God Complex

[tombreaz]

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are docs more prone to developing a God Complex? I've heard it tossed around quite a bit in my pre-med journey and even when I worked with other medical professionals before returning to school.

How do you resist the temptation in becoming a boastful prick? How do you balance wanting respect given to your amount of training and skills you can provide? A GC doesn't seem commensurate with being a good doc but the stereotype is alive and well.

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[Goro]

I have yet to see this in any of my clinical colleagues. I suspect that arrogant, conceited people will have this complex no matter what field you go into.

 

[ACSurgeon]

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are docs more prone to developing a God Complex? I've heard it tossed around quite a bit in my pre-med journey and even when I worked with other medical professionals before returning to school.

How do you resist the temptation in becoming a boastful prick? How do you balance wanting respect given to your amount of training and skills you can provide? A GC doesn't seem commensurate with being a good doc but the stereotype is alive and well.

Between med school admin and empowerment of nurses and allied health, you won’t have to worry about this. The few remaining old surgeons with a GC will retire by the time you’re done.

 

[ACSurgeon]

 

[tombreaz]

I have yet to see this in any of my clinical colleagues. I suspect that arrogant, conceited people will have this complex no matter what field you go into.

That's impressive. Why do you think your place of work has been able to avoid it? I assumed the point of having prideful people in any workplace would show up and I certainly agree that's true-but the GC nickname is mainly used for docs.

I worked with a bunch of optometrists. Most were super nice/normal people. One had a chip on his shoulder and many of the staff said he had a GC. I ran into a few docs while shadowing that had a GC-was really off putting.

 

[tombreaz]

Between med school admin and empowerment of nurses and allied health, you won’t have to worry about this. The few remaining old surgeons with a GC will retire by the time you’re done.

My response to Goro has an allied health worker with a GC. Optoms are called "doctor" in the office. But you think it's dwindling? That's good to hear-right?

 

[ACSurgeon]

My response to Goro has an allied health worker with a GC. Optoms are called "doctor" in the office. But you think it's dwindling? That's good to hear-right?

You’ll find the system has broken down most doctors because we historically had a lot of bad actors. So you won’t find as much pride or ego. In return, every other allied health has empowered their students/graduates and the bad behavior has shifted more their way.

 

[tombreaz]

You’ll find the system has broken down most doctors because we historically had a lot of bad actors. So you won’t find as much pride or ego. In return, every other allied health has empowered their students/graduates and the bad behavior has shifted more their way.

Are you purposefully writing irony into this? Lol. "Broken down docs"=less GC (a good thing). "Empowered allied health"=more GC (bad). Explain yourself

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

tbh, GC is some sort of fictional concept in medicine. Spend a semester in med school, you realize we can't cure most of the diseases anyway, so what's with this GC then?

 

[ChordaEpiphany]

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are docs more prone to developing a God Complex? I've heard it tossed around quite a bit in my pre-med journey and even when I worked with other medical professionals before returning to school.

How do you resist the temptation in becoming a boastful prick? How do you balance wanting respect given to your amount of training and skills you can provide? A GC doesn't seem commensurate with being a good doc but the stereotype is alive and well.

In my experience a God complex comes from gaining leverage over others and taking credit for their work. You spend a whole life getting a 1:1 return on your efforts and then suddenly you're getting 2:1, 3:1, 10:1, etc... Attribution bias takes over and you see yourself as a God.

This was likely common for surgeons back in the day. A whole team comes in to do a surgery, you call all the shots, you do none of the prep, and you have all the leverage to only do the interesting, challenging work. Then, you get full credit from a society that worships you and patients who are eternally grateful.

Now that rarely happens. Surgeons are taught to value everyone's contributions, they make a fraction of the money per surgery, they do way more scut (especially in training), and at least half of society is simply spiteful of anyone who makes more money than they do (probably because most people who make lots of money today do so with leverage, not hard work). Today the God complex is far more common in business folks. How often do you hear some mid-rate MBA maligning doctors for having to actually work hard for their money? They see themselves as more capable because our society is structured to reward ownership and leverage, and they are closer in hierarchy to the owners of the business (or are the owners themselves) and have more leverage.

 

[tombreaz]

tbh, GC is some sort of fictional concept in medicine. Spend a semester in med school, you realize we can't cure most of the diseases anyway, so what's with this GC then?

IDK. It's been around for awhile. I've experienced it. Not a ton. But, I've never talked to a group like this about it and thought your ideas would be profitable. I like and appreciate your comment. A good dose of humility from school is the norm then?

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

IDK. It's been around for awhile. I've experienced it. Not a ton. But, I've never talked to a group like this about it and thought your ideas would be profitable. I like and appreciate your comment. A good dose of humility from school is the norm then?

I sure hope so.

 

[tombreaz]

I sure hope so.

Is pimping not equal or related to gc?

Should you confront gc in others? How so?

 

[ChordaEpiphany]

Is pimping not equal or related to gc?

Pimping is a legitimate and useful way to teach material and keep people engaged. Med students have little to contribute, and passively sitting through rounds is a waste of time. Like everything else, some people add their own flavor of a** to the process and give it a bad name, but personally rather be pimped than ignored as long as it's done for my benefit and not for the sake of bringing anyone down.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Is pimping not equal or related to gc?

Should you confront gc in others? How so?

At a pass/fail clinical school, I just rolled my eyes when an attending tried to pimp.

 

[DOswag]

Pimping is a legitimate and useful way to teach material and keep people engaged. Med students have little to contribute, and passively sitting through rounds is a waste of time. Like everything else, some people add their own flavor of a** to the process and give it a bad name, but personally rather be pimped than ignored as long as it's done for my benefit and not for the sake of bringing anyone down.

I had one internal medicine attending that pimped like crazy. She was just brilliant and knew Harrison's like the back of her hand. But she didn't pimp maliciously. If we didn't know an answer she would just say "look it up" and we'd break out our phones and find the answer on uptodate or something. Then she'd take time and explain it further for us and answer questions we had for clarification. She was intimidating because she knew so much, but awesome at the same time. Had a surgical attending once that did it more of an dingus style.

Had another different surgical attending that was just the worst person to everyone. Med students, residents, colleagues, patients, family members of patients. On a rare occasion he'd be somewhat personable. Then he would call a family member after a procedure and if they didn't answer would slam the phone down 5 or 6 times on their voicemail and scream at us why people don't answer their blankety blank blank phones. I'd probably say he had a GC. Technically he was considered a competent surgeon as far as slicing and dicing, but just terrible interpersonal skills. For the most part I had a good experience with attendings though.

 

[tombreaz]

So, no one who has struggled with or had a gc and got over it?

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

I think you'll find people who come out of residency a touch on the arrogant side, but a year or so of actually being a doctor typically fixes that right up.

 

[tombreaz]

I think you'll find people who come out of residency a touch on the arrogant side, but a year or so of actually being a doctor typically fixes that right up.

Ahh, that makes me think of another related question. Is gc specialty dependent?

 

[deleted1139416]

Are you purposefully writing irony into this? Lol. "Broken down docs"=less GC (a good thing). "Empowered allied health"=more GC (bad). Explain yourself

Similar to why you get taken advantage of when you are too nice to someone. The entire process of medical education is humbling. Getting spat on and ignored makes you work harder and become a better physician.

 

[Goro]

That's impressive. Why do you think your place of work has been able to avoid it? I assumed the point of having prideful people in any workplace would show up and I certainly agree that's true-but the GC nickname is mainly used for docs.

I think that you are great inflating the number of doctors who live up to this stereotype.

 

[tombreaz]

I think that you are great inflating the number of doctors who live up to this stereotype.

Inflation of something is a precursor to becoming a stereotype. Even so, where am I inflating? I asked about how you and your place of work have avoided the stereotype (good job). Care to share?

 

[Goro]

Inflation of something is a precursor to becoming a stereotype. Even so, where am I inflating? I asked about how you and your place of work have avoided the stereotype (good job). Care to share?

Because they're nice people to begin with? Or maybe being a doctor doesn't automatically have clinicians develop a GC??????

 

[tombreaz]

Because they're nice people to begin with? Or maybe being a doctor doesn't automatically have clinicians develop a GC??????

What's up with your tone? These are simple questions and not meant to cause angst for anyone.

 

[DOswag]

Id say the vast majority of docs don’t have a GC. More probably have just a touch of narcissism but I’d dare say it serves many well in getting through med school and residency and isn’t pathologic. Again, most of the docs I worked with whether that be when I was a med student/resident, or now that I’m a few years out of residency, have been pretty cool people.

 

[DOswag]

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are docs more prone to developing a God Complex? I've heard it tossed around quite a bit in my pre-med journey and even when I worked with other medical professionals before returning to school.

How do you resist the temptation in becoming a boastful prick? How do you balance wanting respect given to your amount of training and skills you can provide? A GC doesn't seem commensurate with being a good doc but the stereotype is alive and well.

Have you been a boastful prick in other times of your life like high school or college? If not then unlikely you’ll turn one after you’re a fully trained doc. Med school/residency Is tough and you’ll for sure be a little different on the other side. Partially because of the intense hours and training you went through and experiences along the way, partially because you’ll be almost a decade older when you’re done. But I’d venture that docs that have a GC were already kind of pricks to begin with. I could be wrong though.

 

[Goro]

What's up with your tone? These are simple questions and not meant to cause angst for anyone.

Tone? What tone. You're a pre-med, right? Exactly how many doctors have you met in your life? I'm asking because you came here with a preconceived notion that doesn't bear resemblance to the real world, that's all.

 

[DOswag]

Ahh, that makes me think of another related question. Is gc specialty dependent?

Eh, not necessarily. The stereotype seems to be more in the surgical field but I’m sure you can find one in any field. Me thinks docs with a GC represent far less of the doctor population than you seemingly imply your perception is with the questions.

 

[deleted1139416]

What's up with your tone? These are simple questions and not meant to cause angst for anyone.

Also - arrogance is not identical to GC. Sure, if you have a GC then you are arrogant. But plenty of docs are arrogant but don't have a GC.

 

[tombreaz]

Also - arrogance is not identical to GC. Sure, if you have a GC then you are arrogant. But plenty of docs are arrogant but don't have a GC.

Interesting point. Do you think this is why the stereotype gets so much traction?

 

[tombreaz]

Eh, not necessarily. The stereotype seems to be more in the surgical field but I’m sure you can find one in any field. Me thinks docs with a GC represent far less of the doctor population than you seemingly imply your perception is with the questions.

Thanks for your input. One more question (bc of your name) popped in my mind. DO vs MD? I assume your answer will be the same but wanted to throw it out there.

I'm glad it's not overly represented and I'm simply basing the question off life experience and wanting to talk about it. Goro will get a more pointed response

 

[Mad Jack]

A god complex is something people tend to have or not. I've met homeless individuals, criminals, executives, college students, parents, and any other sort of person you can imagine with the sort of narcissistic personality you speak of. The individuals that I've come across in medicine with this sort of issue tend to cluster to leadership positions, but even there they are the exception rather than the rule. Medicine doesn't make someone into a grandiose narcissist if they are one though, it is something they already were that led to them gravitating toward a position of power and prestige to further boost their own ego.

 

[Mad Jack]

Mirror mirror on the ward, who’s the most narcissistic of them all? Pathologic personality traits in health care

Stereotypes in medicine have become exaggerated for the purpose of workplace amusement. Our objective was to assess the levels of “dark triad” personality traits expressed by individuals working in different health care specialties in ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Also, here's an article on the topic, for your review. Picture from the article is attached.

 

[tombreaz]

Mirror mirror on the ward, who’s the most narcissistic of them all? Pathologic personality traits in health care

Stereotypes in medicine have become exaggerated for the purpose of workplace amusement. Our objective was to assess the levels of “dark triad” personality traits expressed by individuals working in different health care specialties in ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Also, here's an article on the topic, for your review. Picture from the article is attached.
View attachment 364297

That's hilarious. On a serious note, I didn't know jokes could get published lol. Not sure how I feel about this.

 

[Bulliedinschool2doc]

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are docs more prone to developing a God Complex? I've heard it tossed around quite a bit in my pre-med journey and even when I worked with other medical professionals before returning to school.

How do you resist the temptation in becoming a boastful prick? How do you balance wanting respect given to your amount of training and skills you can provide? A GC doesn't seem commensurate with being a good doc but the stereotype is alive and well.

I think you need to constantly humble yourself and have the attitude that no one is better than another human because of their profession. We all breathe the same air and die one day so there is no point. But if someone tries to check me or disrespect me, I remind myself of who I am. Be confident but not cocky!

 

[Mad Jack]

That's hilarious. On a serious note, I didn't know jokes could get published lol. Not sure how I feel about this.

There's a holiday tradition in many journals of publishing joke articles. The research is always real (but with a lot of methodological flaws for comedic effect), but the questions are often silly and the writeups hilarious. Here's the BMJ article the picture is a nod to:

Phenotypic differences between male physicians, surgeons, and film stars: comparative study

Objectives To test the hypothesis that, on average, male surgeons are taller and better looking than male physicians, and to compare both sets of doctors with film stars who play doctors on screen. ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[tombreaz]

I think you need to constantly humble yourself and have the attitude that no one is better than another human because of their profession. We all breathe the same air and die one day so there is no point. But if someone tries to check me or disrespect me, I remind myself of who I am. Be confident but not cocky!

Amen

 

[tombreaz]

There's a holiday tradition in many journals of publishing joke articles. The research is always real (but with a lot of methodological flaws for comedic effect), but the questions are often silly and the writeups hilarious. Here's the BMJ article the picture is a nod to:

Phenotypic differences between male physicians, surgeons, and film stars: comparative study

Objectives To test the hypothesis that, on average, male surgeons are taller and better looking than male physicians, and to compare both sets of doctors with film stars who play doctors on screen. ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Thank you for bringing this joy to my life.

 

[DOswag]

Thanks for your input. One more question (bc of your name) popped in my mind. DO vs MD? I assume your answer will be the same but wanted to throw it out there.

I'm glad it's not overly represented and I'm simply basing the question off life experience and wanting to talk about it. Goro will get a more pointed response

I'm a DO, but went to MD residency program that was a large program so worked with a lot of MD's and DO's across multiple specialties. No difference in MD vs DO that I've seen in regards to your initial question, or in general lol.

 

[MDMechEngr]

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are docs more prone to developing a God Complex? I've heard it tossed around quite a bit in my pre-med journey and even when I worked with other medical professionals before returning to school.

How do you resist the temptation in becoming a boastful prick? How do you balance wanting respect given to your amount of training and skills you can provide? A GC doesn't seem commensurate with being a good doc but the stereotype is alive and well.

some one has too much time on their hands.

 

[BigPikachu]

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this topic. Are docs more prone to developing a God Complex? I've heard it tossed around quite a bit in my pre-med journey and even when I worked with other medical professionals before returning to school.

How do you resist the temptation in becoming a boastful prick? How do you balance wanting respect given to your amount of training and skills you can provide? A GC doesn't seem commensurate with being a good doc but the stereotype is alive and well.

Yes, the medical profession has a tendency to attract and breed people with a perfectionist and obsessive personality that lends itself to arrogance and narcissism. This is similar to other industries such as law enforcement or military, which tends to attract people who like the powerplay.

Most people understand humility either intuitively or through experience that behaving like a prick does not get you very far. Behaving like an prick usually catches-up with you with bad references, getting sued, receiving complaints, getting investigated for misconduct and dismissed from your job.

Be confident and not arrogant. Be humble and learn to reflect. Treat people like how you want to be treated. No one really cares about how many post-nomials, research articles and what school you want to. Patients and coworkers like someone who has a good work ethic, accountable, trustworthy, knowledgeable and has a good attitude and personality. Have a life outside of work. Don't define yourself by your career/job.

 

[Dr G Oogle]

Eh, not necessarily. The stereotype seems to be more in the surgical field but I’m sure you can find one in any field. Me thinks docs with a GC represent far less of the doctor population than you seemingly imply your perception is with the questions.

 

[SurfingDoctor]

I just came here to smite thee…

 

[GoSpursGo]

Locked since the OP is banned.