Why is there such a "God complex" among doctors?

Michael Ortiz68 said:As far as I am aware, this thread was actually started before the one on the New York Times forums.

It is important to maintain faith.🙄
At the end of the day, we might find that some random guy named Miles actually knows more about medicine than actual primary care physicians.🤣

True that—honestly, my hairstylist probably knows more about medicine than I do. Whenever I'm confused about something, I always make sure to stop by and pick her brain.😂🤣

Michael Ortiz68 said:As far as I am aware, this thread was actually started before the one on the New York Times forums.

It is important to maintain faith.🙄
At the end of the day, we might find that some random guy named Miles actually knows more about medicine than actual primary care physicians.🤣

The topic was indeed opened earlier, but this space became a sanctuary for those who couldn't fully make their case over on the news sites.
Life happens, and what transpired speaks for itself. Let me be clear: my sympathy goes out to the dedicated doctors across America struggling with impossible workloads and budgets. As for the irresponsible cowards? They deserve nothing.

Michael Ortiz68 said:As far as I am aware, this thread was actually started before the one on the New York Times forums.

It is important to maintain faith.🙄
At the end of the day, we might find that some random guy named Miles actually knows more about medicine than actual primary care physicians.🤣

Mockery is easy. It’s how people show off their ego.
@ruggedscout91 This topic isn't strictly political.

ruggedscout91 said:The topic was indeed opened earlier, but this space became a sanctuary for those who couldn't fully make their case over on the news sites.
Life happens, and what transpired speaks for itself. Let me be clear: my sympathy goes out to the dedicated doctors across America struggling with impossible workloads and budgets. As for the irresponsible cowards? They deserve nothing.

We couldn't even speak up back then when anyone with a different opinion just got shut down.☕

Well, you were the one complaining about not getting punished by the Psychology department on your own.

My GP failed her internal medicine boards ten times!!!
She's clueless—not just dumb, but straight-up incompetent. Honestly, I have no idea how she even qualifies as a doctor.
Every little thing, she’d try to refer me to some specialist at the Mayo Clinic, because she’s too terrified to make a single move without getting a specialist's stamp of approval first.

People generally treat them like they're some "higher" class of being. Not in my book.

If you actually want to prove you're good at what you do, you have to put in the work—doesn't matter if you're a doctor, a physicist, a manager, or a professor...

What exactly makes them "superior" beings anyway?

Medical school isn't even the hardest major out there. There are plenty tougher paths.

Where are all those people who think they’re some kind of higher beings? 🙄 Not a single one has shown up here. Around here, everyone just spits on them. Even the doctors who actually posted didn't say anything even remotely close to that. They're just people—plain and simple. Only a total degenerate would expect any human being to be anything more than that. And honestly, you lot who are out here trashing doctors? You're the ones at fault because you don't know the first thing about medicine—not scientifically, not legally, not even from an administrative standpoint. But hey, I see you sure know a lot about looking down on the very people whose titles you’d probably love to have next to your own name, considering how much you love playing doctor without having a shred of evidence. I could give you a diagnosis myself if she hadn't been too polite, but I bet she was just afraid you wouldn't like what she had to say—especially since you acted so incredibly low-class and disrespectful. Maybe that's why she just sent you packing to the next sucker, huh? There’s absolutely no excuse for this kind of garbage. Being sick or whatever doesn't justify being a straight-up jerk!

Fine, now I’m the bad guy for even saying anything. Look, my opinion hasn't actually changed, but maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut instead of jumping into the fray. Everyone's entitled to their take, and obviously, people have all sorts of different experiences because, well, people are unpredictable. But when doctors start attacking patients like that? That's not okay. I mean, sure, the patient is always right in theory, but does that poor doctor not deserve some basic respect too? You can't meet one jerk in your life and decide the entire medical profession is trash based on that one encounter. It's always so much easier to just trash everything rather than admitting there are multiple sides to the story. And come on, have you guys seriously never run into a doctor who was actually selfless, reliable, and genuinely kind? I'm not saying we should go on a crusade to bash doctors.
Anyway, you could've shared your stories a bit more civilly without making these massive generalizations. Honestly, I should probably apply that to myself, too. 🙄 Just imagine being someone who is working their tail off to help people—just a regular, decent person who happens to be a damn good doctor—and then you hear everyone just tearing everything they do to shreds. Nobody likes feeling attacked or having their life's work dragged through the mud.

mistyraven said:My GP failed her internal medicine boards ten times!!!
She's clueless—not just dumb, but straight-up incompetent. Honestly, I have no idea how she even qualifies as a doctor.
Every little thing, she’d try to refer me to some specialist at the Mayo Clinic, because she’s too terrified to make a single move without getting a specialist's stamp of approval first.

People generally treat them like they're some "higher" class of being. Not in my book.

If you actually want to prove you're good at what you do, you have to put in the work—doesn't matter if you're a doctor, a physicist, a manager, or a professor...

What exactly makes them "superior" beings anyway?

Medical school isn't even the hardest major out there. There are plenty tougher paths.

Then why don't you just switch 😕?

Michael Ortiz68 said:Then why don't you just switch 😕?

Because I live in this tiny town where there are only three family doctors total—and of course, every single one of them is fully booked whenever I ask to transfer. Plus, my whole family is already set up with this doctor.

You people are irrational and prone to extreme generalizations. It’s clear there is no point in debating with you; no matter how well-reasoned an argument is, you simply double down on your own delusions. Your core takeaway seems to be that doctors are nothing more than heartless bureaucrats who do nothing all day but run around hospital halls looking for attention. 🙄
I'm done.

Mark Grant11 said:Fine, now I’m the bad guy for even saying anything. Look, my opinion hasn't actually changed, but maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut instead of jumping into the fray. Everyone's entitled to their take, and obviously, people have all sorts of different experiences because, well, people are unpredictable. But when doctors start attacking patients like that? That's not okay. I mean, sure, the patient is always right in theory, but does that poor doctor not deserve some basic respect too? You can't meet one jerk in your life and decide the entire medical profession is trash based on that one encounter. It's always so much easier to just trash everything rather than admitting there are multiple sides to the story. And come on, have you guys seriously never run into a doctor who was actually selfless, reliable, and genuinely kind? I'm not saying we should go on a crusade to bash doctors.
Anyway, you could've shared your stories a bit more civilly without making these massive generalizations. Honestly, I should probably apply that to myself, too. 🙄 Just imagine being someone who is working their tail off to help people—just a regular, decent person who happens to be a damn good doctor—and then you hear everyone just tearing everything they do to shreds. Nobody likes feeling attacked or having their life's work dragged through the mud.

The ones who are actually human and dedicated? They're rare. I know from experience. I've seen the wars fought inside hospitals; most of them care way more about the money and their status than the actual patients.
I went to see this cardiologist—some big shot involved in politics—and he spent the whole time glued to his phone, booking meetings. He brushed me off after five minutes because he was "too busy" with his schedule. Then he tells me to come back some other morning, only for his nurse to call me the day before to say the appointment got moved again because the doc was "occupied."
Luckily, it was just routine tests. But what about those poor seniors with real heart issues who actually need help? What happens to them? They end up with a doctor who just rushes through a five-minute checkup just to grab some extra cash on the side. Yeah, you can't play both sides.
That's just one example, and honestly, there are plenty more.
They act like they're "above" us just because they can pull the strings.
And it’s pathetic how the really sick people waiting for surgery get handled. Pay up, then we'll operate. My grandma had several heart surgeries, and I saw how the whole thing played out. It was shameful.

PS: This is just how I saw things. I'm not saying every doctor is like this, but... how many of them are actually living up to the calling of helping people?

redharbor23 said:You people are irrational and prone to extreme generalizations. It’s clear there is no point in debating with you; no matter how well-reasoned an argument is, you simply double down on your own delusions. Your core takeaway seems to be that doctors are nothing more than heartless bureaucrats who do nothing all day but run around hospital halls looking for attention. 🙄
I'm done.

And what you said is spot on. It's always the same old story.
Doctors have been scapegoated by every system imaginable; they've always been the favorite target for disgruntled small-town types looking someone to blame.
My stance remains unchanged: leave the doctors alone. All that schooling and hard work shouldn't result in being treated like walking moral failures by everyone around them... At this rate, we might as well let herbalists run the whole show.
We live in America, after all. 👍

Look, you know as well as I do that these conflict-of-interest theories just don't hold water. Any high-level doctor is going to choose a private clinic over grinding away at a public hospital any day of the week. If people have more money, they handle their health—and pretty much everything else—privately. If there’s an issue there, don't blame the doctor; blame the system. People with less cash end up in the public hospitals. But honestly, no sane person is going to rush an emergency to a private clinic. They'll be steered toward a clinic as a faster, pricier option if it's something chronic that can wait—something they've been living with for ages that isn't life-threatening right this second. I don't see anything weird about it. Waiting lists aren't just on the doctor, especially if they're working for the state. Lately, it seems like they aren't even doctors on call anymore; they're just scapegoats on call.
I think I said something earlier along the lines of: you can't realistically expect a doctor to be bubbly and enthusiastic all the time while staring at someone else's sores and bedsores... It's not exactly the highlight of their day. And look, you won't even touch medicine if you don't actually love it—not just the title, but the whole grind and the chance to actually help people using what you know. But hey, maybe the guy is just having a bad day. Maybe he's got stuff going on at home, or maybe his phone is blowing up with important news. He's got bosses too; he's not the king of the world. Maybe he's getting chewed out by management, who knows? He doesn't just have you; he has a massive crowd of people all demanding attention at once. Some people are rude, sure, but nurses can be plenty difficult too, so what?
Like I said, try seeing him as a human being first before you demand he fits that perfect, idealized image of a doctor. I get it—when you're sick, it's hard on you and your family. You're vulnerable and you want a kind word or some encouragement. I've been the patient myself, so I get it, but I can't be that generalized about it. Most doctors I know—and I know a lot of them—are good people first and skilled professionals second. Objectively speaking. And even if they weren't, you shouldn't go branding an entire profession useless just because of a small handful of individuals.
A woman working a cash register can't really be held to the same standard of responsibility as a surgeon, yet we let her get away with a nasty tone or a dirty look... Why? Just because she's easier to relate to?
And listen, everyone should be proud of what they've achieved and what they put their name to; it would be sad if they weren't. It's the same as being proud of the kind of person you are. That's self-respect, not arrogance.
I don't know if anyone actually thinks surgery in a public hospital is expensive, but that's an illusion, just like the idea that a doctor is getting rich off it. Everyone is underpaid, from family practitioners to surgeons. So, I really don't get what's so devastating about them looking for an extra stream of income.

I bet you'd be against a construction worker picking up side jobs, too? Or is that totally fine?
And then they'll go and ban the work. Well, not "ban," but punish it!! Seriously! What am I supposed to report someone for? Just for working? Meanwhile, you've got 25 and 30-year-olds out on medical leave with three kids each, claiming disability because they're feeling a little depressed.
Give me a break. Truly.🤣

Mark Grant11 said:Fine, now I’m the bad guy for even saying anything. Look, my opinion hasn't actually changed, but maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut instead of jumping into the fray. Everyone's entitled to their take, and obviously, people have all sorts of different experiences because, well, people are unpredictable. But when doctors start attacking patients like that? That's not okay. I mean, sure, the patient is always right in theory, but does that poor doctor not deserve some basic respect too? You can't meet one jerk in your life and decide the entire medical profession is trash based on that one encounter. It's always so much easier to just trash everything rather than admitting there are multiple sides to the story. And come on, have you guys seriously never run into a doctor who was actually selfless, reliable, and genuinely kind? I'm not saying we should go on a crusade to bash doctors.
Anyway, you could've shared your stories a bit more civilly without making these massive generalizations. Honestly, I should probably apply that to myself, too. 🙄 Just imagine being someone who is working their tail off to help people—just a regular, decent person who happens to be a damn good doctor—and then you hear everyone just tearing everything they do to shreds. Nobody likes feeling attacked or having their life's work dragged through the mud.

That part about "sharing experiences more civilly." This wasn't about a polite exchange of anecdotes. My actual experiences are even worse. God forbid I write down what happened to me or my grandmother; half of you would end up in a psychiatric ward. This is about ensuring we don't overstate medical misconduct. I doubt there is any other country in the world where doctors treat patients this way.

Furthermore, regarding the post above, unless I am mistaken, I highly doubt you even finished community college, let alone a university degree.

Regardless of the risks involved in pursuing advanced studies, doctors ought to speak up about the incompetence within their ranks. They need to break the code of silence that allows certain physicians to hide behind their negligence and "constant" lack of attention toward their patients.
In many instances, this leads to unnecessary healthcare costs and invasive surgeries when a minor procedure would have sufficed. Women lose their babies or face life-threatening complications because a scheduled C-section is delayed for twenty hours—just so a doctor can sleep through a shift or watch a football game—or because a woman who already had a C-section is forced into a natural labor.

This "code of silence" is the root of the conflict between us patients and your doctors. You constantly protect one another and discourage any aggrieved client from suing or seeking justice in court. Then, through this mutual protection, favors are traded, profitable patients are handed off, and promotions or academic advancements are secured. It extends to other services too; entire families get involved in these networks until you can't tell who owes whom a favor. Help us, God.

I will say it again: credit to the doctors who are responsible professionals and haven't intentionally harmed anyone. As for the rest of them: shame on you.

Honestly, this topic isn't even about psychology—it’s more about politics and social trends. Most of what needed to be said has already been covered.