Mock 11: Do you cry? How will this help you as a doctor?

[Guest therealcrackers]

One unusual question I got asked at my interview... "Do you cry?" and the follow-up was "How will that make you a good doctor?"

 

 

 

 

 

Edited the subject heading to standardize them. -Ian

[Guest stargirl]

this is off topic but i have a cat named crackers...

 

interesting question by the way...

[Guest MayFlower1]

therealcrackers,

 

I'm upset that you stole "mock around the clock". Darn, I was just going to use that one! :rolleyes My answer would be as follows:

 

Sure, I cry...crying is a natural expression of human emotion which I'm quite comfortable with. Do I cry in front of other people? If it's appropriate. If it's not appropriate I am also able to control my emotions until a time which is appropriate.

 

I don't think the fact that I cry will either contribute or detract from my ability to be a good doctor. What will definitely contribute to enabling me to become a good doctor is an ability to put myself in other people's positions and be sensitive to what what they must be going through.

 

Peter

[Guest Chieka101]

I agree with your first paragraph Peter. I was thinking of also saying that recognizing that crying is a normal expression of human emotion is imporant for a doctor, as she has to deal with different people in different capacities and must recognize that they can be subject to any one of many human emotions. (Tell me that wasn't a run-on sentence )

[Guest shutterbug]

I think that your ability to cry is an indication that you can appreciate and respond to the emotional needs of the patient. But, in a patient-doctor situation crying or feeling pity for the patient isn't going to do them any good. The doctor has to be focused on the problem at hand and continually search for real solutions. That is not to say that you should respond to the emotional needs of the patient.

[Guest canstowski]

Yea i agree with you guys that crying is just a normal emotional state that every normal person possess. People always say good doctors have the characteristic of compassion. If a person doesn't shred any emotional feeling, how can that person be compassionate?

 

But i think the key point here is to express emotion appropraitely. Let say a close patient of yours died. You don't wanna cry in front of the family. The family probably relies you for support. Crying only makes the family more sad and prevent them from accepting such reality. However, you can cry maybe back in your office or when nobody is looking.

 

I sorta believe a doctor shouldn't be a robot but at the same time he/she should be smart in certain situation.