By: Fatamah Esa
To be a doctor, you of course must possess the skills required for the job. These skills are learned throughout college and medical school. However, there are certain skills or characteristics that are not taught but nevertheless every good doctor must possess.
The first and foremost characteristic is empathy. A doctor must be empathetic because he/she must be understanding of the patient’s condition in order to be able to care for the patient better. It is also a better experience for the patient when the doctor tries to understand what the patient is feeling/thinking. Studies have even shown that patients with doctors who show an empathetic connection will actually have a reduction in pain. This is because “their body will suppress their awareness of the pain and they will experience a faster recovery” (Top 1).
The second characteristic of being an excellent doctor is having patience. Doctors will have many patients throughout the day to care of but the best doctors take time to ask their patients a few more questions and get a better understanding of their conditions instead of making rushed decisions. I have had experience first hand with a doctor that had little patience. He had taken my temperature, asked me what was wrong, scribbled something on his prescription pad and gave it to me, and like that he was gone. I was completely unsatisfied with the visit.
The last characteristics is to be respectful. Doctors should take patient's input seriously and work alongside them to figure out the diagnosis and the way to cure them. They should also respect the doctor/patient confidentiality and nothing the patient says should ever leave the doctor’s office (Top 1). Being a good doctor is not all about graduating from medical school because the ability to be empathetic, compassionate, patient and respectful are all just as important.
Sources:
"Top 6 Essential Traits of a Good Doctor - I-studentglobal." I-studentglobal. I-studentmedia,
n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
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