The best doctors are not always the smartest ones.

[sunnyjohn]

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The best doctors are not always the smartest ones.

Discuss.

😍

 

[jbrice1639]

Write a unified essay in which you perform the following tasks. Explain what you think the above statement means. Describe a specific situation in which this statement might not be true. Discuss what you think determines whether or not the best doctors are the smartest doctors.

 

[Em1]

Write a unified essay in which you perform the following tasks. Explain what you think the above statement means. Describe a specific situation in which this statement might not be true. Discuss what you think determines whether or not the best doctors are the smartest doctors.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm DONE w/mcat writing. I thought I'd never see those instructions again!

 

[Scintillation]

Write a unified essay in which you perform the following tasks. Explain what you think the above statement means. Describe a specific situation in which this statement might not be true. Discuss what you think determines whether or not the best doctors are the smartest doctors.

and regardless of what you write, we will be giving n's and m's to half of you....🙂

 

[USArmyDoc]

and regardless of what you write, we will be giving n's and m's to half of you....🙂

LOL....HAHA...You guys are great!

 

[Maerad]

Remember to write your essay in English. It will not be scored if it is written in any other language other than English. (repeat same instructions 50x)

 

[Orth2006]

Write a unified essay in which you perform the following tasks. Explain what you think the above statement means. Describe a specific situation in which this statement might not be true. Discuss what you think determines whether or not the best doctors are the smartest doctors.

T.A.S

THESIS(T): To be a doctor means you are smart

ANTITHESIS(A): Some dumb asses make good doctors

SYNTHESIS(S): What determines whether the best doctors are the smartest ones depends on who you ask.

 

[themadchemist]

Then there's hope for me yet...

 

[JakeHarley]

I'll bite...

In some cases, a "good" doctor will be the one who you perceive as warm, caring, a good listener, and someone you can trust. For example, I think I'd value these qualities in my family practice physician over brute intellectual ability, assuming they legitimately passed their boards and were licensed.

On the other hand, if I had a tumor near my brain stem that required the most skilled and knowledgable hands available to remove, I couldn't care less about the physician's personal qualities...I want the smartest, most accomplished surgeon I can get.

Also, If my mom or wife has a mammogram, I want the guy that can spot the early stage cancer a mile away...I believe it takes a certain intelligence to develop that kind of skill, making the "smartest" doctor the best doctor in this case.

 

[skypilot]

I'll bite...

In some cases, a "good" doctor will be the one who you perceive as warm, caring, a good listener, and someone you can trust. For example, I think I'd value these qualities in my family practice physician over brute intellectual ability, assuming they legitimately passed their boards and were licensed.

On the other hand, if I had a tumor near my brain stem that required the most skilled and knowledgable hands available to remove, I couldn't care less about the physician's personal qualities...I want the smartest, most accomplished surgeon I can get.

Yeah, I want a perfectionistic a^*^e that never makes a mistake and sees every operation as a another chance to do things a little better. But the most important thing is a surgeon that does this same surgery several times a day.

 

[MRwannabeDR]

well i wouldnt want a dumb one. id rather have a dr who didn't know how to communicate, but could make me feel better (improve my health)... than a dumb one who just knew how to talk

what is this question for?

for example, my family practice doctor is really nice. however, she doesn't know anything! she prescribes my parents the wrong medication, says the wrong things, etc

 

[Risa]

I'll take a stab. "The best doctors are not always the smartest ones." This is definitely the case when you define "smart" as "academically capable." Which is, I think, a short-sighted thing to do. One doctor could be absolutely brilliant at learning material, taking tests, and the kinds of skills traditionally associated with intelligence. But I'll take the doctor who is compassionate, personable, and will work his butt off to find answers for me any day.

 

[PineappleGirl]

I'll bite...

In some cases, a "good" doctor will be the one who you perceive as warm, caring, a good listener, and someone you can trust. For example, I think I'd value these qualities in my family practice physician over brute intellectual ability, assuming they legitimately passed their boards and were licensed.

On the other hand, if I had a tumor near my brain stem that required the most skilled and knowledgable hands available to remove, I couldn't care less about the physician's personal qualities...I want the smartest, most accomplished surgeon I can get.

Also, If my mom or wife has a mammogram, I want the guy that can spot the early stage cancer a mile away...I believe it takes a certain intelligence to develop that kind of skill, making the "smartest" doctor the best doctor in this case.

I agree with Jake here. I think especially in FP, good doctors are seen as the nice doctors, whereas in more specialized fields like surgery, good docs are the ones who are the smartest and do the best work, even if they are total a**holes.

I have to say though, it would be best to have a family doc who was also intelligent. I've had a good number of family docs who were super nice, but they did not seem very thorough or helpful in many instances, especially when it came to diagnosis.

 

[45408]

On the other hand, if I had a tumor near my brain stem that required the most skilled and knowledgable hands available to remove, I couldn't care less about the physician's personal qualities...I want the smartest, most accomplished surgeon I can get.

Word up. He can even say mean things about me while I'm asleep. 😛

 

[red dot]

dude, this is posed like an MCAT writing prompt. (is it an MCAT prompt?) here, you have to explain what "best" and "smart" means before you proceed with discussion... 😀

 

[madi]

I disagree with the idea that either you get a "smart" doctor or an incapable but nice doctor. It's all well and good that you want the best surgeon on the block, but then a surgeon doesn't need to do initial diagnosis. If you have someone doing an initial diagnosis that is smart as a whip but can't communicate with you, how can they figure out what your problem is? If they can't ask you the right questions, it doesn't matter how much book knowledge they have.

You have to be able to interact with people effectively to obtain information from them, information you need to determine symptoms, a diagnosis, probably causes, and cures. Human health is so affected by the mind (psychosomatic illness is just one example) that no good doctor can approach the human body as a simple textbook problem to be deciphered. Good communication is essential.

 

[calcrew14]

The best doctors are not always the smartest ones. They can be people who are smarter, just smart or even less smart. Definitely, only a small portion from each intelligence level will eventually achieve the status of best doctors. The vast majority will end up just doctors. I myself do not mind the status of either mediocre doctor who is very smart or best doctor regardless of intelligence level. What I definitely don’t want to be is a stupid doctor who is the best one around.

 

[fullefect1]

The smartest people I know would make horrible doctors. They don't have personalities, and they are hermits. This isn't saying that all wicked smart people dont' have personalities though.

 

[Turkeyman]

When I grow up, I hope to transform into a killer monkey with built-in lasers and poop that tastes like chives and onion cream cheese

 

[MedicineBird]

do I get extra points if I know that you are quoting Dr. Oz when he was on today's Oprah show??

The best doctors are not always the smartest ones.

Discuss.

😍

 

[tigress]

My FP is nice AND really smart 🙂

As far as the surgeon, I don't care too much about his IQ, MCAT score, or board scores. I care about his success rate in that type of surgery. Now, to be fair, that probably correlates fairly well with his scores, because, as Atul Gawande has said, the myth of the doctor with "talented hands" is rarely true; most great surgeons are great because they practice a lot, work hard, and learn well from their teachers. I'd assume these qualities would also make a person do well on standardized tests. Then again, maybe not 😛

 

[tigress]

When I grow up, I hope to transform into a killer monkey with built-in lasers and poop that tastes like chives and onion cream cheese

awesome, can I come visit you?

 

[speedup]

My FP is nice AND really smart 🙂

As far as the surgeon, I don't care too much about his IQ, MCAT score, or board scores. I care about his success rate in that type of surgery. Now, to be fair, that probably correlates fairly well with his scores, because, as Atul Gawande has said, the myth of the doctor with "talented hands" is rarely true; most great surgeons are great because they practice a lot, work hard, and learn well from their teachers. I'd assume these qualities would also make a person do well on standardized tests. Then again, maybe not 😛

not... how can one compare a multiple choice test to performing surgery???

 

[sunnyjohn]

do I get extra points if I know that you are quoting Dr. Oz when he was on today's Oprah show??

I am gonna go get me one of them fancy 64CT Scans they talked up on Oprah!

Medicine bird, you get a cookie for giving the correct answer.

 

[Sanctuary]

The best doctors are not always the smartest ones.

Discuss.

😍

This is always where I get lost when people start making blanketed statements like 'smart' or 'best'.

What is smart? I, for instance, program in four different computer languages, excel in science, and can play Pachelbel's Canon in D Major with my eyes closed. However, I cannot draw beyond stick figures, I know absolutely nothing about Russian history, and I could not name all fifty state capitals by heart. Does that make me smart? Who the hell knows, and who the hell cares? Instead, I like to think of 'smart' as being related to either a specific task or subject. Someone can be 'smart' with math, but not smart with the Vietnamese language. You get my point?

As for making the 'best' doctor. Best pathologist, pediatrician, or corporate medical analyst (with an MD)? It VERY much depends on which type of doctor you are referring to.

That blanketed statement is almost as silly as saying, "Those who can run extremely fast make better athletes than those who cannot run that fast." Well what about Tiger Woods? He hates running. He'd rather have a motorized cart take him from hole to hole.

Just some stuff to think about when asking about 'smart' and 'best'. 🙂

 

[TIGIBedHead]

As a corollary to that statement, the smartest students are not necessarily those with the best grades.

 

[tigress]

As a corollary to that statement, the smartest students are not necessarily those with the best grades.

so true!

 

[TIGIBedHead]

so true!

Woohoo tigress! Congrats on Jefferson 🙂

 

[MedicineBird]

I am gonna go get me one of them fancy 64CT Scans they talked up on Oprah!

Medicine bird, you get a cookie for giving the correct answer.

YYAAAYY!!!! A fat laden yummy cookie so I can add to the density of my greater omentum!! 😍

 

[tigress]

Woohoo tigress! Congrats on Jefferson 🙂

thanks 🙂 🙂

 

[rhystheprince]

What is smart? I, for instance, program in four different computer languages, excel in science, and can play Pachelbel's Canon in D Major with my eyes closed. However, I cannot draw beyond stick figures, I know absolutely nothing about Russian history, and I could not name all fifty state capitals by heart. Does that make me smart? Who the hell knows, and who the hell cares? Instead, I like to think of 'smart' as being related to either a specific task or subject. Someone can be 'smart' with math, but not smart with the Vietnamese language. You get my point?

As for making the 'best' doctor. Best pathologist, pediatrician, or corporate medical analyst (with an MD)? It VERY much depends on which type of doctor you are referring to.

You are right at the heart of the issue! Most (maybe all) of some professions is learning the SKILLS. For instance, your ability to play Canon in D with relative ease is probably partly talent, but mostly a lot of PRACTICE. People who could draw well, therefore, have developed a certain skill that you have not yet acquired. THAT IS NOT SMARTNESS THOUGH!

What is smartness? To me it is equivalent to being able to make the most of what you have at any time, and a having certain degree of resourcefulness and drive to achieve our goals. Talent has very little to do with that. I have seen COUNTLESS talented people who have been unsuccessful because they lacked the motivation or persistance to work hard and accomplish things.

How can we judge this notion of smartness though? Grades, MCAT scores and crap like that are very POOR means of judging this factor. They are, however, great if you want to see how a person could analyze data given on a specific test at a specific time (MCAT) and to roughly estimate their acheivement during a certain course of study (grades). Will that be a good measure of your success as a physician? To some extent, but not as much. What about interpersonal skills and things like that? Perhaps interviewing with that person could shed some light on that. But is there any way to analyze (and worse yet, perdict) someone's success as a physician with these measures?

Bottom line: I am not sure how we can assess people's smarts objectively. But I can tell you this: when choosing between a neurosurgeon with better surgical skills and another with great interpersonal skills but lower success rate, I would think that people would go with the former. I know I would...

 

[osli]

You guys really need to keep separate the concepts of innate intelligence, talent, and skill. The first is difficult to define but is addressed by IQ tests and the like. The other two should be simpler to differentiate.

For example, I play both the piano and trumpet. I have a talent for playing the trumpet... I excelled at it from an early age with little outside help or "encouragement." I loved it, I was good at it, progressing rapidly came easily for me... it was a natural talent. In combination with that talent I also developed much skill at the trumpet through hard work and long hours of practice. On the other hand, I do not have much talent at the piano. I can work hard to overcome some of that lack but will never be anything but mediocre. I have developed high levels of skill on the piano through brute repetition, such as the ability to play Liszt's Un Sospiro, but that skill does not equate to talent. I cannot easily transfer that motor skill (rote muscle memory on a particular piece) to other areas of piano playing, like improvisation, sight reading, accompanying, etc.

I think similar concepts apply to words like smart and intelligence but their use is not nearly so universal. I tend to think of "smart" in one area being more like a developed skill, while intelligence is a form of mental talent... able to tackle most any subject with some degree of "smarts."

So the question reduces to what is most important in practicing medicine... developed skill or innate intelligence? Depends on the type of doctor I suppose.

 

[sunnyjohn]

YYAAAYY!!!! A fat laden yummy cookie so I can add to the density of my greater omentum!! 😍

C is for COOKIE! (and Cholesterol)