Medic Disciplined after Snapchat Posting of a Fellow Soldier’s Severed Body Part

By Debbie Gregory.

An Army medic has been temporarily removed from patient care after posting a photo on Snapchat of a patient’s severed body part in an operating room at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC ) in Germany

The indiscretion has prompted military officials to impose social media guidelines in order to prevent this from happening again.

After the medic posted a photo of unrecognizable body tissue, a fellow staff member saw the picture and alerted officials, who demanded the image be deleted.

“This type of behavior is unprofessional and violates the trust of those we serve, and the tenets of our profession,” said Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Nadja West in an email to medical staff.

No protected health or personal information was captured in the photo, and the patient, whose privacy was not compromised, was not notified of the incident

The medic was motivated to post the image out of a sense of pride in taking part in the procedure.

“Health care and the military are among the most trusted professions, and we work hard to maintain and deserve that trust … but it can be easily lost,” said LRMC commander Col. Timothy Hudson. “As professionals and as human beings, we must hold ourselves and each other accountable. It’s not only about doing the right thing, protecting patient privacy is the law.”

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.