Kent Neff

Kent Neff is a psychiatrist who specializes in professionals with serious behavior problems. Gawande first met him in 1998 at a medical conference where Dr. Neff gave a presentation, "Two Hundred Physicians Reported for Disrupted Behavior." Dr. Neff had a small program, Professional Assessment Program, at Abbot Northwestern Hospital in Minnesota. The purpose of the program was to provide objective evaluation and recommendations for problematic doctors. Hospitals, clinics, even airlines and legal courts sent him their problematic employees. He provided patient consultations to these professionals, which included interviews, physicals and tests, and a formal opinion. In effect, his role was to do what their colleagues were reluctant to do—evaluate the person's problems. With a team, Dr. Neff would research the client, conduct interviews and collect reports from the client's colleagues, perform diagnostic tests and come up with a diagnosis and set of recommendations to give to...