It's kind of a stereotype or maybe I should say cliche, to accuse your surgeon of having a God complex. It's the kind of person who thinks they are always right, can do no wrong, holds your life in their very hands and orders everyone around. Ben Casey had it, Dr. Kildare did not. Marcus Welby certainly did not but "House" has it in spades. Does my orthopedic surgeon have it? I don't think so.
But it is hard to be objective.
So a orthopedic group with a penchant for research tackled the question.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Canadian Air Transport Administration have defined 'hazardous attitudes" in pilots. Macho, impulsive, antiauthority, resignation, invulnerble, and confident are traits that make up the personality syndrome. These traits are associated with road traffic incidents in college age drivers and in aviation accidents. Using these quideines the group surveyed 364 orthopedic and trauma surgeons from around the world.
137 of the 364 surgeons had at least one score that would have been considered dangerously high in pilots, including 102 with dangerous levels of macho (28%) and 41 with dangerous levels of self-confidence (11%). On average, 19% of surgeon responses implied absence of a safety valve.
Just because these personality scores indicate the person poses a risk on the highway or at the control of a 747 doesn't mean he is a risk in the operating room. But it does raise the question. I don't want my surgeon to be so high strung that the least thing causes him to snap. Being abusive to the OR staff is unacceptable. Perhaps the medical society could devise a test and even administer it to new doctors who are in line with questions. The residency year is where you really learn to be a doctor. I don't
think you have to be all of those macho things to be a very good doctor.
So take it seriously but lighten up. Good luck on the test.
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But it is hard to be objective.
So a orthopedic group with a penchant for research tackled the question.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Canadian Air Transport Administration have defined 'hazardous attitudes" in pilots. Macho, impulsive, antiauthority, resignation, invulnerble, and confident are traits that make up the personality syndrome. These traits are associated with road traffic incidents in college age drivers and in aviation accidents. Using these quideines the group surveyed 364 orthopedic and trauma surgeons from around the world.
137 of the 364 surgeons had at least one score that would have been considered dangerously high in pilots, including 102 with dangerous levels of macho (28%) and 41 with dangerous levels of self-confidence (11%). On average, 19% of surgeon responses implied absence of a safety valve.
Just because these personality scores indicate the person poses a risk on the highway or at the control of a 747 doesn't mean he is a risk in the operating room. But it does raise the question. I don't want my surgeon to be so high strung that the least thing causes him to snap. Being abusive to the OR staff is unacceptable. Perhaps the medical society could devise a test and even administer it to new doctors who are in line with questions. The residency year is where you really learn to be a doctor. I don't
think you have to be all of those macho things to be a very good doctor.
So take it seriously but lighten up. Good luck on the test.
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