In addition to offering advice and support, the Coalition for Physician Rights lobbies for reform in how boards operate. A number of states, including Oklahoma, have made reforms in recent years.
The appointed boards are too reliant on their administration and staff and usually rubber-stamp disciplinary recommendations, Dr. Manion said. He also criticized the boards’ lack of accountability: “A board operates without external or internal oversight. It is an autonomous entity operating on its own.”
As for Dr. Moran, at age 61, she’s interviewing for physician jobs around the country, refusing to give up medicine.
“What else can I do?” she said. “It’s what I’ve done my entire life. It’s what I went to school for. I don’t know how to do anything else.”
A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.