Medical road rage? Are they lost?

No kidding, there was an article in the Sunday Boston Globe about doctors who are displaying what they call medical (or healthcare) road rage in the operating room. Now, violent behavior anywhere in the hospital, never mind around patients with sharp instruments, is certainly alarming and I applaud any and all efforts by the hospitals to implement a policy of civility and respect. In fact, I'm all in favor of civility and respect everywhere, including on the road.

But let's back up a minute here. Road rage, if we can trust dictionary.com (and I believe we can) is a fit of violent anger by the driver of an automobile, especially one directed toward and endangering other motorists or pedestrians. Are these crazy physicians driving cars in the operating room and going after motorists or pedestrians? No! They're throwing scissors and going after nurses or patients. That is not the same thing. Do you worry about medical professionals who can't tell the difference between the road and the operating room? Or the car and the scissors? So do I.

OK, I'll admit that you could have medical road rage in the ambulance, but that is it. And I will further admit that the healthcare environment can be plenty stressful and they are quite entitled to their own catchy definition of the resulting rage, but it has nothing to do with the road. When you're in the hospital or the medical office building, please leave the road out of it and call it what it is: medical rage or OR rage or something like that but more creative. Hey, we wouldn't mind sharing so much if it made any sense, but it doesn't, so get your own word, will ya?

That said, the Rider Method is surprisingly effective against irrational anger wherever you are, and you doctors are quite welcome to use it to banish rage of any kind, including road, medical or whatever you want to call it. You're welcome.