i am a surgeon (meme)

A meme based on the medical tv show, The Good Doctor .

In Season 2, Episode 17 titled "Breakdown", the protagonist Dr. Shaun Murphy (played by Freddie Highmore) confronts the new Chief of Surgery, Dr. Jackson Han (played by Daniel Dae Kim), after learning Dr. Han is transferring him from Surgery to Pathology against Shaun's wishes due to Dr. Han's bigotry against autistic people despite Shaun and his co-workers proving to Dr. Han that Shaun is a great and smart doctor despite his autism. When Dr. Han still refuses to reverse his decision, Shaun has a breakdown, angrily telling Dr. Han, "I am a Surgeon!" repeatedly.

The scene became a popular meme in 2023 on TikTok due to how over the top Freddie Highmore's acting in that clip. Furthermore, due to many not understanding the scene out-of-context, many sided with Dr. Han, believing he had the right to remove Dr. Shaun from Surgery due to the latter's immature reaction, not realizing that Dr. Han was the antagonist and unfairly removed Dr. Shaun from Surgery due to Dr. Han's bigotry against autistic people.

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