How to comprehend the joke?

[japanjapan]

Dear teachers,

Please look at the joke following:

A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. "Who is that?" the new arrival asked St. Peter. "Oh, that's God," came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he's a doctor."

The text containing the above joke comments that
the joke about doctors implies that the doctors are very conscious of their godlike role.

What does the red part mean?
Is it positive commendation or ironical？
I think it is ironic, but I am not sure. Does it mean that the doctors are arrogant and regard themselves world savers?

Thanks

[Tdol]

Doctors do have powers of life and death, but some doctors enjoy this and believe it confers a special status on them, leading to arrogance.

[RonBee]

The power of life and death--that's godlike.

:)

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by japanjapan

Dear teachers,

Please look at the joke following:

A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. "Who is that?" the new arrival asked St. Peter. "Oh, that's God," came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he's a doctor."

The text containing the above joke comments that
the joke about doctors implies that the doctors are very conscious of their godlike role.

What does the red part mean?
Is it positive commendation or ironical？
I think it is ironic, but I am not sure. Does it mean that the doctors are arrogant and regard themselves world savers?

Thanks

It is ironic. Many doctors act is if they were gods. This joke turned it around and had God acting like a doctor.

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

It is ironic. Many doctors act is if they were gods. This joke turned it around and had God acting like a doctor.

It's a funny joke, too. But I guess you either get it or you don't.

:)

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by RonBee

It's a funny joke, too. But I guess you either get it or you don't.

:)

I think one has to know the connection between doctors and god complexes.

[Tdol]

There'sa variation about a particularly arrogant footabll manager who gets to heaven and asks who the old man in the throne is and when told it's God, asks why he's sitting in the manager's chair.

[RonBee]

That is a good one.

:wink:

[Tdol]

It's even better when you know Brian Clough (the manager).

[Ayuda-Tulong]

We have an expression in the United States concerning doctors and their attitudes towards other people. We call it a "God Complex." It can best be explained by the fact that in order to become a doctor, one must be extraordinarily intelligent, first of all, and each one of them knows this. Secondly, in order to survive the rigors of college, then medical school, then internship, then residency, then medical liscensing boards, the doctor has to be stronger emotionally and mentally than the average person. Lastly, once one begins working as a doctor, and earning the compensatory salary that goes with it, they literally have the knowledge and power to save human life. All of these factors combined make some doctors look down on all other living beings, and treat everyone as their servants (or slaves). Arrogance, selfishness, snobbery, snootiness and derision are hallmarks of some doctors' personalities.

In the joke, the phrase in red atests to how much a doctor KNOWS that he or she is is an important person.