I have. In fact, he was the oncologist who insisted I go through chemo when I didn't even have cancer. When I told him I wanted a second opinion, he bellowed, "What you have is so rare, no one will know any more about it than I do!"
I know many of you have met him, too, because you write to tell me about him.
In fact, Dr. Arrogance is common enough, that he is the focus of this eye opening article about the medical errors and resulting pain, disability or loss of life he causes.
Maybe you've been his nurse. Maybe you've been his patient. Maybe you've been an observer....
Several months ago, I interviewed the director of a medical university program that employs "standardized patients" -- actors who play patients -- to teach residents how to work directly with patients. I asked the director whether he could tell which doctors would become so arrogant and difficult. He didn't hesitate to reply that yes, absolutely. Those who were arrogant and condescending were easy to identify early in their careers.
I asked him whether the students' grades reflected their arrogance. The answer was no. It makes me wonder, then, what those students have learned about how to behave with their patients.
It would also explain why Dr. Arrogance goes on to become the dangerous doctor he is. No one has suggested he should be any other way. To understand that point, read the article.
I would not be at all surprised if you have had your own run in with Dr. Arrogance, too. Care to share? Learn more about how to deal with an arrogant doctor, and share your story with us, too.
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Photo © Maliketh/iStockphoto.com
Let’s be fair just for a moment, every profession has their arrogant members. The difference here is that arrogant doctors can mean the difference between life and death. I guess that these members of the community forget that it’s called “practicing medicine”, not “perfect medicine”. Having a limited understanding of the word practicing, an ongoing attempt to work at something to achieve the highest level of performance, leave us with doctors who have the God Complex.
Yesterday I heard a news report that Medicare is looking to extend its denial of benefits to hospitals for problems they feel could have been avoided. They are specifically speaking about infection rates. The Medicare office is hoping to extend that to include errors made by physicians. Some of the things they don’t want to cover, financially, is surgery on the wrong part of the body, procedures done on the wrong patient, just to name a few.
Unfortunately, the only way to get the attention of the arrogant doctor is to break through that narcissistic exterior. The way to do that is to get them in their Achilles heal, often that’s money. Making them pay for their mistakes may be what breaks through the barrier. We know from experience as patients it’s not our outcry for medical justice or compassion.
I guess the big question is that if we as patients feel the doctor is arrogant why do we stay? Isn’t the biggest form of protest firing the doctor and finding another provider. A doctor with no patients can’t be too arrogant unless they have a personality disorder.
When are we as patients going to throw the baby out with the bath water in thinking that doctors have all the answers. It’s our responsibility to be a bit educated about our health. Don’t feel up to it, maybe we should all be required to take an assertiveness training class. It’s time to put our foot down, waiting just gives arrogant doctors too much opportunity to do harm.
Hi Greg,
You’ve made some good points here, and I agree about leaving a doctor who is arrogant.
Unfortunately, that’s not always possible — and we have to have a Plan B for when it’s not.
And you are right — Medicare stopped paying for a handful of “never events” beginning the first of October 2008. You can learn more about it here: Learn About Medicare’s 2008 Never Events Policy.
Thanks for posting.
Trisha
Speaking from the perspective of a caretaker of a husband who passed away from a malignant brain tumor, we were at the mercy of an arrogant doctor.
My husband was an attorney and extremely successful. This doctor was completely arrogant on so many occasions. Nevertheless, my husband believed in him and said that that was a sign of this guy’s intelligence.
Needless to say, I didn’t subscribe to that one but this guy gave my husband a sense of security somehow.
It’s a different position, Trisha, than what you are speaking of I realize. But, I am sure I am not the only one who has recognized flat out arrogance masquerading as competence.
It can be very challenging for patients who are faced with catastrophic situations to size up what’s arrogant and what’s helpful.
I agree with Mr. Katz that arrogance is not limited to the medical profession. He’s right – arrogance in my opinion has roots that are beyond the scope of my opinion.
I believe that all of us – whether we are a patient, caretaker or part of the medical field – on some level are doing the best we can. When someone is arrogant, the last thing that will turn them around is usually to point that out.
I recognize too that as a patient myself and as a caregiver – I too have been arrogant sometimes. There’s tons of reasons for that – pain, sadness, being scared to death has at times brought out the defensiveness in me.
There aren’t easy answers to this issue of arrogance – especially the kind of “road rage” the linked article spoke of that took place in the operating. I can’t imagine being a nurse in the OR and having a scalpel thrown at me!
But, in general, when I feel my own human arrogance coming up I realize that something in me needs attention – maybe I need more sleep, food, or some downtime. And, since doctor’s are human too, I’m guessing they suffer from the same kinds of things.
So, to come full circle with this, no one is to blame here – it’s just one of the consequences of a medical system that is not recognizing that we are all people doing the best we can with the resources that we have.
Doctors, staff, patients, caregivers are all busy and stressed – it is just how we respond to it that differs.
And, this is the kind of thing that we can only take hold of one step at a time . . . one person and one moment at a time.
For my part, I try my very best to be clear with others, listen carefully and recognize other’s for whatever they are doing that is helpful to encourage that behavior. At this point, I have no illusions that providers know what is best for me. . . I believe it is my job to partner with them so that we are working together.
Needless to say, I have no use for arrogant behavior AND when I encounter it, I try and work with it if I think the doctor has some excellent skills that I can’t find elsewhere. Usually – and please pardon the expression – killing it with kindneess works best for me. But, then, I’m not the one who’s heading off a scalpel in the OR, thank God.
Trisha – thanks for this article and I hope I didn’t get off the track too much.