Rand Paul (R-KY) is not a Doctor, does not play one on TV, and shouldn't play one in Congress. Nevertheless, he has offered his opinion--"from a medical point of view"--that the Arizona assassin, Jared Loughner, is "paranoid schizophrenic."
Paul is an opthamologist and self-accredited at that. He's worked in medical situations, but has no expertise in mental health, not unless he knows some opthamological trick and can tell if a person is crazy by looking in their eyes.
Loughner may indeed be paranoid schizophrenic, and Paul may certainly speculate about whether he is or not. What he shouldn't be doing is offering his opinion as a "medical point of view," especially when he has only a cursory knowledge of the subject.
In fact, some neutral observers might well have reviewed Paul's own campaign literature and come up with the same conclusion about him.
Last I looked, Ophthamologists are medical doctors (MD) or doctors of osteopathy (DO) who've taken additional training. Apparently there are questions about his board certification, which is an additional 'seal of approval,' but - at least in my state - not a requirement to practice in field of medicine. There are 'GP's' - general practice physicians - who do practice psychiatric evaluations without board certification quite acceptably.
Not to disagree with your perspective on the good doctor, but to clarify the medical 'rules.'
Posted by: Bill Schlesinger | January 16, 2011 at 06:44 AM