“And now, thanks to you, I have an upset surgeon on my hands. What do you think will happen to the waiting list?”
As a senior surgeon bellows down the phone at my friend, I am dumbstruck by his sheer vehemence and the ease with which he belittles her after hearing that a surgeon has behaved inappropriately towards her. Not once does he ask for her account or how she is feeling; he is in a rush to remove an irritation before resuming his business. The naked aggression achieves its desired effect. After shedding humiliated tears, she concludes that the process of justice will be arduous and self-destructive. Better to avoid one errant surgeon that lose an entire career.
