How can one decide what traits make up a good doctor? From a range of references including patient and physician interviews, historical studies and websites such as the NHS, I’ve gathered a few qualities required to become an able doctor, apart from the intelligence needed to graduate from a medical institute. I believe that it takes magic to be an apt doctor. Magic because it feels like someone who is knowledgeable, just, reassuring, noble, wise, warm, yielding, cooperative and brave feels like something out of a fantasy movie. Magic because they must be all-rounded. Magic because they must be omnipotent.
A good doctor is one that manages, cultivates and harvests a healthy, open doctor-patient relationship. Much like a shrub and a gardener, it is the physician’s responsibility to take care of and tend to the needs of the patient. For this, it is key to be a good listener and have the patience to understand the problems and cautiously work through a solution, maximizing patient welfare, inclusive of dealing with any worries they may have in a composed manner. Additionally, it is necessary to communicate back effectively. By taking time to present any diagnosis they may have in a focused yet sensitive way, it would make the message clear, comfortable and competent. When patients feel like they’re in good hands and they can trust the clinician, it instantly tends to be a smooth road from there. Being empathetic, considerate and non-judgmental can make the patients feel like their emotions are being validated and not just a task of medical issues that the doctor is trying to rush through. “To be adoctor, then, means much more than to dispense pills or to patch up or repair torn flesh and shatteredminds. To be a doctor is to be an intermediary between man and GOD” -Felix Marti-Ibanez in To Be a Doctor.
In conjunction with being patient-centred, a good doctor is one who constantly strives to better himself, not only as a healthcare professional but as a human too. Self-reflection is crucial. Before investigating others’ problems, it’s only fair to look within oneself, take care of their own issues before assisting others. This not only promotes self-comfort but helps them to question their beliefs, decisions, thoughts and actions, with a clear mind, when dealing with a patient. This goes hand in hand with the thirst for knowledge and curiosity. By venturing into new areas, experimenting with new techniques and performing fruitful research, it makes them more learned and aware of real time situations. Thus, making them thorough and veracious in their profession.
Lastly, balance. A good doctor must be able to simultaneously weigh the pros and cons of an option, be confident yet humble, bold yet kind, flexible yet decisive, scholarly yet sensitive. An absence of balance is likely to lead to a disadvantageous rapport between patients and the doctor himself or with the rest of the healthcare team.
In conclusion, it is hard to strictly define a good doctor because the qualities needed are immeasurable and subjective to opinion. To be a good doctor is to not only deliver a good result but to make the process feel good too. To be a good doctor is to be human. To be a good doctor is to be magic.
References:
Ibanez F, To Be A Doctor, The Young Princes & The Race And The Runner (M D Pubs 1968)