I get this sometimes from patients on their first visit: We came to you because you’re the best. But every doctor gets this from time to time. Some doctors believe they truly are the best doctor.

But let’s get something straight. I consider myself a solid clinician with good skills and work habits. I also work directly with some 40 pediatric gastroenterologists with remarkable skill sets and subspecialization knowledge that casts a serious shadow over me and my abilities in the toughest circumstances. I know where I stand. I’m not, by any stretch, ‘the best.’

There are probably a lot of reasons patients start a visit this way. Maybe this is what they’re saying:

We really want to believe you’re the best. In our most vulnerable moments we want to believe we’re in the most capable hands. Whether we are or we aren’t.

If you’re a doctor and you believe the line they’re giving you, get over yourself as a big shot doctor and understand what’s behind it. It’s probably less about you and more about where patients are coming from.