Many of us have encountered an arrogant or egotistical healthcare provider. They come across as mightier-than-thou, and seem brusque, superior or conceited, as if we are supposed to feel lucky to be in this person’s presence, or fearful enough that we had better not cross him.
When we aren’t feeling well, which of course is the reason we are visiting this individual, facing such a big personality may leave us feeling intimidated, angry, frustrated, or a host of other negative emotions, none of which is helpful for improving our health.
Confidence and self-assurance are good traits for a healthcare provider. We want to know that our healthcare providers are confident about their work and are positive about their abilities to help us.But wise patients understand that there is no room for arrogance, narcissism or condescension from egotistical medical professionals. Their lack of respect for our needs and their difficult personalities will inhibit the partnership we need to develop, and we won’t get the care we need from them.
Here are someideasfor understanding and dealing with difficult healthcare providers.
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A Large Ego Is a Cover-Up
Psychologists will tell you that someone who acts arrogant or superior, does so because he lacksself-confidence.Instead of truly feeling superior, he instead, truly feels inferior. So he’ll use intimidation, or act conceited to cover up that lack of self-esteem. In the schoolyard, this healthcare provider was a bully. In a medical setting, that bully’s intimidation takes the form of arrogance.
This healthcare provider has spent a lifetime with his personality and you won’t be able to change it. Therefore, your choices are to either learn to work around it or tofind another healthcare provider.
How do you know which approach to take? You’ll want to assess the importance of this particular healthcare provider to your health. Will this be a short-term relationship or a long-term one? Does this healthcare provider have special knowledge or abilities that others do not? Or are there other healthcare providers who are available to help you so you don’t have to put up with this one?
Become familiar with thesteps for finding a new healthcare providerbefore you simply fire Dr. Arrogant. While we would love to tell you just to find another healthcare provider, that is much easier said than done in primary care, and some specialties.
How to Develop a Working Relationship
If you decide to stay with this healthcare provider or believe you’ll be able toestablish a relationship, here are some stepsto take to diminish the effects of the difficult aspects of his personality:
The most important aspect of the relationship with this healthcare provider is that you will have to work hard to be sure you can ask the questions you need to ask, get the answers you need to have, and get the attention and service you deserve.
Recent studies have shown a correlation between arrogance, obnoxiousness, and medical errors.Once you’re feeling better or stronger, you may choose to take a role in removing these types of egos from the profession of medicine. If so, there areplaces to report bad provider behaviorwith the goal of improving that behavior or removing that ego from the practice of medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you deal with a rude doctor, ask yourself if it’s still possible to build a working relationship with them. Nobody expects you to become friends, but the doctor should be able to effectively communicate their thoughts and findings about your health. If a doctor’s behavior makes communication difficult, and you can’t foresee a way to resolve it through a conversation, then it may be time to look for a different healthcare provider.
One example of being arrogant is a professional athlete who refuses to speak to their fans because they believe themselves to be far superior. Another example can be a doctor who acts superior to their patients because they are confident that they possess greater intelligence.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hardavella G, Aamli-Gaagnat A, Frille A, Saad N, Niculescu A, Powell P.Top tips to deal with challenging situations: doctor-patient interactions.Breathe (Sheff). 2017;13(2):129–135. doi:10.1183/20734735.006616Aggarwal AR, Khan I.Medical students' experiences of resuscitation and discussions surrounding resuscitation status.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2018;9:31–37. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S141436Ruberton PM, Huynh HP, Miller TA, Kruse E, Chancellor J, Lyubomirsky S.The relationship between physician humility, physician-patient communication, and patient health.Patient Educ Couns. 2016;99(7):1138-1145. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2016.01.012Milyavsky M, Kruglanski AW, Chernikova M, Schori-Eyal N.Evidence for arrogance: On the relative importance of expertise, outcome, and manner.PLoS One. 2017;12(7):e0180420. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180420Ha JF, Longnecker N.Doctor-patient communication: a review.Ochsner J. 2010;10(1):38–43.Ozeke O, Ozeke V, Coskun O, Budakoglu II.Second victims in health care: current perspectives.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2019;10:593–603. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S185912Grissinger M.Disrespectful behavior in health care: its impact, why it arises and persists, and how to address it-part 2.P T. 2017;42(2):74–77.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hardavella G, Aamli-Gaagnat A, Frille A, Saad N, Niculescu A, Powell P.Top tips to deal with challenging situations: doctor-patient interactions.Breathe (Sheff). 2017;13(2):129–135. doi:10.1183/20734735.006616Aggarwal AR, Khan I.Medical students' experiences of resuscitation and discussions surrounding resuscitation status.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2018;9:31–37. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S141436Ruberton PM, Huynh HP, Miller TA, Kruse E, Chancellor J, Lyubomirsky S.The relationship between physician humility, physician-patient communication, and patient health.Patient Educ Couns. 2016;99(7):1138-1145. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2016.01.012Milyavsky M, Kruglanski AW, Chernikova M, Schori-Eyal N.Evidence for arrogance: On the relative importance of expertise, outcome, and manner.PLoS One. 2017;12(7):e0180420. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180420Ha JF, Longnecker N.Doctor-patient communication: a review.Ochsner J. 2010;10(1):38–43.Ozeke O, Ozeke V, Coskun O, Budakoglu II.Second victims in health care: current perspectives.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2019;10:593–603. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S185912Grissinger M.Disrespectful behavior in health care: its impact, why it arises and persists, and how to address it-part 2.P T. 2017;42(2):74–77.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Hardavella G, Aamli-Gaagnat A, Frille A, Saad N, Niculescu A, Powell P.Top tips to deal with challenging situations: doctor-patient interactions.Breathe (Sheff). 2017;13(2):129–135. doi:10.1183/20734735.006616Aggarwal AR, Khan I.Medical students' experiences of resuscitation and discussions surrounding resuscitation status.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2018;9:31–37. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S141436Ruberton PM, Huynh HP, Miller TA, Kruse E, Chancellor J, Lyubomirsky S.The relationship between physician humility, physician-patient communication, and patient health.Patient Educ Couns. 2016;99(7):1138-1145. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2016.01.012Milyavsky M, Kruglanski AW, Chernikova M, Schori-Eyal N.Evidence for arrogance: On the relative importance of expertise, outcome, and manner.PLoS One. 2017;12(7):e0180420. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180420Ha JF, Longnecker N.Doctor-patient communication: a review.Ochsner J. 2010;10(1):38–43.Ozeke O, Ozeke V, Coskun O, Budakoglu II.Second victims in health care: current perspectives.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2019;10:593–603. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S185912Grissinger M.Disrespectful behavior in health care: its impact, why it arises and persists, and how to address it-part 2.P T. 2017;42(2):74–77.
Hardavella G, Aamli-Gaagnat A, Frille A, Saad N, Niculescu A, Powell P.Top tips to deal with challenging situations: doctor-patient interactions.Breathe (Sheff). 2017;13(2):129–135. doi:10.1183/20734735.006616
Aggarwal AR, Khan I.Medical students' experiences of resuscitation and discussions surrounding resuscitation status.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2018;9:31–37. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S141436
Ruberton PM, Huynh HP, Miller TA, Kruse E, Chancellor J, Lyubomirsky S.The relationship between physician humility, physician-patient communication, and patient health.Patient Educ Couns. 2016;99(7):1138-1145. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2016.01.012
Milyavsky M, Kruglanski AW, Chernikova M, Schori-Eyal N.Evidence for arrogance: On the relative importance of expertise, outcome, and manner.PLoS One. 2017;12(7):e0180420. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180420
Ha JF, Longnecker N.Doctor-patient communication: a review.Ochsner J. 2010;10(1):38–43.
Ozeke O, Ozeke V, Coskun O, Budakoglu II.Second victims in health care: current perspectives.Adv Med Educ Pract. 2019;10:593–603. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S185912
Grissinger M.Disrespectful behavior in health care: its impact, why it arises and persists, and how to address it-part 2.P T. 2017;42(2):74–77.
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