Anesthesiologist finished a brutal shift before a date only for him to call her job 'easy.' When she found what he did for work — the irony was strong
'Oh, so you pretty much just put people to sleep?' asked Dr. Perez's Hinge date
After surviving a grueling hospital shift that began even before sunrise and required her to save a man's life in the operating room, Dr. Pao Perez (@paoperez.md) rushed straight out the door to be on time for a Hinge date. Exhausted but eager to unwind, the 28-year-old anesthesiology resident expected this to be the relaxed part of her otherwise hectic day. But she wasn't prepared for the bewildering take her date was about to deliver regarding her profession. Perez later took to Instagram on July 26, 2026 to detail the entire story, garnering over 728,000 views.
A tiring hospital shift
Perez's day began at 4:30 a.m. when her alarm went off, after which she reached the hospital at 5:00 a.m. There, she got straight to work. But the day escalated when she had to manage an emergency operation during a life-threatening crisis. "I had a cardiac arrest in the operating room," she later recalled. Fortunately, she and her team were able to save that patient's life. This finally allowed Perez to finish her day at around 7:00 p.m., after which, without wasting even a second, she headed to her Hinge date.
'Just to sit there and do nothing'
Upon sitting down with her date, the conversation between Perez and her date quickly turned to their careers. Naturally, this prompted her to explain her role as an anesthesiology resident. Her date instantly recognized her discipline, saying, "Oh, so you pretty much just put people to sleep?" However, he didn't stop there; he further invalidated Perez's profession by citing his friend's mother, asserting that she gets paid a lot of money "just to sit there and do nothing." This remark was an immediate red flag for Perez.
Defending her practice
Refusing to let the disrespect slide, Perez began explaining the rigorous demands of her profession. She stated that they are compensated "for our expertise and for when things go wrong." However, instead of listening to her argument, the man doubled down on his take. "Yeah, no. I think what you do is easy," he said. Shocked, Perez then inquired about the man's profession, only to discover he worked as an art dealer.
Putting art above medicine
The conversation grew even more bizarre when the topic shifted to hospital scheduling. After Perez mentioned being on the call every three days, the man yet again tried to one-up her by claiming he was on calls every other day. He completely dismissed the intensity of a medical setting and equated it to his art-dealing profession. This staggering lack of self-awareness was the final straw for Perez, who was left questioning the modern dating scene and wondering whether to give up dating altogether.
Burnout from dating apps is real
Perez isn't the only person feeling burnt out because of the modern dating scene. On the contrary, there are plenty of others who share this feeling with her. According to a Forbes Health survey, 78% of people who have been on dating sites report feeling burnt out sometimes, often, or even always. Surprisingly, women have this feeling more often than men, with 80% of them reporting feeling burnt out compared to 74% of men. Moreover, the biggest reason for this is not finding a good enough match, with 40% of people citing it as the main factor for their burnout.
'He might think he's better than you'
The people in the comments were having none of it, as they expressed their strong views regarding Perez's terrible date night. @isamarfj commented, "He felt intimidated and wanted to bring you down to his level, just saying." Meanwhile, @gabbriella_arroyo suggested, "I wanna cry for you lol. Sadly, the girls — sorry, the men — out there these days. Imagine his hardest day was when he got 3k instead of 5k for one of his canvases. Block him; he doesn’t respect your job, and he might think he's better than you…"
Follow Dr. Pao Perez (@paoperez.md) for more content.
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