My mother has told me an anecdote about a family friend who was a surgeon who had a former student call him while conducting an operation because he couldn't remember what to do.

The (rumored) student has my respect. I would expect most surgeons to have too much of an ego to admit to that doubt rather than stumble ahead full of hubris. It would be comforting to know that your surgeon acted as if (as opposed to merely believing that) he cared more about the patient than the immediate perception of status loss. (I wouldn't care whether that just meant his thought out anticipation of future status loss for a failed operation overrode his immediate social instincts.)