Why Do Doctors Criticise Each Other

I met an interesting patient today. He works for one of the top consultancies , and he felt that the biggest problem with Indian doctors was that they were so insecure about themselves , that they often end up badmouthing each other. When he went to a physician for treatment, and then to another one to get a second opinion, the first thing the second physician did was to roundly criticise the treatment plan, the prescription and the tests which the first doctor advised.

He felt that doctors seemed to take a lot of perverse pleasure in pulling each other down and perhaps they do this because they are not very confident about themselves. However, they don’t realise the amount of harm they cause when they criticise other doctors. For one thing, you shake the patient’s confidence in the first doctor, but don’t forget, when he loses confidence in one doctor, he tends to lose confidence in all doctors as well ! It’s a small world , and what goes around, comes around . If you badmouth one doctor, it’s quite likely he will hear about it sooner or later , and he’s quite likely to repay you in the same coin by criticising your treatment approach, when some of your patients go to him for a second opinion.

I think doctors need to become smarter and to learn to stand up for each other. They need to understand that it’s important that they be respectful of other doctors , and this is a great way of bolstering the reputation of the entire medical profession in society. Every time we criticise another doctor, we actually end up harming ourselves as well.

This is not to say that doctors should engage in a conspiracy of silence against patients , or keep quiet when they see a doctor do something wrong . It simply means that we need to be a little more understanding, and appreciate that different doctors could have a different perspective , and that your personal perspective is now always correct. Give the other doctor the benefit of the doubt, so that when it’s your turn to be at the receiving end, he will return the courtesy , and will not badmouth you to your patients.

We need to assume positive intent, and remind ourselves that all of us are trying to do the best for our patients !