Since you mention surgery as some sort of high-value comparator, surgical training favours people with some unpleasant personality traits [0] (apparently due to the stressful nature of the work), while surgery itself is a very powerful placebo [1].
This isn't to say that surgery or surgeons are evil and to be avoided. Not at all. It just adds nuance to the picture: the degree of training your healthcare professional receives is only one aspect of their job, albeit an important one.
Let's hope your surgeon personality doesn't help them too much with hiding their drug abuse problem if they have one then and that you are not the one going under the scalpel when they first start to lose it.
> Alcohol and drug abuse are a significant issue among physicians in general and surgeons in particular. A recent 7000-member survey of the American College of Surgeons demonstrated a prevalence for alcohol abuse among male surgeons at 13.8% and for female surgeons at 25.4%. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstrac...
This dictionary and factoid HN comment war thread makes me want to waste karma.
If you feel like diving, I literally got a response from dang a few days ago after absolutely losing my shit in another thread. In that case, the results for myself were not positive, and I regret my actions. At least it was a first offense and I didn’t get banned.
Generally, though, I feel HN is a good place to cathartically vent some heat. The limits/guidelines are set such that you can be aggressive without breaking them. You can add value in an aggressive tone. It’s like a city where the drivers are aggressive. Being kind, the first comment guideline, requires respect as opposed to syrupy fake facades. MMA fighters often respect each other, for example. This attitude is acknowledging the toxicity of anonymous internet culture and making the best of it. It’s an unhealthy place, but there’s value to be made/found. Are there any anonymous internet forums good for your mental health? I think not.
Jjconn’s take that therapy is useless makes me mad, and they’re willing to yell about it. I have something to gain here by learning their perspective.
> Generally, though, I feel HN is a good place to cathartically vent some heat. The limits/guidelines are set such that you can be aggressive without breaking them. You can add value in an aggressive tone.
Venting is okay, but weak rhetoric devices like one-sentence x doesn't work because vast blanket uninformed or intentionally reductionist statement should not get a free pass in the name of conversation. All it does is derail threads and put people who knows better in the position of managing egos while explaining what's wrong and doing it in a way that doesn't accuse the other party of just trolling or something. Or more likely they move on when they've had enough and the cycle repeats with other players.
> Are there any anonymous internet forums good for your mental health? I think not.
>A recent 7000-member survey of the American College of Surgeons demonstrated a prevalence for alcohol abuse among male surgeons at 13.8% and for female surgeons at 25.4%
"Avoid female surgeons" seems to be the thrust of your point here.
Why do you think they're separable? Personality informs decisions and care.
You're not a machine in need of a mechanic. You're a person, and people respond better when they're involved in shared decision-making regarding their healthcare.
This isn't to say that surgery or surgeons are evil and to be avoided. Not at all. It just adds nuance to the picture: the degree of training your healthcare professional receives is only one aspect of their job, albeit an important one.
[0] https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsbull.2015.331
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6693073/