medical narcissism medical narcissism medical narcissism is a term coined by john banja in his book, medical errors and medical narcissism. banja defines "medical narcissism" as the need of health professionals to preserve their self-esteem leading to the compromise of error disclosure to patients. in the book he explores the psychological, ethical and legal effects of medical errors and the extent to which a need to constantly assert their competence can cause otherwise capable, and even exceptional, professionals to fall into narcissistic traps. he claims that: ...most health professionals (in fact, most professionals of any ilk) work on cultivating a self that exudes authority, control, knowledge, competence and respectability. it's the narcissist in us all—we dread appearing stupid or incompetent.