Blame the Hospitals

WE AGREE for the most part with the recommendations of the majority. We cannot, however, presume to couch the events of this unfortunate incident in the context of any "old boy network," nor can we assume any particular motives on the parts of the doctors who wrote the recommendations. We prefer not to delve into the mystic realms of psychoanalysis, but rather to place blame for this outrage squarely on the institutions involved. It is debatable whether it is the duty of a doctor, called upon by a friend to offer a written evaluation of his medical abilities, to mention his colleague's criminal record. But that the hospital administration's duty is to forward such information to prospective employers, and the employers' duty to investigate thoroughly the background of all candidates for positions, is beyond debate. This incident more represents the miserable failure of two institutional systems than the moral failure of four men.