Dick Carlson: “I’d like him to truly believe that he’s the best there is at this procedure and that I’d be a fool to go elsewhere. I’m not even sure that I want him to spend a lot of time trying to explain to me, a rookie, exactly what he’s going to do or why.”
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But arrogance often co-segregates with impatience and hot-headedness. This is a dangerous combination: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/valjonesmd/when-what-can-go-wron-12333
I hope he will have a reason to feel arrogant, too.
I’ve known a few that talked the talk, but didn’t walk the walk….
Any patient who doesn’t think he/she needs to know much about their surgery or why it’s being done is a fool.
No patient (or their advocate) can afford anymore to be clueless and uninvolved.
The only thing that saved me from a wrong-site surgery was the fact that I knew what the procedure was supposed to be and where the surgeon was supposed to cut. Good thing I spoke up, otherwise it wouldn’t have been caught until it was too late.
No you don’t. You want your surgeon to be intelligent, capable and talented… not arrogant. Then they will not listen to the resident, nurse, anesthesiologist or even a partner who is trying to tell them that they are doing something wrong. You want a surgeon who knows their limitations, operates within their area of expertise and doesn’t need to be constantly reminded that they know what they are doing. You want a paternalistic surgeon who not only knows when surgery is the answer, but you want a master surgeon who knows when surgery is NOT the answer!. That is the mark of true surgeon.
Arrogance in proportion to ability is helpful.
Arrogance out of proportion to ability (too humble or too haughty) kills people.
I want my docs to be evenly balanced.
It takes 1 minute to tell if someone is full of hot air or really has the goods; just watch how they interact with their patients, peers and co-workers.
You’re confusing arrogance with confidence. The first is never a positive character trait — an arrogant person is opinionated and quick to reach cnoclusions based on those opinions, to the willful exclusion and disregard of any contradicting evidence. Confident people have faith in their training and ability and are also self-assured enough to admit when they may be mistaken. Confidence is good. Arrogance is asking for trouble.
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