Why are doctors so tall?

Started by SiriusA
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SiriusA

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Every time I shadow a doctor at the hospital every doctor there is like 6'2"-6'3"+. The "shortest" doctors I saw were like 5'11"... Does medicine select for dominance/height/attractiveness?
 
Haha, I've seen a lot of tall ones as well as very short ones. But mostly tall ones.

Maybe it's the shoes.
 
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Your experience is quite anecdotal. I've seen many a-short or averaged-height doctor.

And not every tall person is attractive or dominant. Facial features and personality come separate from height.
 
TangoDown said:
Your experience is quite anecdotal. I've seen many a-short or averaged-height doctor.

And not every tall person is attractive or dominant. Facial features and personality come separate from height.
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Tall males are more likely to be attractive. Tall females, well to an extent. They also run the risk of coming off as "manly or masculine."
 
Doctors in general are more attractive than the general population. Maybe it has something to do with bias throughout the medical school selection process, self-selectivity among students, coming from generally richer parents, etc. I am especially surprised that most of the Asian men in medicine look demonstrably taller than most other Asians.
 
I was in the military so this may have some sort of factor, but out of the 30 or so male physicians I've worked with only 3-4 of them were short.
 
Ohyeah said:
Haha, I've seen a lot of tall ones as well as very short ones. But mostly tall ones.

Maybe it's the shoes.
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Yeah, are they wearing shoe lifts? Abusing HGH? It's crazy to see that every doctor is literally 6'4" and jacked...
 
SiriusA said:
Every time I shadow a doctor at the hospital every doctor there is like 6'2"-6'3"+. The "shortest" doctors I saw were like 5'11"... Does medicine select for dominance/height/attractiveness?
Click to expand...

How was shadowing ortho?
 
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Maybe on average, for males, height--->more confidence---> beasting social interactions --->self-selection/getting selected for this? :naughty:
 
There may be something to this, I mean medicine is a hierarchical profession, and studies have demonstrated that height does correlate with a larger salary at least in the business world (another hierarchical profession). So maybe these types of professions select for height (among many other traits i.e. intelligence etc.).
 
Amberofthemomen said:
I just finished shadowing a doc who was my height, 5,9ish.

He was a DO though so...

lol just playing.
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Is there a height limit for MD? 😱

No seriously though, I don't doubt that taller docs especially in fields like surgery probably have an advantage in being authoritative and such. I bet they get bossed around less during residency than skinny girly looking guys. 😱
 
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Medical school admissions are basically like roller coaster rides, except you also have to be smart.
 
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1. study hard
2. gym hard
3. buy shoes/insoles that add height
4. dominate medical hierarchy
 
SiriusA said:
Every time I shadow a doctor at the hospital every doctor there is like 6'2"-6'3"+. The "shortest" doctors I saw were like 5'11"... Does medicine select for dominance/height/attractiveness?
Click to expand...

Darn! I am only 5'10", I guess that means I am going to be a below average doctor. I guess I should have eaten more vegetables as a kid!
 
One of the top neurosurgeons where I used to live wasn't even five feet tall. Also, my current physician is about five-foot-six.
 
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Not really, i've noticed medical students are shorter than average. I think thats all just anecdotal. For sure though, being tall helps you in your career.

Taller men make more money during their careers and are more likely to rise to leadership positions. Subconsciously, men and women associate height with confidence and leadership. So maybe you have been shadowing successful docs which might make them taller.
 
I'm 5'2" and have already rejected a future in surgery. I don't want to spend the rest of my career on a stepstool.
 
IniestaDeMiVida said:
I'm 5'2" and have already rejected a future in surgery. I don't want to spend the rest of my career on a stepstool.
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LOL...I remember having to use a stepstool for a few cases. One of the attendings was also short and he brought a stool for me without having to ask 😛
 
So where does that leave me at 5'? It's probably more anecdotal than anything, most docs I know are average height. I've honestly wondered before though how my height will affect patients' perception of me. Being short and looking really young isn't necessarily a plus when you want people to take you seriously.
 
xiwang said:
So where does that leave me at 5'? It's probably more anecdotal than anything, most docs I know are average height. I've honestly wondered before though how my height will affect patients' perception of me. Being short and looking really young isn't necessarily a plus when you want people to take you seriously.
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As long as you are confident and act professional, they will take you seriously. As someone who always gets carded for booze and has a "babyface", it hasn't really hurt my interactions with people. So far at least...hopefully I won't chime in 6 months later with an opposite opinion :meanie:
 
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I know plenty of short doctors. where I work there is a somewhat "famous" doctor (very successful/well known) and he's gotta be 5'4" max
 
There is a mix of tall and short.
But in theory it's a nice fact to analyze... Without going too nazi with their crap of certain physical traits conferring superiority.
I'm 6'2 btw. And proud of it!
But the smartest person I've ever known is a 5'5" md at the max.
 
mmmcdowe said:
http://www.bmj.com/content/333/7582/1291
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12 surgeons and 12 physicians? How did this even get published... lol

The average height they found for the 12 surgeons in their sample was about 5'10, which is about average. They also don't say anything about racial differences in their samples, which is kind of a huge thing to leave out.

Really amusing paper though, thanks for posting 👍
 
mmmcdowe said:
http://www.bmj.com/content/333/7582/1291
Click to expand...

That's pretty crazy. I would like to see a larger sample size, but here's my hypothesis:
- Tom is good-looking, tall and gets positive feedback on his appearance constantly throughout his life
- This solidifies his ego and confidence and creates, sometimes, a stereotypical "alpha male"/overconfident type personality
- Attaining high social status increases testosterone
- In turn, high testosterone, high ranking males are constantly on alert so as to maintain their high social status in different environments (high school, college, med school, etc.)
- They see that surgeons hold a high status position in medicine --> They aim to become surgeons so they can continue being the "high status males" they have always been
 
SiriusA said:
Every time I shadow a doctor at the hospital every doctor there is like 6'2"-6'3"+. The "shortest" doctors I saw were like 5'11"... Does medicine select for dominance/height/attractiveness?
Click to expand...
Hmmm we might have to dig deeper for the answer. :ninja:
 
sinombre said:
12 surgeons and 12 physicians? How did this even get published... lol

The average height they found for the 12 surgeons in their sample was about 5'10, which is about average. They also don't say anything about racial differences in their samples, which is kind of a huge thing to leave out.

Really amusing paper though, thanks for posting 👍
Click to expand...

SiriusA said:
That's pretty crazy. I would like to see a larger sample size, but here's my hypothesis:
- Tom is good-looking, tall and gets positive feedback on his appearance constantly throughout his life
- This solidifies his ego and confidence and creates, sometimes, a stereotypical "alpha male"/overconfident type personality
- Attaining high social status increases testosterone
- In turn, high testosterone, high ranking males are constantly on alert so as to maintain their high social status in different environments (high school, college, med school, etc.)
- They see that surgeons hold a high status position in medicine --> They aim to become surgeons so they can continue being the "high status males" they have always been
Click to expand...


Pretty sure it was just an april fools joke. I think they "reprint" it every April 1.
 
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