Meadbh
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2006
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- 11,401
What we're talking about here, "specialness" or "feeling special" is really narcissism.
Narcissism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The ethicist John Banja, talking about narcissistic doctors:
Narcissism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The ethicist John Banja, talking about narcissistic doctors:
"The literature on narcissism suggests that it’s probably a product of nurturing more than anything else. This nurturing could occur early in childhood or it could occur in medical school or, most probably, in residency. Robert Millman has discussed a phenomenon he calls “acquired situational narcissism,” illustrated by professional athletes and movie stars, whom he has counseled over the years. These folks often are born into socio-economically disadvantaged situations, but in their early 20s, for example, they find themselves millionaires and the center of attention. And they begin to develop pompous, condescending, very self-preoccupied types of behaviors. He believes that it’s a function of the situation that they are in. I often think that the physician lives in a peculiar, if not downright unhealthy, emotional environment. First, it’s a very stressful world. Second, doctors are often surrounded by people who are overly polite or overly respectful, if not simply genuflective. They’re also exposed to individuals who are challenging, irritating, annoying, or difficult—patients projecting their misery and anxiety on them and asking all kinds of challenging questions. Medical narcissism develops as either a poorly regulated response to the adulation (for all the marvelous things health providers know they do) or as an overly defensive response to the countless threats to the professional’s self-esteem that occur every day."
http://www.webmm.ahrq.gov/perspective.aspx?perspectiveID=19