how many of you are jerks?

[Bruin4Life]

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i've met docs who are really nice, while I've met some who are true jerks. both may be good diagnosticians; however, I would pick a nice doctor over a jerk anytime! do some "nice" premeds eventually become jerks or have these doctors always been jerks? i've met jerk premeds who have actually gained admission to medical school--they openly admit they're doing it for the money and have a real nasty attitude. for example, there's one guy I know that gained admission to USC, he speaks no Spanish and mentioned after he decided he would attend USC: "I wonder how I'm going to communicate with so many illegals at their county hospital?" I had to duke it out verbally with him after his repeated comments annoyed the hell out of me.

Anyway, this guy is a jerk from the beginning, but is it true that many good-intending premeds become dehumanized in the process of learning medicine?

 

[BlackPuma]

I think it is because of AMCAS....

something about getting ur phone hanged up on u after 2 hours of waiting... 😀

not to mention, polite medical representatives in various hospitals when you ask about ur status....

NO IT ISNT COMPLETE yet, and then they hang up the phone....I would believe them that my file is incomplete had they asked for my name and ID 😀

 

[different strokes]

Jerks appear in every field.

 

[brhill]

Originally posted by different strokes:
•Jerks appear in every field. When I was working on my doctorate in geophysics, I have met some really arrogant students. Some of the professors were very arrogant too and did not want to help anyone. In this program we went through hell and back. So, it did not help having these people around. On my research team there was one student from the mathematics dept that was a total jerk.

No matter what field of study, some people are jerks from the beginning and some become one after obtaining their degree. It is really hard to generalize.

I think my doctor was always a jerk.•

OBVIOUSLY true, but I in my opinion it's a hell of a lot more crucial to not be a jerk when you're dealing with people facing death, decay and loss of loved ones, than it is for a research or even a professor. Studets are no where near the vulnerable state that alot of patients are in. Furthermore, being a jerk for a doctor can be life threatening. Why? Because (and I speak from massive personal experience) if they get to the point that they think they know everything about YOUR body, wich is a hell of a lot more complex then we can ever hope to understand, and YOU know only what s/he can tell you...then when you give symptons that don't fit with their diagnosis they often times think you're crazy or lying only to find out later when **** really hits the fan that you were right and they were wrong. Do I give a rat's ass if the person researching future cures is a jerk? Hell no. Do I care if my prof is a jerk? Yes, but I can live with it. But I find doctors that must deal with conscious patients and are jerks, loathesome at best.
To answer the original question: From talking to premeds I'd say it's about half and half. The jerky half probably turns majority or minority depeding on socioeconomic factors.

 

[SocialistMD]

Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by "jerk?" There seem to be different definitions being used by different people on this thread and it makes it hard to answer the original question.

If by jerk you mean the person who has poor bedside manner, then I think that depends on the individual and is realized in med school without any previous knowledge to how one will be one way or another. Some "nice" people have very poor bedside manner while some "mean" people have excellent bedside manner.

If you mean the know-it-all, this type of person is probably already that way before school. Most people who enter medicine knowing their limits beforehand do not develop some sort of superiority complex post graduation because they realize the scope of the field in which they are working. Those who are know-it-all's are the same people who felt they knew it all before they even started med school and are the people who hide their own insecurities behind their know-it-all front.

If you mean the person who goes into medicine for the money, I do not agree that this person is a jerk for that reason alone. Those who are truly motivated by money look at medicine like a business. They know that to make money you must cater to your customer. Those who realize this are usually the most accommodating to their patients because they stand to gain more money by being "nice."

So, what do you mean by "jerk?"

 

[SMW]

There is some interesting food for thought on this topic at: http://upalumni.org/medschool/

 

[brhill]

Originally posted by SocialistMD:
•Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by "jerk?" There seem to be different definitions being used by different people on this thread and it makes it hard to answer the original question.

If by jerk you mean the person who has poor bedside manner, then I think that depends on the individual and is realized in med school without any previous knowledge to how one will be one way or another. Some "nice" people have very poor bedside manner while some "mean" people have excellent bedside manner.

If you mean the know-it-all, this type of person is probably already that way before school. Most people who enter medicine knowing their limits beforehand do not develop some sort of superiority complex post graduation because they realize the scope of the field in which they are working. Those who are know-it-all's are the same people who felt they knew it all before they even started med school and are the people who hide their own insecurities behind their know-it-all front.

If you mean the person who goes into medicine for the money, I do not agree that this person is a jerk for that reason alone. Those who are truly motivated by money look at medicine like a business. They know that to make money you must cater to your customer. Those who realize this are usually the most accommodating to their patients because they stand to gain more money by being "nice."

So, what do you mean by "jerk?"•

I know that *I* meant arrogant A-hole.

 

[TwoSteveSquared]

SMW,
I've spent the past hour reading that student's notes. Sometime's I wonder if there is any room for compassion in medicine. I think everyone should read that.

 

[SMW]

TwoSteveSquared,

There's an interesting discussion about it in the lounge at this site:
a social conscience and the possibility that at times medicine lacks one

 

[Jalopycat]

That would be a good MCAT essay:

"Jerks always make good physicians"

Explain what you think the above statement means. Give an example of when the above statement might not be true. Explain when the above statement might be true and when it might not be true. 🙂

 

[different strokes]

 

[different strokes]

 

[Drako]

From my personal experience and from hearing people in my family talk, I have concluded that >50% of doctors are jerks at one time or another. Some even suffer chronically from this disease. 80% of the nurses I know would not date or marry a doctor. That makes me feel really good, btw. 🙂

 

[SocialistMD]

Originally posted by Drako:
•...I have concluded that >50% of doctors are jerks at one time or another...•

Honestly, I would have to say ~100% of the world's population are jerks at one time or another.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

Read here
http://www.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000680

 

[Drako]

Too much power corrupts. I have seen this happened.

Too much money changes people personality. I have seen this happened in MY extended family. It is sad to say that it occurs in my family, but it is true. Yet, I am thankful that someone else is setting an example for me to learn from.

My parents always say that before one becomes successful, one must first learn to be a decent human being. There is no way around this they say, or one is going to turn out like a piece of human waste. Somehow, that keeps ringing in my head for the last twenty years.

Question is, how many of us is going to turn into jerks, dinguses, meanies, bastards, mother ****ers, etc? I hear these words very often when the nurses at my local hospital talk about the docs there. But I have also came into contact with doctors who are nicer than anyone I know. These are the ones that inspire me to do what I am doing now (kick AMCAS).

 

[kutastha]

the grad students here often joke around about how the med students take a course called "Arrogance 101" the summer before classes begin. Thank God some of them fail! 🙂

Andrew