Among the veterinarians disciplined for improper medical practices in California, there were Korean American doctors as well. This shows the severity in the lack of medical ethics as the role of veterinarians grows as the pet-owning population increases.
According to the California Veterinary Medical Board (VMB), from January 2022 to now (March), a total of 89 veterinarians have been severely disciplined, including fines, written warnings, license suspensions, and temporary suspension of hospital operations.
We reviewed the VMB’s list of disciplinary actions against veterinarians, which includes six Korean Americans: Kim (Anaheim), Park (San Fernando), Im (Placentia), Ahn (Valencia), Choi (Long Beach), and Cho (Torrance). That’s about 7 percent of the total disciplinaries.
The Korean American veterinary industry estimates that there are about 150 Korean American veterinarians currently practicing in California.
Reasons for discipline range from medical malpractice to non-compliance with hospital operating regulations. In the case of Mo Park, who runs a veterinary clinic in the San Fernando Valley, the VMB fined her $4,000 and ordered her to pay restitution to animal owners. She will also be required to repeat medical record-keeping training and surgical learning courses.
“On October 31, 2022, Ms. Park performed inappropriate fascial surgery on an animal before correctly diagnosing the bilateral front leg problems that caused the gait disturbance,” the VMB said in its disciplinary letter, “and failed to document all tests performed within 12 hours of anesthesia, which constitutes various recordkeeping violations.”
Long Beach veterinarian Mo Choi was accused of performing unnecessary surgeries. “Ms. Choi performed unnecessary surgery without providing the animal’s owner with treatment options for an elevated white blood cell count,” the disciplinary letter states, “and failed to properly interpret the animal’s medical history, test results, etc.”
In some cases, the penalties resulted in license suspensions. In December, Mr. Zhao Mo of Torrance was given a “surrender of license” by the VMB and had to surrender his veterinary license.
Other grounds for discipline included: allowing an unlicensed person to practice; violating radiation therapy procedures and regulations; prescribing medications that do not fit the diagnosis; selling counterfeit medications; and falsifying medical records.
“If a veterinarian has made efforts to correct the wrongdoing and make restitution before being accused or disciplined, the penalties may be less severe,” said VMB Director Jessica Simon. “Stricter discipline is intended to ensure trust between veterinarians and animal owners in an era of increasing pet ownership.”
“Animals can’t speak like humans, and you’re completely at the mercy of the vet’s judgment,” said Seo-Eun Lee, 32, of Fulton, who had her puppy euthanized after paying thousands of dollars in medical bills. “There’s also a part of me that doesn’t trust veterinarians because of the jaggedness of their fees.”
Meanwhile, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), there are currently 92,875 veterinarians practicing nationwide. In California, there are about 8,000 veterinarians. By region, Los Angeles County (1,426), Orange County (256), San Diego County (205), San Bernardino County (173), and Riverside County (130).
BY JANG YEOL [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
