For when I act like an ass...
Just a little blurb here to keep me from developing an outrageous superiority/God complex.
According to a study in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, "the best physician is confident, empathetic, humane, personal, forthright, respectful, and thorough" as judged by patients. You'll notice that actual medical skill (such as arriving at the correct diagnosis after the first visit) doesn't immediately fall into the criteria, and here's why. Aside from living or dying, most patients can't discern his physician's technical ability. While this might seem a little superficial -- after all, who would want to go to a doctor that doesn't know what he's doing? -- it does make sense.
Physicians who are prompt, meticulous, and amiable tend to put patients in a better mood than those who are not. Realistically, medicine's a business of people. Sure, disease, drugs, and radical new procedures play a part, but a majority of doctors do what they do because they want to help people. Thus, the way you interact has a lot to do with how you are perceived.
Sure, you could be the most brilliant surgeon in the world, but if your bedside manner's lacking, then how many people will really want to see you?
Along with these traits, I've another criterion for discerning which ones are the best physicians. Just ask the nurses that work with them. Again, it's a matter of how the physician interacts, but this time it's with those that handle the more mundane (but incredibly essential!) tasks. Are they mere servants (one nurse even went as far as saying "handmaidens") or valued members of the health care team?
Don't mistake me though. A physician has to know his craft well -- being a social butterfly isn't enough. Rather, I'm emphasizing the unique combination of traits and talents manifest in a great doctor. And why do I go to such lengths to do so?
Because that's what I believe a doctor should be, and it's certainly the kind that I aspire to become.
According to a study in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, "the best physician is confident, empathetic, humane, personal, forthright, respectful, and thorough" as judged by patients. You'll notice that actual medical skill (such as arriving at the correct diagnosis after the first visit) doesn't immediately fall into the criteria, and here's why. Aside from living or dying, most patients can't discern his physician's technical ability. While this might seem a little superficial -- after all, who would want to go to a doctor that doesn't know what he's doing? -- it does make sense.
Physicians who are prompt, meticulous, and amiable tend to put patients in a better mood than those who are not. Realistically, medicine's a business of people. Sure, disease, drugs, and radical new procedures play a part, but a majority of doctors do what they do because they want to help people. Thus, the way you interact has a lot to do with how you are perceived.
Sure, you could be the most brilliant surgeon in the world, but if your bedside manner's lacking, then how many people will really want to see you?
Along with these traits, I've another criterion for discerning which ones are the best physicians. Just ask the nurses that work with them. Again, it's a matter of how the physician interacts, but this time it's with those that handle the more mundane (but incredibly essential!) tasks. Are they mere servants (one nurse even went as far as saying "handmaidens") or valued members of the health care team?
Don't mistake me though. A physician has to know his craft well -- being a social butterfly isn't enough. Rather, I'm emphasizing the unique combination of traits and talents manifest in a great doctor. And why do I go to such lengths to do so?
Because that's what I believe a doctor should be, and it's certainly the kind that I aspire to become.