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?

One of my neighbors is a pathologist. She’s v. nice and quite self-effacing. She must see some awful sights, and I’m sure that she’s v. respectful and sympathetic.

Obviously that’s different to performing surgery on a living person but she must have a certain inner strength to do her job.

Not read every reply, but I think you’d need to have a certain amount of bravado and arrogance to do what a lot of surgeons do. I’m a Christian so I believe that God have given these people a special and wonderful gift to have the knowledge and the bravery to cut into someone’s skull or wire a new heart into a persons chest. It’s some amount of responsibility they have on their shoulders. I appreciate that this can sometimes make surgeons difficult to work beside but I do admire their skill and dedication.

I worked in theatres as a scrub nurse. Generally the orthopaedic surgeons were the worst. One was extremely rude to me, I reported him. There was an exception who was kind to everyone. One time the senior scrub nurse had to go home sick. I apologised to the surgeon, that as a hurried replacement I didn’t really know what I was doing. Very kindly he replied, ‘don’t worry, my dear, I do know what I’m doing’.

Almost without fail the anaesthetists were absolutely lovely people.

DD is an ODP and she says that not all of the surgeons are like that but ones she knows that are are all 1) men and 2) not anywhere near as good at their jobs as the others. The best surgeons she works with are all quietly competent and respect the rest of the team as they realise that they cant work without a good team. She prefers by far to work with women surgeons.

The arseholes think that its all on them if something goes well, but if it goes wrong its the "crap" team and not their own incompetence.

When you think that some spend many hours in theatre doing a complicated procedure on one patient. That level of concentration is somewhat mind blowing.

Actually I include the whole team in that.

Medical consultant. I know some lovely surgeons! Vascular surgeons are all sweethearts, and urologists and orthopods are all generally pretty nice too. Our transplant surgeons are excellent.

The biggest prick I have ever met was a radiologist. Absolute arsehole with a huge chip on his shoulder. Not reflective of most radiologists at all, but I guess there is always one.

Yes, but they can only do that because of the other people in the theatre too.
Everyone has a vital role to play.

As I said the whole team.

Orthopaedic surgeons in my long career are the ultimate example of arrogance!
Genuinely cannot think of a positive experience with any of them .
Caught up with one recently and he is a retired arsehole …absolutely no eye contact and socially awkward,wife lovely !

These stereotypes are tedious. I know many autistic people including one of my own children. None of them are without empathy/poor communicators etc.

Medical drs - glasses, geeky, cream trousers.

Surgeons - god complex good looking assholes

And in other news:

• The Pope is a Catholic.
• Bears shit in the woods.

What a load of rubbish! Anaesthetics is complex, demands a high level skill and understanding. Anaesthetists are generally the cleverest person in the theatre.

@countbackfromten It is utterly weird yes!! What actually is it? What are you doing to me? Where have I gone? Why is it so instant? If I'm not asleep, am I infact awake?

I doubt PP would be happy with a technician putting them to sleep and monitoring them.

gulps

I'm looking to get in. Been a TSW for long enough. Assuming there's any jobs to have post qualification I'll be staying with my home department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (hopefully more of the former than the latter).

podcast on the subject

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hwwq

we had this discussion at work a few months ago as it was thought for many years that many surgeons showed to have anti social personality disorder traits

recently a number of medical professionals have been diagnosed with ASD and leaning learning to mask their difficulties when communicating and appearing not to show empathy may have been misjudged by others as arrogance/uncaring

I read the title of this thread, and my mind immediately went to the Irish surgeon on Ch4s 24hrs in Police Custody! He exuded a new level of arrogance, and I can’t imagine he would be easy to work with.

Please note, I’m not labelling all surgeons as being like this individual! There are some lovely surgeons, and some not so lovely surgeons, as in all professions.

That's so sad. I've had a few ops and work with and know anaesthetists and all of them have been wonderful.

I’m intrigued, if it’s not sleep - then what is it?

I’ve come across a fair few surgeons - some were foul with god complexes and not actually good enough to have any sort of ego. (One in particular missed a fist sized pancreatic tumour of mine for a good few months!)

The pancreatic surgeon who saved my life by performing my whipples procedure to remove the cancer is one of the most kind, humble and all round lovely humans I’ve ever met. He is world renowned for his skill and gets quite embarrassed if you compliment him on his gift.

Whatever works for them, even if it is a God complex.
If I'm ever in surgery, the more experienced arrogant the better.
DS ENT surgeon was a gentleman.

I said YABU because it’s a certain personality type that can do the job, and yes it probably does include some dark triad traits, not always.

It’s a fairly common joke, what’s the difference between god and a surgeon, god doesn’t think he’s a surgeon.

My best mates mum needed a hip op and I knew the surgeon doing the op.He cancelled on her twice because he’d booked a last minute holiday, was rude and dismissive and my freind was going to complain and get a different surgeon until I took him to one side to explain that the surgeon was utterly brilliant, by far the best man for the job. Horrible human being but stunning surgeon.

Surgery requires huge levels of confidence and concentration and a fair amount of surgeons are quite far along on the psychopath scale. Hence the bad reputation.