The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Nomate Toate Kpea. He gets the award for the following.

The Health Department has put on probation the medical license of Dr. Nomate Toate Kpea, a dermatologist with five practices around the state, and has required Kpea to undergo a competency evaluation.

The state Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline found that Kpea misdiagnosed benign lesions as cancer and performed needless surgery, failed to completely remove a skin cancer, failed to properly train and supervise his advanced practice clinicians (nurse practitioners and physician assistants), advertised “with a tendency to deceive,” and prescribed human growth hormone without adequate evaluation of the patients.

In one case, the board found, an advanced practice clinician in Kpea’s office misidentified a skin lesion that was later found to be malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer that can be deadly if not diagnosed early.

Probation is a level of discipline that is stronger than a reprimand but less severe than a license suspension. Kpea can continue to practice, but he has agreed not to perform a method of skin-cancer removal known as Mohs surgery until he has completed his competency evaluation and undergone any training the evaluators recommend.

A misdiagnosis concerning malignant melanoma can have fatal consequences for the patient.(Remember I'm a melanoma survivor) The doctor allowed the biopsy to be done by personnel not trained to do that kind of work. That and the other mistakes made by Nomate Toate Kpea make him today's Knucklehead of the Day.

Linked to- Adam, Blue Star, Bright & Early, DragonLady, Leaning Straight Up, Mark My Words, Morewhat, Pirate's Cove, Populist, Right Voices, Right Wing Nation, Rosemary, Third World County,