You prescribe medicine for what you treat. ...
...Don't be the good guy in the neighborhood who writes prescriptions for the neighbors. It will bite you in the ass. If there is ever a problem such as an allergic reaction, serious side effect, interaction with another medication that you don't know the patient is taking, you are screwed.
Never, yes never write a prescription for anyone if you don't have a chart for that person. And when you do write an RX, there must be some medical justification for that RX. ...
...Start your career the right way and you'll sleep better at night and not have any skeletons in your closet....
I couldn't agree more^
I get at least monthly requests for Rx. "I just need a favor this one time" or "I don't have insurance right now" or whatever. They might appeal to your ego or to your sympathy. DON'T do it. It's a very slippery slope, and once you become known for it, people ask you more and more. I saw it with many attendings during residency... people know that "Dr. X down in the ER will write it for you, just go ask him."
You will probably get burned, and besides having to look at yourself in the mirror, I doubt any doc really needs any additional stress in beyond work, loans, family, etc. Worst of all, you could very well lose EVERYTHING you've worked for (DEA lic, hospital privileges, etc) as NatCh alluded to. Malpractice will hurt you, but mostly just in the wallet. Losing a license or hospital privileges can very well end a physician's career... or at least put it on life support. Illegitimate Rx (esp narcs) are
the most common form of DPM (and MD/DO) license discipline and license loss. You will see during residency that you'll get a lot of calls questioning the many Rx you write when off service... and fyi, do whatever you can to use the hospital's DEA and NPI numbers and not your own when you write residency Rx.
I know anecdotal examples are a bit cliche, but to drive the point home, consider this:
One "nice guy" doc wrote Rx frequently for employees, hospital staff, etc. As it turns out, one of the many people he was writing for was an extramarital affair partner (classy guy). When that fizzled, in addition to a sex harassment suit and loss of hospital privileges, she reported him for the phony Rx and he had license discipline also. Use your smarts, and don't be a black eye to the profession. We are all judged by our lowest common denominator.
Granted you have legit paperwork, could you possibly prescribe Viagra for yourself? I would find that rather embarrassing to see a doctor about....
You don't write Rx for yourself.
1) It's illegal to write Rx for yourself (chart or not).
2) It's out of scope (and beyond your knowledge).
2) The doc who treats himself has a fool for a patient.