ok you should know better...
No, this guy's actions are not ideal and yes there needs to be repercussions.
No, this does not make the guy a piece of trash and yes, if he has a track record of competence I would still let him perform his duties as my physician. A mistake paid for in personal life is not the same as showing up drunk to the OR.
Also, sad as it is, many docs DO suffer from substance abuse and anesthesiologists a little more so (availability?).
It bothers me that we (and by this I mean you... and by "you" I mean most of pre-allo) can be so judgemental at times and in the same breath spew overworked nonsense about caring, empathy, compassion.... A compilation of posts by many of the people here would look like a hidden cam recording of a schizophrenic hearing voices.
Are you ND? If so please change your user tag. There is nothing "medical" about what you do. You are a gardener/herbalist. "Health Student" is the closest thing you can pick here without it being a blatant lie. "medicine" as a word has meaning. NDs claiming to be medical students is no different than me claiming to be native american because I was born in the USA. 1 coincidental commonality does not a doctor make.
p.s. my bbq chicken has been turning out a little dry.... do you have anything for that?