Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

A better way to screen police officers

Alex El Sehamy, MD
Physician
June 8, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget these sleepless nights with the sight and sound of protesters in the streets right outside of my apartment. I’ve lied awake until 2 a.m. watching videos on Twitter taken by protestors themselves, torturing myself with the displays of violence that are complex to understand, but shocking nonetheless.

As I watched police officers and protestors clash on the lightbox in my hands, I had no question that being a police officer is a challenging job. I also wondered something that I’m sure many are wondering right now: How exactly does one become a police officer?

According to The Balance, in addition to a basic abilities test, a thorough background investigation, a credit check, a polygraph exam (in some states), physical abilities testing, and medical screening, there is a psychological screening that consists of a battery of checklists likely including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).

Subsequently, a face to face interview with a psychologist determines where a potential candidate stands on the traits below, according to Dr. Gary Fischler, a forensic psychologist at the University of Minnesota:

  • impulse control
  • general intelligence
  • judgment
  • ability to perform boring or tedious tasks
  • reasonable courage
  • honesty
  • integrity
  • personal bias or lack of bias
  • ability to tolerate stress
  • what motivated the candidate to choose law enforcement
  • dependability
  • ability to deal with supervision
  • appropriate attitudes toward sexuality
  • prior drug use

Timothy Roufa, major and chief technology officer for the largest statewide law enforcement agency in Florida, writes: “Pre-employment psychological screening does not determine a candidate’s sanity or lack thereof. It assesses a candidate’s suitability for this particular job.”

I’m not sure how a psychologist, who has likely never been in the shoes of a police officer, can determine a candidate’s suitability for that very position after a 30 to 45-minute interview and a review of some questionnaire data.

In a completely conflicting statement, Ellen Kirschman, a police psychologist for thirty years, writes: “Psychologists who screen prospective officers are the first to admit that they are more effective screening problem people out than predicting who will make a good cop and why.”

With all due respect, I’m not sure this statement holds up. With what we’re up against today, I just don’t see how “screening problem people out” is any different from “predicting who will make a good cop.”

We’re sticking to the medical model of mental health to evaluate individuals that will be given the equipment and legal right to enforce the law. It all seems more like a way to ensure that hoops have been jumped through than to ensure that appropriate people are being chosen for the position.

In an effort to be objective, we’ve allowed this process to become as subjective as can be.

At the same time, I’d also like to point out that according to 2015 data, 86% of psychologists in the United States were white, 5% were Asian, 5% were Hispanic, 4% were black, and 1% were multiracial or from other racial/ethnic groups.

Something just doesn’t feel right here.

As a physician in a city hospital, the vast majority of my patients are African-American or Caribbean-American. Through my work on different units from medicine to neurology to psychiatry, I have endured everything from frequent reproach to downright verbal abuse from my patients. At times, my safety is threatened. Despite this, I understand and appreciate the level of mistrust that my patients have for the health care system as a result of such atrocities as the Tuskeegee Experiments.

ADVERTISEMENT

I understand that my position in the community comes with a responsibility not only to treat illness, but also to be a pillar of strength for those who feel that they have none. I may not agree with the gross missteps of the institution of medicine, but I do represent them every day.

Our police officers are in the very same position every time they walk their beat.

Though it’s taken me years of therapy to get to where I am today, I witness many (but not all) physicians who don’t let their emotions get the best of them. I suppose the rigors of medical school serve as a bottleneck for those who lack such an ability, as is the natural selection for compassionate individuals.

While there may be many reasons why I’m able to control my emotions in the face of an angry patient, it’s thanks in large part to a psychological ability known as ego strength.

Ego strength is the ability to tolerate frustration and stress, postpone gratification, modify selfish desires when necessary, and resolve internal conflicts and emotional problems before they lead to neurosis. Strengthening the ego is a fundamental goal of psychoanalysis, which typically involves hour-long sessions with a therapist multiple times per week.

Though not every mental health clinician is trained in psychoanalysis, psychologists, and psychiatrists alike are trained to observe and evaluate people over periods of time. We are taught how to draw conclusions about people’s personality traits, current mental status, and psychosocial situations that may be precipitating or perpetuating any mental status changes. I would think better results could be obtained for police agencies around the world by mental health clinicians utilizing these techniques in a time-limited, yet ongoing assessment.

The quicker alternative is to put the candidate in a glass room and observe how they react to being berated by typical American citizens of different creed and backgrounds.

The truth is, even if we were able to adequately “psychoanalyze” potential candidates or put them through a gauntlet of ego-damaging abuse, I don’t think we would have enough officers to go around. We aren’t born with the emotional intelligence to overcome the obstacles that society throws at us today. Proper attachment and compatible parenting can help, but it can take years of therapy to make a dent in the neurosis so pervasive in each and every one of us today.

As such, a weak ego may not be our fault, but it is our responsibility to change.

Alex El Sehamy is a psychiatry resident.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Why doctors must learn how to advocate

June 8, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

Why medical trainees need knowledge and education on health care systems and policy [PODCAST]

June 8, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Why doctors must learn how to advocate
Next Post >
Why medical trainees need knowledge and education on health care systems and policy [PODCAST]

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • What the police and psychiatrists have in common

    Sara K. Zachman, MD, MPH
  • Refining the role of police in our society

    Justin Coley
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Do you see me or your computer screen?

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Adapting medical safety standards to enhance police outcomes

    Richard Plotzker, MD
  • A priest, a police officer, and tragedy

    Raymond Abbott

More in Physician

  • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

    Patrick Hudson, MD
  • From basketball to bedside: Finding connection through March Madness

    Caitlin J. McCarthy, MD
  • The invisible weight carried by Black female physicians

    Trisza Leann Ray, DO
  • A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control

    Howard Smith, MD
  • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

    Neil Baum, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?

      Anonymous | Education
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • Surviving kidney disease and reforming patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Antimicrobial resistance: a public health crisis that needs your voice [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why a fourth year will not fix emergency medicine’s real problems

      Anna Heffron, MD, PhD & Polly Wiltz, DO | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Do Jewish students face rising bias in holistic admissions?

      Anonymous | Education
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • Surviving kidney disease and reforming patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Antimicrobial resistance: a public health crisis that needs your voice [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why a fourth year will not fix emergency medicine’s real problems

      Anna Heffron, MD, PhD & Polly Wiltz, DO | Education
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

A better way to screen police officers
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...