Haven't even finished it yet - but it's gripping enough, terrible enough, that I want to pass it on.
The story of the Boston surgeon who left a patient on the operating table to go cash a check, and then continued a downward spiral of self-destruction.
A fascinating psychological study. Can't stop reading.
Posted by sheilawow - on many levels - wow
Posted by: Betsy at March 23, 2004 06:54 PMRed that guy is a clinical narcissist. Everything about him screams narcissism at about 150 db. His picture should be at the top of the narcissism chapter in the DSM-IV.
His mother is a psychologist? She must be the worst psychologist on the planet to first raise a narcissist then not diagnose him.
Although narcissism among surgeons is pretty common, it is extremely dangerous. To a narcissist, other people are just objects, with no intrinsic value as actual fellow human beings. Not exactly what you want in the guy filleting your spine. I'm further disappointed in all the other high-powered elite Ivy League medical professionals who didn't recognize his narcissism and appreciate how dangerous it is in a physician.
(By the way - I think my blog has phased out of this plane of existence. If I were a smidgen more paranoid, I might start to suspect a conspiracy.)
Same reaction as Betsy. On the one hand, you want the person operating on you to be the best and know it. On the other, humans being humans, when do you just become another task on the path to glory? Spooky if you think about it.
CW-The light, go to the light!
Sheila-Sorry I missed the party. The rumors are just now filtering down to the hinterland. Personally, I don't believe there was a donkey there, but with your friends...well....enough said.
Regards
Posted by: Dave E at March 23, 2004 10:06 PMI'm sorry, that level of self-absorption is beyond my ability to comprehend. I was left dumbfounded and the first thought that came to mind, I swear, was "direct deposit".
Posted by: Bill McCabe at March 23, 2004 11:05 PMI'll admit to a bit of schadenfreude here -- as much as I hate to admit it, the story made me dislike the guy so much that there was something satisfying in seeing the arrogant schmuck head down the path to ruin. Especially since he seemed like the stereotypical doctor.
Still, I have to say I also have that "there but for the grace of God go I" feeling too. It's not as if substance abuse and hubris and all the rest are problems to which only this fellow could succumb. Except, though, on the alleged pederasty counts. That's just frickin' wrong.
Posted by: Benjamin Kepple at March 24, 2004 08:54 AMLet me just say that this man gives a bad name to the rest of us perfectly functional narcissists out there. Its impossible that this man is the center of the universe when its so clear that I truly am. Time to go back and bask in my own light for awhile.
Posted by: Rad World at March 24, 2004 08:56 AMBill -
I know - direct deposit. he's a frickin' surgeon, and he's still running to the bank to put his money in?? Completely implausible.
Posted by: red at March 24, 2004 09:46 AMWhat strikes me is that so many people could have benefitted from his skill. And 'could have' is so sad. Blah!
Posted by: Noggie at March 24, 2004 12:35 PM