Types of Personalities In Medicine

[965978]

So medicine is such a collaborative and dynamic field. Having said that, everyone talks about the difficult personalities that they run into. I wanted to start this thread so that we can make more clear the types of personalities in medicine and how we can improve ourselves for this challenging field.

Anyone care to elaborate on the different personalities they’ve seen?

I’ll start off with talking about myself:

One of my weaknesses is that I have an OCD habit of double checking things. Especially with medical records, I have to make sure that I have a everything in order.

Another one of my weaknesses is the “intention vs impact” debate. I try to be gentle and conscious of others peoples feelings but occasionally I’ll say something that is interpreted as offensive by the receiver.

One of my strengths, however, is that I almost never resist or have a problem with anyone’s wishes. If someone wants something done (whether a patient or a colleague) and it’s reasonable, I don’t resist at all. I just do it.

I’ll also kick off by tagging some pekple

@LizzyM @WedgeDawg @gyngyn @DrFortiusNatando

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[meronebib]

Narcissistic.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Compulsive liars. There's no better way to burn all your bridges. And I've seen them do so.

 

[Goro]

Being tightly wound.

 

[Dr panda]

One of my weaknesses is that I have an OCD habit of double checking things. Especially with medical records, I have to make sure that I have a everything in order.

If it is the answer to the popular tough interview question, then posing your weakness so it sounds as your strength is a very bad idea. Also, it is a popular mistake that people who were never interviewed for a job often make.

 

[965978]

If it is the answer to the popular tough interview question, then posing your weakness so it sounds as your strength is a very bad idea. Also, it is a popular mistake that people who never were interviewed for a job often make.

I wasn’t trying to frame it as a strength. It’s literally a problem I have. It causes me to be very inefficient.

 

[gyngyn]

Smart and adorable
do gooders
aspirational/competitive
relentless seeker of truth
pragmatic employer of truth
like science and mostly don't know what they are getting into
obedient children of demanding parents
disobedient children of demanding parents
always wanted to be a doctor (sunk emotional cost)
too much Grey's anatomy

 

[Toutie]

Smart and adorable
do gooders
aspirational/competitive
relentless seeker of truth
pragmatic employer of truth
like science and mostly don't know what they are getting into
obedient children of demanding parents
disobedient children of demanding parents
always wanted to be a doctor (sunk emotional co
too much Grey's anatomy

And you @gyngyn are obviously the Smart and adorable one, huh?

 

[gyngyn]

And you @gyngyn are obviously the Smart and adorable one, huh?

No, my students are.
I'm more "pragmatic employer of truth."

 

[965978]

No, my students are.
I'm more "pragmatic employer of truth."

Is there a noticeable difference in specialty?

 

[gyngyn]

Is there a noticeable difference in specialty?

Probably.
I only have observations, though. There can never be an RCT to prove my hypotheses...

 

[965978]

Probably.
I only have observations, though. There can never be an RCT to prove my hypotheses...

You could do a hospital wide survey about patients experiences with their physicians. Then you could analyze patterns across specialties.

The only question would be whether or not patient experience with a physician is reflective of physician personality..

 

[Lucca]

 

[CondorosaurusRex]

I wasn’t trying to frame it as a strength. It’s literally a problem I have. It causes me to be very inefficient.

Off topic, I know, but spd has a point. Even if you didn't intend to frame it as a strength, it'll come off that way in an interview with your original wording. You'd be better served with something like, "I tend to fixate on details at the cost of my efficiency. I address this by [insert your plan for improvement]." Being too attentive to detail isn't the weakness, inefficiency is.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Yeah, stereotypes help us navigate the world and I recognize their importance... but I hate our particular stereotype in Ortho, because it is the reason I field questions nearly every day that go “I’m not a bro, can I still do Ortho?” Sigh. The funny part is that these days, there are few bro-types in Ortho at all. The more likely type is the popular kid in school who played sports but was also a really good student, and went to church.

 

[Lucca]

Yeah, stereotypes help us navigate the world and I recognize their importance... but I hate our particular stereotype in Ortho, because it is the reason I field questions nearly every day that go “I’m not a bro, can I still do Ortho?” Sigh. The funny part is that these days, there are few bro-types in Ortho at all. The more likely type is the popular kid in school who played sports but was also a really good student, and went to church.

I think the jokes need updating. The Derm one has aged well in my experience.

 

[mistafab]

As many pathological personalities as there are, I find just as many down-to-earth and well-rounded people in medicine.

Mostly, the personalities run the gamot just like the real world. The caveat being that the personalities in medicine tend to be at minimum smart and willing to work.

 

[M&L]

Smart and adorable
do gooders
aspirational/competitive
relentless seeker of truth
pragmatic employer of truth
like science and mostly don't know what they are getting into
obedient children of demanding parents
disobedient children of demanding parents
always wanted to be a doctor (sunk emotional cost)
too much Grey's anatomy

wait, who are the "do gooders"?
and what is the difference between "pragmatic employer of truth" and "relentless seeker of truth"?

 

[Catalystik]

One of my strengths, however, is that I almost never resist or have a problem with anyone’s wishes. If someone wants something done (whether a patient or a colleague) and it’s reasonable, I don’t resist at all. I just do it.

"So, Doc, I've got this 10/10 pain. I need a script for ER/LA opioids."

 

[965978]

"So, Doc, I've got this 10/10 pain. I need a script for ER/LA opioids."

That why I said “if it’s reasonable”.

If I were to elaborate, my reason for saying that is because I’m a team player. I don’t make excuses. I like to pull my weight on a team.