Dr. Schwab hates being late

This is not about Dr. Schwab himself, but there are situations where punctuality can be just another negative surgeon trait. This punctuality has sometimes been a form of passive-aggressive behavior. Getting the OR to start early is just typical of surgeon god complex. Anyone who is ‘merely’ on time and thereby foiling the early start can be painted as a lazy and poorly organized slob. The surgeon pretends to set high standards for himself, while really creating needless hoops to make others jump through. Woe to the anesthesiology physician who wants to take a few extra minutes for the patient’s care; being a team player in this situation is about stroking the surgeons ego, not about providing the best care for the patient.

We have both quietly punctual surgeons who understand that the delivery of health care is a complex process with many possibilities for delay, and vocally punctual surgeons who want the world to run without fail on their own time scale. Same childish surgeon antics dressed up as the adult-like quality of punctuality.

I’m not saying Dr. Schwab is in the bad catagory above by any means. Just don’t be fooled by every ‘puncutal’ surgeon as many are merely using as a passive-aggressive tool.