Arrogance
"What do you think
of my Rolex?" My
eyes wanted to roll
and my eyebrows
wanted to rise, but I
tried desperately to
stop them. The
result was a bizarre
grimace and an
appointment with
an ophthalmologist.
This had been
going on all the morning. The wristwatch
in question had been displayed to almost
every patient while the orthopaedic
surgeon (you could have guessed)
grinned at their reluctant compliments.
Meanwhile, in a lab at the other end
of the hospital, a consultant who shall
remain nameless (Matt) is doing his
party piece again. Sitting calmly at a
table, he pauses as the tension builds. It
starts with the noise. Not so much a
cough as a shout - a huge explosion
from the back of the throat. Then he
suddenly stands, launching the chair
from under him. People desperately grab
their mugs of coffee as the table wobbles.
He hitches his trousers up, gives another
cough/bellow and strides out of the
room, barging into anyone who gets in
the way. The audience cheer yet another
performance of "a consultant leaving a
meeting."
So what is it with medics? All the
patients think that, although occasionally
acceptable on an individual basis, as a
group we are an arrogant bunch of
money grabbing megalomaniacs who
would rather line our own pockets than
help an old lady in distress. Our
nonmedic colleagues think the same,
while among the researchers, who have
to work with us, we are generally disliked.
The worst part is that the majority of us
act in such a way as to reinforce these
opinions.Why?
Perhaps because we are trained to
seem knowledgeable and confident.
Perhaps because we dole out advice to
strangers on a daily basis. Perhaps the
medical school application process
selects the arrogant and neurotic or
perhaps we merely act the part that is
expected of us. It may well be all of the
above. I like to think, however, that it
does not apply to me. That I remain salt
of the earth, in touch with all levels of
society, and never forget the trust that
patients put in me.
But then that's what all the arrogant
medics say, isn't it?
James Thomas, fourth year medical student, University of Southampton
Email: jdt296@soton.ac.uk
studentBMJ 2001;09:217-260 July ISSN 0966-6494
