Disciplinary differences among surgeons & other physicians in Canada (2000–2017)
| Disciplinary offense/penalty category | Surgeons | Other physicians | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion disciplined* (95 % CI) | Proportion disciplined* (95 % CI) | ||
| Offense category | |||
| Standard of care | 55.6 (46.6–64.2) | 38.7 (32.6–45.2) | < 0.001 |
| Inappropriate prescribing | 11.2 (6.4–18.9) | 20.4 (15.4–26.4) | 0.021 |
| Unlicenced activity | 7.2 (4.1–12.4) | 8.8 (5.9–12.8) | 0.518 |
| Sexual misconduct | 9.8 (6–15.7) | 20.9 (16.3–26.4) | 0.001 |
| Mental illness | 1.3 (0.3–5.0) | 0.7 (0.1–4.5) | 0.647 |
| Self-use of drugs and alcohol | 3.2 (1–9.6) | 8.2 (4.9–13.3) | 0.105 |
| Fraudulent behaviour/prevarication | 4.6 (2.4–8.3) | 7.4 (4.8–11.2) | 0.091 |
| Conviction of a crime | 3.5 (1.3–8.7) | 10 (6.5–15.0) | 0.015 |
| Professional misconduct | 47.1 (38.2–56.1) | 52.8 (46.4–59.1) | 0.203 |
| Miscellaneous findings | 10.6 (6.5–16.9) | 11.6 (8.6–15.4) | 0.688 |
| Unclear findings | 1.6 (0.5–5.1) | 1.1 (0.5–2.2) | 0.406 |
| Penalty category | |||
| Revocation | 8.5 (5.0–14.2) | 14.4 (10.4–19.5) | 0.039 |
| Voluntary licence surrender | 8 (4.2–14.8) | 10.3 (6.7–15.6) | 0.386 |
| Suspension | 52.9 (44.2–61.3) | 52 (45.8–58.2) | 0.837 |
| Restriction | 22.7 (16.5–30.3) | 22.8 (18.2–28.2) | 0.965 |
| Retraining/assessment | 32.1 (24.5–40.7) | 40.3 (34.0–47.0) | 0.059 |
| Counselling/rehabilitation | 6 (2.9–11.8) | 9.6 (6.5–14.1) | 0.139 |
| Formal reprimand | 51.4 (42.7–59.9) | 58.9 (52.6–65) | 0.074 |
| Fine/cost | 90.9 (86.4–93.9) | 91.3 (88.3–93.6) | 0.801 |
CI = confidence interval; IMG = international medical graduate.
↵* Results are adjusted for year, gender, IMG status and years since medical school graduation.