Little Rock Tragedy Could Lead to Nationwide Changes
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
When UAMS med student Robert Howard killed his wife and committed suicide, the school didn`t know about his criminal history.
UAMS, like most of the country`s 125 medical schools, doesn`t require a background check on its applicants.
The Howard case and other factors, like the threat of domestic terrorism, are leading many in the medical community to reconsider the need for checks.
Dr. Richard Wheeler of UAMS says deciding to perform background checks comes with other decisions. "You can ask all kinds of questions," he says, "and when you ask questions, you get answers. Then you have to figure out what to do with those answers."
