I'm a surgeon—respect me!

The stereotypical surgeon

I am a fifth year medical student aspiring to be a surgeon. Last summer I worked as a theatre support worker to get an insight into the world of surgery. Many surgeons I met were kind and sociable, but others came across as arrogant and aloof. If I become a surgeon, will I be one with a reputation among the theatre staff for being a typical surgeon? We all know the surgeon stereotype: decisive, well organised, practical, hard working, but also cantankerous, dominant, arrogant, hostile, impersonal, egocentric, and a poor communicator.

As role models, I prefer surgeons who are friendly and good communicators. One surgeon sticks in my mind. He always described with fascination what he was doing during the operation to all of the team members. He included theatre support workers, whether we were medical students or not. We would be waved over to the table with a smile, “Take a look at this.” He showed no arrogance or hostility and made …