2 questions! Please help

[WannabeaMD]

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Hello! I would llike to know what do you think of:

1. Should Doctors have extrovert personality? Could an introvert personality hurt your chances?

2. If you were an internatioanl student and English were your second language, How would you overcome this? We all know that Doctors must have excellent verbal and writing skills so Do you think that this factor could interfere in the patient-doctor relationship? Is there any issue on having an accent and a last name hard to pronounce? Is there any tool/technology device that helps ESL students to improve pronunciation in medical terminology.

Thank you very much.

 

[FutureDocSteve]

I don't have the information you're looking for in your second question. But as to your first question, doctors come in all personality types. There are so many career specializations after becoming a doctor that any person -- extravert or introvert -- can find a place that suits their personality. If you happen to be an extravert, pick a path that allows you to interact with many people, like internal medicine, family practice, emergency medicine. If on the other hand you're an introvert, pick a specialty where you are likely to interact with fewer people, such as radiology or pathology. Ultimately, it is your passion for the career you choose that will make the difference in whether you are successful in it. Spend time learning about yourself: who you are and the kinds of tasks you enjoy, then use that knowledge to help you in choosing your career path.

 

[mspeedwagon]

For number 1, I have to agree with the previous poster. I'm probably on the border (though less so with kids) and am interested in pediatrics. If you are a complete introvert, then there is always pathology and radiology where you interact with slides/films most of the day.

For number 2, I think you are greatly over-estimating the mastery of the English language that most doctors need to have. If you are coherent and knowledgable then I don't think it matters that much. I worked with a doctor (this guy: http://children.photobooks.com/directory/profile.asp?dbase=main&setsize=5&service=46&pict_id=9904390) that barely spoke English, but is one of the leading pediatric oncology pathologists in the country. He could barely make a grammatically proper sentence, but he could talk pathology (in English) all day long. If you work in a speciality with more patient interaction, it matters slightly more (but not really). Over time your skills will improve (another doctor I worked with who is a pediatric oncologist came to the US and didn't speak a work of English and is now a pediatric oncologist at Stanford: if it matters here is her info: http://www.lpch.org/findADoctor/search/doc.pl?doc=1947&resultSet=1947).

Hello! I would llike to know what do you think of:

1. Should Doctors have extrovert personality? Could an introvert personality hurt your chances?

2. If you were an internatioanl student and English were your second language, How would you overcome this? We all know that Doctors must have excellent verbal and writing skills so Do you think that this factor could interfere in the patient-doctor relationship? Is there any issue on having an accent and a last name hard to pronounce? Is there any tool/technology device that helps ESL students to improve pronunciation in medical terminology.

Thank you very much.

 

[NTF]

Some of this depends on what you mean by introvert.

If you mean quiet person, who can communicate effectively with a colleagues and patients, and at least facsimilate empathy, a smile, and a sense of humor. I think you're probably cool. Nobody expects everyone to be a social butterfly or the life of the party.

But if by introvert you mean creepy type who doesn't smile, can't communicate for ****, generally weirds people out, and can't maintain basic hygiene then there may be problems. But apparently it won't keep you out of a job, because I've seen docs like this in almost every specialty and field.

As far as being ESL, I think it's just a matter of practice. Immerse yourself in english and hang out with english speakers. Watch soap operas. Buy ESL software and tapes. Put out an ad for a ESL conversation partner on Craigslist.

 

[WannabeaMD]

Thank you so much for such great advices!
I will surely follow them.

Thank you very much 🙂