Medical-legal analysis of the syndrome of the aggrieved physician as a new type of social, etiological and legal pathology in the Venezuelan medical society

Resumen

Introduction. The objective of this article is to investigate the  phenomenon of the Aggressed Physician Syndrome generated by the physical and pshycological violence towards the medical professionals during their profesional practice in the city of Maracaibo in Venezuela. Methods: Aggressions against the medical professionals registered in the different hospital areas of the public and private sector network of the city of Maracaibo- Venezuela between June and December 2017 are analyzed. The variables studied were: profesional categories, type of
aggressions, physical aggressions / different variables, possible triggers,
complaints filed, legal actions executed by the victims and the establishment of preventive, administrative and legal measures.

Results: The great majority of the aggressions produced (90%) were verbal aggressions; they ocurred in emergency services most frequently and the aggressor was patient´s relative in 97% of the cases.Only 3.3% of the attacks were reported and 100% were unaware of the legal actions to be taken. Discussion: Physicians only report those serious incidents including injuries that require medical attention, which prevents
the knowledge of the violent reality with aggressions against medical
professionals.

Keywords: Syndrome, medical, aggression, pathology, social, legal.