A country doctor's slide into addiction

doi:10.1136/bmj.b4402

Published 26 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4402
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4402

Views & Reviews

Review

A country doctor’s slide into addiction

Khalid Ali, senior lecturer in geriatrics, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

khalid.ali@bsuh.nhs.uk

A Russian film showcased at the London Film Festival deals withaddiction among doctors

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The latest film from the Russian director Alexei Balabanov tacklesthe sensitive and controversial subject of addiction among doctors.Set in a remote village in the Russian countryside in 1917,the film begins with the arrival of a young, enthusiastic, recentlyqualified doctor, Dr Poliakov (Leonid Bichevin). He is heartilywelcomed by the townsfolk, who have been without a doctor fora long time since the previous doctor retired. Without any preparationthe doctor is thrown into the deep end of the profession andfaced with having to make life or death decisions. Deliveringa breech baby in a case of obstructed labour, performing a legamputation in a young woman after a horrific accident, and savinga young child by doing a tracheostomy are some of his colourfuldaily experiences. Whatever he lacks in practical knowledgeand experience, he makes up for by hurriedly consulting hispredecessors’ textbooks before . . . [Full text of this article]