely have to give something to a doctor, a teacher, or a priest. 🙄
If people actually stopped offering bribes, and on the flip side, if someone who took one lost their license, got a slightly longer prison sentence, and had all their ill-gotten gains seized, we’d probably see some order established pretty quickly...

The problem is, people are naive. They think if they slide some cash to a certain professor, they'll get VIP treatment at the hospital. Yeah, right. 🙄
Usually, they just get "handled" by whatever resident happens to be on call 😛
instead.

Exactly. It's baked into our culture. Whenever I bring this up while living abroad, people act shocked—as if this is just how things work everywhere. Let me say it again: IT IS NOT. My director's daughter was recently born over in Germany, and he actually asked his sister if she should bring the doctor a little gift, like a bottle of whiskey, as a thank you. Luckily, his sister is a Canadian woman, so she set him straight immediately. She explained that in Germany, that kind of thing isn't even considered; the only thing you bring is flowers. Otherwise, both the parent and the doctor end up in hot water because it's illegal. We're also pathetic in the sense that you could be dying, but you won't get surgery for three months because you're stuck on some endless waiting list. It's ridiculous. 😠

monika13 said:I see you're constantly dragging everyone else down—acting like you're somehow the only intelligent person left in every single room you walk into...😳
Seriously, what’s with the attitude? You really think there isn't a chance one day you'll end up being "handled" by the doctor on duty...🤣

Oh my god, Monika, just... fuck off already! 🙄
Look, when I need medical help, I go to my primary care physician first, get my referral, and then just see whoever is next in line at the hospital—which means an "ordinary" attending physician, and honestly, I have zero issues with that (unlike you, clearly).
People who think they'll get better treatment just because they try to grease the palms of some professor—who, by the way, hasn't even touched a scalpel in years because they're too busy with research—are just plain stupid. Period.

I do my job for a paycheck. I would never dream of offering a bribe (and I certainly don't ask for them either), and if anyone ever asked me for one, I'd report them to the Police Department immediately—that's what I call having actual integrity, though I guess that's probably a concept you struggle to wrap your head around. 🙄

Anyway, come on now 👋 — you are being so incredibly boring.

Ashley Moore8 said:Ugh, Monica, just seriously, fuck off! 🙄
Look, when I go see a doctor, I start with my primary care physician, get my referral, and then head to the hospital where I see whoever is on duty—and honestly, I have zero issues dealing with a "regular" attending physician (clearly unlike you, obviously))
The absolute idiots who think they can grease some professor's palms—especially one who hasn't even touched an operating table in years because they're too busy chasing research grants—are just straight-up morons.

I do my job for a paycheck, period. I would never offer a bribe to anyone (and I certainly don't ask for them), and if someone actually tried to solicit one from me, I'd report them to the FBI immediately. That’s what we call having actual morals, though I doubt you could even wrap your head around that concept... 🙄

Anyway, enough already 👋—you're being such a drag.

Not only do you think you're "smarter" than everyone else, but you also seem to think you know exactly how I'll react in any given situation...😬
And seriously, can you please try to write just one single post without using the word stupid or idiot? Just once.
Best, 🙂

Rachel Kim52 said:Yeah, that’s just our mindset, I guess. And whenever I bring that up while I'm living abroad, people back home always give me this look—like, "Oh, stop complaining, that happens everywhere!" But honestly? It really doesn't! So, just to drive my point home... my director recently had a baby girl over in Germany, and he actually asked his sister if she should bring something for the doctor as a little thank-you gift—you know, maybe some high-end whiskey or something like that. Luckily, his sister was a Canadian woman, so she gave him a reality check. She explained that in Germany, you just don't do stuff like that—it's totally out of the question. The only thing appropriate would be a nice bouquet of flowers; otherwise, both he and the doctor could end up in hot water because it's actually illegal. It’s kind of sad, too, because back home, even if you're facing a life-or-death situation, you might be stuck on a waiting list for three months before you even get an operation. If you're lucky enough to make it that long, I mean. It's just terrible! 😠

It'll probably take us another 50 years before things change like that here.

monika13 said:Yeah, seriously, could you try writing just one single post without using the word stupid or any variation of it?

Honestly, when I'm chatting with you, I just can't
👋

Ashley Moore8 said:whenever I try to talk to you, I just can't
👋

It’s pretty obvious your upbringing didn't quite cover all the bases in life, huh? Looks like you might have missed a few "lessons" along the way...😁 🤣

monika13 said:It’s pretty obvious that your upbringing didn't quite cover all the bases in life, huh? I mean, maybe you just skipped a few chapters during your education or something...😁 🤣

Man, I really should’ve listened when everyone told me not to waste my breath arguing with idiots—you know, that whole thing about how you always end up losing just by sinking down to their level? Or even better, that advice about not touching trash just so you don't end up smelling like it even more... yeah, I totally ignored that, and now look at me.
I gotta admit—I definitely didn't listen to them this time. 😢

Ashley Moore8 said:Man, I really should have listened when people told me not to waste my breath arguing with idiots (is it always a losing battle when you stoop down to their level?) or that if you touch literal garbage, you're just gonna end up smelling even worse...
I guess I didn't take that advice this time, I'll admit it. 😢

Just give it to me straight, you're "prettier" by every definition...👍

jadetinker85 said:Look, lady, when you're dealing with someone willing to let a man die just because he can't cough up the cash for surgery, you really can't be sure what you're getting into...

So, I guess it's like this: guys like this surgeon probably have plenty of people on waiting lists for cardiac surgery everywhere... and honestly, his offer to see him in 2-3 months—which is about how long you'd wait in a place like San Diego—seemed pretty fair. In other parts of the country, you might be waiting two years, so that's not really an issue with him, or John, or Mark; it’s more about the government not having the resources or even trying to build them to shorten those wait times.
From what it looks like in the text, the patient's daughter actually went ahead and dropped 5K on her own after being nudged by "someone from the hospital" who "knew" the cost... even though he didn't even ask for it!!! Up until that point, there might have been a chance to walk away....If she had just asked what it was for, or refused, or returned it... he would've stayed out of trouble... But now, I guess he's right where he belongs.

Maybe we should remember that situation at the Mayo Clinic, where they kept pushing back heart surgeries for kids who needed them urgently, and kids were dying left and right, yet there was hardly any coverage on it.

And now, that same Mayo Clinic crew is showing up acting like the big saviors, claiming they'll operate on the guy without "disrupting the current system" or "hurting anyone else." But, I mean, by definition, someone is going to get screwed over because if they aren't taking a surgical slot, they're taking up space in the ICU that someone else needs.

@paradajzić&Kevin Allen10

Been away for a bit, but I couldn't just leave you guys hanging...

Please, don't just come at me with all that whining and try to label it as "generalizing." Look, obviously you can't generalize everything, but if we're playing that game, my take is basically the polar opposite of the medical side's version of generalizing—you know, where they act like nobody makes more than $5,000 or $6,000 a year and everyone’s basically starving. We all know that's a million miles away from reality.
I mentioned somewhere before that I don't think this top-down management style at the Social Security Administration is the best way to run things, and yeah, there's plenty of absurdity involved. But honestly, where isn't there absurdity? In any profession, you can dig up a story or a problem if you look hard enough. That goes for doctors at the Social Security Administration too. But that doesn't justify feeding the public these constant stories about being "underpaid and humiliated," especially when you're actually part of the highest-paid public sector service out there, with salaries most other government employees can only dream about. Let me say it again: we're talking about the hospital sector where a few shifts can easily net you $11,000–$12,000, and even at the Social Security Administration, when those average 20 $0.00 bosses reject expenses, it's still an average of $10,000.
The fact that Social Security Administration doctors don't look toward the "market" to offer extra services to boost their income has nothing to do with being underpaid; it's just pure inertia and decades of getting used to money falling into your lap without taking any kind of risk.
And I'll leave you with this: there's always an alternative, but you need vision, guts, and a willingness to take some risks to go after it. But why bother doing that when it's so much easier to just sit around saying, "Oh, we're so underpaid and mistreated... blah, blah, blah..."