To think that surgeons, while obviously skilled, often have a certain arrogance that makes them difficult to work with?

[WildHazelCritic]

I completely respect the level of skill, training, and responsibility that comes with being a surgeon but I’ve noticed that many seem to have a certain… arrogance? Of course, confidence is necessary in that field but at what point does it tip over into being dismissive or difficult to work with?

I’ve heard stories (and witnessed myself) of surgeons being rude to colleagues, unwilling to take input, or acting like they’re above everyone else. Is this just part of the culture or do some surgeons lean into the “god complex” stereotype a little too much?

AIBU to think their attitude could sometimes use a reality check? Or is this just a misunderstanding of what the job requires?

I’ve been under the knife a few times. I did once comment to my GP that I’d found a surgeon arrogant and he pointed out that you don’t really want someone to be cutting you open if they’re not sure of themselves. I think it does rather go with the job.

This.

( except for orthopods….😊)

Agree. Many are on the spectrum I've noticed.

Some of them seem fairly normal but surgery does have very large proportion of arrogant people who seem to struggle with empathy. My kid had surgery as a baby, and his surgeon was massively arrogant. Which got me thinking about what sort of personality you need to cut into a baby. You would have to have zero doubt in yourself and your abilities and be 100% confident that you were the best person for the job. I dont think I'd manage the first incision.

Surgeons might be doing all the cutting and operating etc, but anaesthetists are the ones keeping that patient going. The whole theatre team work together to keep the patient going too and to make sure they are safe. Yet some surgeons think they are the star of the show. I always liked to think that the actual patient was. They are the reason we were all there.
Anaesthetists are also the ones putting the patient at ease as they drift off. Need a great bedside manner and skill.

I was reading an article on this that you might find interesting. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/09/just-how-psychopathic-are-surgeons/

I know plenty of surgeons - they're all lovely. But, really, they're just people - some good, some not so good. Exactly like everyone else, so there's no need to keep parading the lazy stereotypes.

There are plenty of knobby anaesthetists too! They only have to behave long enough to render the customer unconscious though so are a bit harder to spot. (Doi: anaesthetist….hopefully not a knobby one!).

I did meet one who was knob. Not to patients, but to staff.
He also used to leave a £1 coin on the trolley when he was finished as a "tip" for whoever was working with him.

My mum is a retired theatre nurse and told me a story of a surgeon that she worked with who she had a run in with. She had moved into theatre work from another area and was still not as slick as I guess she was to become. She was assisting on a mastectomy and the surgeon had removed the breast and wanted the dish to put it in. Because my mum wasn’t ready with it he threw the breast across the theatre. My mum was obviously horrified and wouldn’t let anyone else there pick it up. Eventually the surgeon went and got it. God knows what would happen if a surgeon tried that nowadays.

My son's favourite anaesthetist pretended to be a magician with a few little magic tricks and then had my son hide under his blanket with the mask because he'd had a hickman line infection and it meant with his surgeries, he'd always had the 'sleepy medicine' in his line for previous surgeries (in this case, he was getting a new hickman line) so he was really nervous about the mask as he hated having it on his face. He was smiling as he drifted off completely relaxed.

He was really great.

I'm in Australia and go private. Two stories.

The surgeon who did my late husband's quadruple bypass came to the room to talk it over. He was very tall, very confident in manner and utterly reassuring.. What caught my eye was that he stood exactly like a superhero throughout; legs unnaturally wide apart. He has great reviews online.

As a note, when you go private here you get to choose your surgeon. I'm not convinced how the average Joe can make such choice.

The neurosurgeon who operated on my spine was a doozie but I knew it beforehand having looked up his reviews and was prepared for briskness, which I got in the pre-op meeting.
On the day of surgery I was waiting for hours on a bed then trolley and overheard one of nurses saying "This brain op may well run over as Mr X says they take as long as they take". This was the one before me and I was comforted by his care.

The next day Mr X came round to see how I was. He talked very fast and barely made any eye contact.

I mentioned this later, not in a complaining way, to the rheumatologist who'd referred me who laughed and apologised for the lack of warning about Mr X's bedside manner. My GP sniggered and said so many surgeons were like that, especially the men. A fellow volunteer and ex-consultant knew Mr X well and said yes, he was like that all the time.

I didn't mind as I'm psychologically robust and went in forearmed, but can see it wouldn't work for everyone.

Exactly this, you need to be able to emotionally detach from the patient (or you wouldn't be much use to the next one etc.) and be pretty cock sure of your abilities, steady of hand and confident. That comes across as arrogance in many cases, although I know surgeons who whilst they have that are also nice people. Its a special job that takes a special kind of person to do it, maybe not the most socially grateful, but I'm glad they do their thing!

News. People are not all the same.

“I’ve heard stories “ is a bullshit reason to tar a whole group with the same brush. And it’s hearsay.

You’ve been watching too many old Carry On films.

They're taught it from the first day at university. Not to be not nice people but that they're autonomous...yes, God like almost.
I suppose to have the absolute courage of your convictions, to 100% believe in your own skill as you're wielding that scalpel you do need to have a massive amount of self confidence.

I wonder if it's the same brain surgeon my mum had, as he was lovely!

Possibly a by-product of putting an entire profession on a pedestal

I am very good friends with a consultant haematologist. She is genuinely the nicest, kindest person you could ever wish to meet. There isnt a single bad bone in her body. Her team would follow her off a cliff and her patients refuse to see anyone else. She's exactly the same at home. A truly exceptional human being.

There’s a higher than average incidence of psychopathic personality traits in surgeons, so yes. This can be advantageous in high pressure environments where a cool, clinical head is necessary. It may not make for a ‘nice’ person, but it can make for an excellent surgeon.

100% guarantee none of this is true!

This.

All of that said - and I fully acknowledge the difficulty and risk associated with this - you do have the option to call them out of they are behaving aggressively/abusively. I did that once and he backed down (was NOT expecting that!). If face to face is too much, complain, complain, complain.

I appreciate in making it sound easier than it is. Worth a thought though.

I have had a few major surgeries. Like a 10 hour brain surgery. Surgeons are a different breed of human, they have to be in order to do what they do. Sometimes they are like after dinner speakers who like to fill the room with laughter and feel the admiration, sometimes they are almost non-verbal geniuses who just like to solve the problem in front of them.

What they are like as people really is completely irrelevant unless they're doing direct harm. It's what they can do as surgeons to help you, that matters and that is all.

The biggest assholes in hospitals tend to be anesthesiologists, hands down.

Ever met a partner at a city law firm?

Attention to detail, perfectionist, high performing. Also inability to relate to people and their own families. Inhuman in some cases.

You have to have a God complex to climb the greasy ladder and kick others down as you claw your way up.

I'm not that fussed about the bedside manner of a surgeon providing they have steady hands and know what they are doing. They can be as cocky as they like providing they keep me alive 🤣

Some are nice, some aren’t. I think a lot of the less nice ones get away with it because being nice isn’t the most important thing in surgery. The most incompetent surgeon I ever worked with was really nice and one of the scariest surgeons was really good and actually kind of a nice person if you caught her at the end of the shift.

I bet it is. I went to a high performing grammar and we were told we were the "creme de la creme".