doctorbetty Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 There are many qualities of a GOOD doctor. What do you think are the 2 MOST important ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted March 23, 2007 Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 There's been a few threads on this, one at the bottom of this page, actually...you can see what people wrote and decide which ones you consider to be most important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorbetty Posted March 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2007 Sorry, I actually did notice that link below. I'm just wondering what people consider the one or two MOST IMPORTANT traits of a doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gegbekle08 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Doctors must have good communication skills and be intellectual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krgregg Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 My top three pics: 1) Docs have to know how to properly communicate. 2) They need to have empathy. 3) They need to be realistic. good ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Med Guru Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 1) Logic based Problem Solving - the ability to think in a critical manner yet in simple terms. People are not as complicated as you might think and as Ocam's Razor has so eloquently illustrated, the simplest answer is usually the correct one. Experienced physician's typically are skilled at being logical problem solver's due to their evidence based medicine approach which allows them to disregard all of the extraneous "possible" causes with which patients present with. 2) Compassion - A physician that can truly understand how their patient's feel and not become insensitive to their pain will be truly successful as this quality is #1 or close to #1 from a patient's perspective There are a number of qualities that are very important qualities of a physician, but I think that these two are near the top of the list for qualities that will make you a successful and well liked physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolvenstar Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 If you want me to look through the view of a patient, and or family member of a patient: socially skilled: - sure someone who hides themselves their entire lives in the school library and books can be really smart and become very learned in medicine. However you can tell these people that don't get much experience in social situations so easily, they are awkward around people and their communication skills are zip. Doctors must also be people not organic medical robots. Doctors need to be skill in the social scene to make the patient and loved-ones feel like the doctor is an actual person, it helps them to feel like they or their loved one is in good hands. It's why ECs are actually important in life and to medschools. relatively smart: - Sure a doctor can have the proverbial silver tongue, or make you feel like you two have known each other for years after a minute or two, but if he doesn't know squat or gives off the impression (most likely unconsciously) that he/she knows nothing then people will get really uneasy, and start questioning the doctor. While asking questions is good, having doubts about the person treating you isn't. You don't need to be a straight 4.0 average, you just need to have a minimum level of intelligence, that tends to be higher than the intelligence needed to be a welder, or a janitor or a dozen other jobs. The biggest factor is balance. If someone is really good with one of these and really bad on another then they won't make a great doctor. Healing people is more than just being book smart, or getting along with people...it's a healthy combination of both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbene085 Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 2) Compassion - A physician that can truly understand how their patient's feel and not become insensitive to their pain will be truly successful as this quality is #1 or close to #1 from a patient's perspective That sounds more like empathy to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skvangs Posted August 12, 2008 Report Share Posted August 12, 2008 yes, everything said so far is excellent. i would like to add one more thing:consistentcy. it is very important to be consistent, be the best one can be all day every day, it doesn't matter if you have been awake for 30 hrs, be consistent, (by consistent i mean consistently good... duh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 The ability to put your needs second to someone else's (ie patient). A lot of the things mentioned previously apply to any profession or job. It goes without saying that you need to be in good health yourself to help others, but I think that medicine is really about is service. Service to your patients, your colleagues, and your community. Unlike an engineer, lawyer, or businessman, you don't stop being a physician when you leave your clinic/office. You're a physician 24/7 whether you like it or not. I wish I said something along those lines in my interviews...but this is the impression I've gained/have had drilled into me now that I am a med student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWOsw Posted August 28, 2008 Report Share Posted August 28, 2008 The best I could do was to narrow it down to three: 1. Humility 2. Compassion 3. Intellectual problem solving abilities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osmosis Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 The best I could do was to narrow it down to three:1. Humility 2. Compassion 3. Intellectual problem solving abilities i actually really like this shortlist. it seems like the last one is something you are taught in medical school vs having already ingrained, as with the first two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strider2004 Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 Caring, Self-Reflection and Discipline. If you have those, med school and residency can teach you the rest. Caring - This motivates you to do well for and by your patients. You will worry about their health and how your performance and skills affect them. Self-Reflection - You will be able to evaluate your own knowledge base and skill. This is often reworded in evaluations as 'Aware of his/her limitations'. Discipline - Along with wanting to improve and knowing what you need to improve, discipline will enforce the process. For some, medicine will be easy and for others it will be hard. You just need to make it up in discipline and hard work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meme me Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 The ability to put your needs second to someone else's (ie patient)... A lot of the things mentioned previously apply to any profession or job. It goes without saying that you need to be in good health yourself to help others, but I think that medicine is really about is service. Service to your patients, your colleagues, and your community. Unlike an engineer, lawyer, or businessman, you don't stop being a physician when you leave your clinic/office. You're a physician 24/7 whether you like it or not. Excellent points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutler Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 according to med schools: 1. GPA 2. MCAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilSarah Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 I agree with Sutler ... it's too much about GPA and MCAT these days. Great candidates don't even get to advance to the interview stage because of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crush Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 I don't think it's possible to name two (or three, or whatever) most important qualities in a doctor as there is so much variety in what different doctors do. For example, compassion and social skills are not as important in, say, pathology, as in family medicine (as the joke goes... but it's true - I don't mean this in a mean way!). Whereas pathology requires quite a different skillset including attention to detail. Other common 'most importants' such as knowledge/problem solving skills is not as much at the forefront in some areas where there are readily developed algorithms that one looks at. Conversely, organizational skills, something that doesn't scream doctor, are paramount if one is in health policy or a clinician-scientist. This variety is what is so great about medicine and why there are so many different types of people, each with their different strengths, in medicine. To bring it back to the whole 'interview' thing (as it is the interview board after all) - bottom line is that you can pick whatever the heck you want, as long as you can back it up with strong experiences that make you look good! As long as you're not TOO out of line... "I think the most important quality is superior golf skills as the drug reps will like me more when we go to play and as a result give me more samples", or "the most important quality is willingness to provide sexual favours to my interviewers..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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