What are the Good Qualities in a Doctor?
Being a doctor is not just a career; it is also a calling. You will have to withstand long working hours, devastating events around you, and frustrations when it comes to dealing with patients who do not follow instructions.
We all know how difficult it is to choose the right career path, especially if you want to be the best at what you do.
Know that by simply choosing to become a doctor you already have proven your quality as a person but what about the good qualities in a doctor?
Here are some tips about the qualities you need to have to make it in the medical field.
Here are the 14 Good Qualities of a Doctor
1. You Have to Care (Genuinely)
This is perhaps the first and most essential quality of a doctor. Think about it this way; if you do not care about yourself and others, you will not be able to provide quality healthcare to your patients.
Doctors can sometimes seem detached or aloof, but this is often just a mask they wear to get through their day. They care deeply about their patients and the practice of medicine.
In fact, most doctors are very passionate about what they do for a living. When speaking with them, don’t hesitate to ask about their experiences and why they enjoy their work.
There are a number of qualities that make a good doctor. Communication skills and a caring attitude are two of the most important.
However, there’s also something else you need to think about: whether your personality is suited to the job.
As a doctor, you will come into contact with people from all walks of life, each with their own unique problems and expectations.
Some may be polite, others rude; some grateful for your help, others hostile – perhaps even violent.
You take care of people when they are at the scariest and most vulnerable times in their lives. You should therefore be able to do your job while showing sympathy, concern, and compassion.
2. Communication is Key
As a doctor, you cannot avoid interacting with your patients. What does that tell you? Simply that you need to have great communication skills.
Sometimes, your patients will not be able to speak and tell you what they are feeling. You need to be able to see concerns that need to be addressed as well as anticipate impending problems.
Of course, you also want to know how to speak to your patients in a way that doesn’t aggravate their condition.
Your communication skills take different forms but your smile is probably the most important one.
A hearty and genuine smile will give your patients a sense of comfort and assure them that you care about them.
3. Be Empathic
Sometimes, empathy, compassion, and care are confused with being the same thing but the truth is that they are different.
Empathy is your ability to hear and share your patients’ feelings. For a physician, this does not mean you always have to agree with what a patient or their family thinking.
Also, you do not want to internalize your patients’ suffering and pain just for your self-preservation.
You need to differentiate between being empathetic and understanding your patients by taking their pain and making it your own.
Empathy is one of the most important qualities in any healthcare professional’s tool kit. In fact, it has been argued that empathy is more important than technical ability for doctors.
It is essential for building trust with your patients and improving their experience of treatment.
This quality can be difficult to develop from scratch, but if you don’t believe you are naturally an empathetic person, there are ways to train yourself.
For example, engaging in role-playing exercises can help develop your empathy skills by putting yourself in another person’s shoes.
A good physician makes each of their patients feel important, not judged, seen, and heard, as well as respected for their perspectives, life experiences, and values.
4. Pay Attention to Detail
As a health practitioner, you know that paying attention to detail is vital when it comes to the provision of health care.
Even in the busiest and most hectic environment, you want to be detail-oriented to ensure that your patients get the best.
Doctors have to pay attention to details in order to properly diagnose patients.
They must know the difference between symptoms of an upper respiratory infection and the flu in order to prescribe the right medication.
Doctors are also required to note small changes in their patients’ conditions so they can properly adjust any medications or treatments that may be needed.
When you do this, it will be easier to notice even the slightest changes in your patients and act accordingly and promptly.
5. Have Problem-solving Skills
A good doctor should exercise great judgment as well as think fast.
Keep in mind that no two patients will be the same so you will constantly be trying to customize care and solve problems for each of your patients.
As such, the last thing you want is to be set in your ways as healthcare provision can be unpredictable and dynamic. You should be willing to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
You will find yourself juggling hectic schedules and demands and even with that, you will be required to respond to unexpected events all while making sound decisions.
To succeed in medicine, you need to be able to solve problems.
Not only is medicine a problem-solving process (diagnosing and treating disease), but a doctor’s day-to-day job also involves solving lots of practical problems.
For example, a patient might not understand what you’re telling them, or they may be refusing the treatment. Or there might be a shortage of beds on the ward.
You need to find ways of dealing with these situations.
You’ll also encounter problems when it comes to organizing your time and workload.
For example, you need to fit in everything from writing prescriptions and making phone calls to seeing patients and filling in forms – often with conflicting deadlines!
Physicians need strong problem-solving skills because their work is often unpredictable; they may encounter unfamiliar medical problems or new situations that require quick thinking to solve.
6. Be Respectful
Making decisions on the job can turn out to be a complex balancing act and when it comes to healthcare provision, respect will take you a long way.
Regardless of what you are forced to deal with, you are called upon to honor boundaries and respect everyone around you.
When you respect nurses, co-workers, as well as patients and their families, you are bound to get the same in return.
You get to demonstrate this quality by having a professional demeanor, being mindful of confidentiality, and having a high regard for your patients’ wishes.
A good doctor should be friendly and professional. For example, they should treat their patients with respect. Doctors who are rude and arrogant will not earn the trust of their patients.
Good communication is also important, as this can help build rapport and improve patient satisfaction.
Doctors should also listen carefully to their patients, ask questions to understand the problem and provide clear instructions on what needs to be done.
Doctor needs to develop respect for their patients and their opinions, as well as their abilities.
Treating people with respect is vital, even if you disagree with the choices they make or their beliefs.
7. Keep Learning
Technology continues to advance and so does medical knowledge.
In that regard, any physician worth their salt should have a great sense of curiosity that steers them to keep learning new things, as well as improving their knowledge and skill.
This will ensure that you give your patients the best and present them with all viable options to help them reclaim their good health.
Continuous learning is a key quality for doctors, who must keep up with studies, research and developments in their field.
They also need to learn about new techniques and treatments as well as new technology. This trait is important for doctors because they need to provide the best possible care for their patients.
A doctor must keep learning throughout his or her career in order to stay up-to-date on changing technology and advances in medicine.
This means being able to quickly absorb new information and apply it effectively.
8. Leadership
Being a doctor often means that you make vital decisions. There will be times when you’re required to make a final decision, such as if or not to perform a procedure.
It’s also up to you to instruct your subordinates on what to do and when to do it.
Therefore, there is a lot of responsibility in this role, so you need to be certain that you can be a leader who steps up and takes charge when necessary.
Keep in mind that you might be tired and overloaded with tasks when you are required to be a leader.
Sometimes making decisions can be daunting, and your subordinates might even disagree with you.
It’s crucial that you can evaluate situations quickly and take on board differing opinions from your team members.
But it will be up to you to make the final decision and ensure that your team agrees with you. There is a fine line between being authoritative and dictatorial.
9. Stress Management
Stress is part of being a doctor, from dealing with demises and long hours to a little downtime and hospital issues such as understaffing.
All these factors create a very toxic working environment that can weigh down on you.
If you don’t have proper stress management techniques, you might find yourself overwhelmed and unable to execute your duties normally.
So it’s crucial to figure out what works best for you during a stressful period so that you can keep your head above water.
Perhaps it’s running that clears your mind or meditation during work breaks or after work.
Whatever it is, you do ensure that you cope with stress so that it doesn’t take over both your work and personal life.
10. Professionalism
Medicine is a very noble field but keep in mind that being a doctor is a job before anything else, so professionalism is key. This means being attentive, courteous, and polite.
Like any other job, complaints can be raised, and you are reprimanded for being unprofessional to your colleagues or patients. So, you must maintain good behavior while at work.
Something else to keep in mind is you need to be punctual and file any required paperwork because not doing so could have some profound implications.
As a doctor, you’ll find that you’re held to high standards even outside your place of work.
This doesn’t mean you need to be serious 24/7, but it may require you to maintain professionalism when in public and keep your socials clean as well.
11. Honesty
Being honest with your patients should be easy; it’s part of the job. In fact, honesty is part and parcel of the American Medical Association’s code of ethics.
Unfortunately, modern medicine can lead you to a gray area where the most helpful thing to say in a tense situation with a patient might not be the most truthful.
According to a 2012 US study comprising about 2000 doctors, a fifth of the states that fudging the truth isn’t necessarily out of bounds.
In fact, more than 10% of them admitted that they had lied to patients over the past year.
12. Courageous
As a doctor, you’ll face everyday situations that call for moral courage, such as caring for an infectious patient, conversing with an angry patient or family member, addressing a colleague’s incompetency, disclosing a medical error, and raising concerns about unsafe practices.
Do not be disheartened if you can’t always adhere to these high expectations.
Keep in mind that being courageous isn’t necessarily the act of trying to do what’s right sometimes; it can be simply the act of trying.
13. Optimism
As a doctor, do you inspire optimism in your patients? Generally speaking, patients who are optimistic or who have someone instill optimism in them have better health outcomes.
Optimism has been linked with a wide variety of physical health benefits, from reduced risk of cardiovascular illnesses and stroke to enhanced levels of antioxidants and lipids.
Optimism has also been associated with healthier behaviors.
For instance, optimistic people are more likely to eat healthily, work out, manage their stress levels better, and abstain from retrogressive behaviors such as smoking.
Therefore, as a physician, you should always inspire optimism in your patients, especially those who seem dejected or frustrated by their condition.
Good Qualities in a Doctor
14. Humility
As a physician, you need to be approachable and available with your colleagues and patients. This means that your patients never feel rushed despite overscheduling and time limitations.
Listen to everything they have to say without pre-emptively voicing your opinion. You must be willing to admit uncertainty and willing to ask questions.
As a physician, you learn with each passing day, and such situations should strengthen your resolve.
Final Thoughts
Being a doctor is not just about having a medical degree and working in a hospital. There are certain qualities that make you a good doctor, or even a great one.
These qualities of a doctor are intangible but are essential for being respectful, compassionate, and trustworthy.
While some of them come naturally to you, there are others that need to be developed over time.
Practicing in the medical field is not easy. However, by following the tips above and adapting all the qualities discussed, you should have an easier time navigating the job.
See Also
Follow us