What is the most important quality or skill for a doctor to possess?

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ChubbyChaser

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Just curious what you guys think of this.
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I'd have to go with the people skills.
 
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lol you are a fatty. That icon is awesome.
As for the most important quality, I think it depends on what you're interested in. I don't think people-oriented qualities are very important for a radiologist, for example.
 
what about professionalism?

I guess this is more a set of skills, rather than one specific one.
 
littlealex said:
lol you are a fatty. That icon is awesome.
As for the most important quality, I think it depends on what you're interested in. I don't think people-oriented qualities are very important for a radiologist, for example.
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you mean radiologists dont have to interact with patients!?!?!?!?!?!;)
 
I think inquisitiveness is highly underrated. (That and the ability to stay awake for an ungodly number of hours in a row during med school/residency haha)
 
communication skills, unless your specialty doesn't have much patient interaction. Empathy would be second on my list.
 
How about:

1. Patience
2. Empathy
3. Rapid Informed Decsion Making
 
metalmd06 said:
How about:

1. Patience
2. Empathy
3. Rapid Informed Decsion Making
Click to expand...

Haha. I was just about to say: While I would say empathy now, I bet if you asked us in ten years or so we would say patience.
 
So noone thinks intellect is the most important?
 
Good point, but I feel that goes without saying. You can't become a physician unless you are adequately intellegent. I think most of the other qualities and skills listed are more intangible and not everyone has them or can learn them.
 
metalmd06 said:
How about:

1. Patience
2. Empathy
3. Rapid Informed Decsion Making
Click to expand...

Not sure how this is an important quality, unless you are an ER doc. I heard of someone being asked "What's quick 1-second decision that you are proud of?" What person had to go blank, could not come up with any. I think most of the best decisions in life and medicine are not what someone call "rapid."
 
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True, but you have to be prepared for anything to happen. Just because you're not an ER doc doesn't mean one of your patients can't have a heart attack in your office. It doesn't mean that something unexpected can't happen during surgery, or that an infant won't rapidly desat and become cyanotic during a seemingly benign exam. I've seen it happen and the best doctors are able to make intelligent, informed decisions very rapidly with great precision.
 
Encyclopedic knowledge of Robbins and Harrison's.
 
what about "tough skinned" ability to take criticism (this might be more imp for med students rather than doctors)
 
Knowledge in the field of medicine. A robot that saves your life is a lot better than a really nice guy that holds your hand while you die.
 
time management, being a great doctor and a great parent/spouse will be one hefty balancing act.
 
Maxprime said:
Knowledge in the field of medicine. A robot that saves your life is a lot better than a really nice guy that holds your hand while you die.
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Thats what CNAs are for, to hold your hand and wipe your butt,... GEEZE.
 
The MOST important? I don't know. There isn't one ability that would cover up for a severe lack of others. I will say that being a good listener is important. Strong diagnostic sense is great too.
 
Cheap malpractice insurance?
 
intelligence~ would that count as a quality?
 
amwatts0322 said:
yup, but thats pretty much a given. I was thinking more along the lines of the "intangibles"
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Sandy Koufax said:
"In the end it all comes down to talent. You can talk all you want about intangibles, I just don't know what that means. Talent makes winners, not intangibles. Can nice guys win? Sure, nice guys can win - if they're nice guys with a lot of talent. Nice guys with a little talent finish fourth, and nice guys with no talent finish last."
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I'm trusting Mr. Koufax on this one. :)
 
Along with a level-head and competence, I think a physician should have a sense of humor. That's one thing I look forward to; cracking jokes with my patients, when appropriate.
 
excellent communication skills, compassion, humility, sense of humor, intelligence, perceptful, humble. I could go on.
 
arrogance and disgust for those lower than you
 
Auron said:
excellent communication skills, compassion, humility, sense of humor, intelligence, perceptful, humble. I could go on.
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How about the ability to distinguish between nouns and adjectives :laugh:
 
Being a wall - buff & turf!
 
Drogba said:
How about the ability to distinguish between nouns and adjectives :laugh:
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hey buddy,

You pick on every little thing people say and then you grace us with your smart a** remarks. Quit it, it's getting rather tiresome.
 
LOL at “humility” being mentioned here as important to being a doctor. Why all the subtlety. Why not just be honest and write, “I think doctors are amazing superhumans, so in order to effectively blend in with ordinary people we need to try and be humble."
 
Auron said:
excellent communication skills, compassion, humility, sense of humor, intelligence, perceptful, humble. I could go on.
Click to expand...

Is this a word? If not, it should be.
 
#1 without a doubt - knowledge
#2 without question - wisdom
#3 almost certainly - courage

Confucius had two of those in his "top three virtues" but IMO he got it wrong by not mentioning knowledge (let alone putting it at the top of his list). Same story for Aristotle.

This goes for any man, not just a physician. You must have knowledge as the principle toolset with which to work. The best intentioned but uneducated person is unequipped to provide help to his fellow man in many situations, especially in the context of a physician. Without knowledge you are explicitly subservient to the directions of others. After knowledge, you must have wisdom to know when and how to apply that knowledge - to know what circumstances call for action as opposed to simply knowing the correct action. There are a lot of other characteristics or virtues, but without wisdom you don't know when to be compassionate and when to be unyielding, when to be humble and when to be proud. Wisdom also helps to fill any gaps in knowledge, for with wisdom you can identify those gaps and ask for help. And finally you must have courage - after you know the array of actions and reactions, and have the wisdom to know which to apply in a given situation, you must have the courage to actually act. Without action, your knowledge and wisdom are empty as a physician.
 
I actually think humility is not a great quality for all docs. It takes quite a bit of bravado, arrogance and balls to believe that you can cut into a person's body and improve their anatomy with your sharp objects.
 
osli said:
#1 without a doubt - knowledge
#2 without question - wisdom
#3 almost certainly - courage

Confucius had two of those in his "top three virtues" but IMO he got it wrong by not mentioning knowledge (let alone putting it at the top of his list). Same story for Aristotle.

This goes for any man, not just a physician. You must have knowledge as the principle toolset with which to work. The best intentioned but uneducated person is unequipped to provide help to his fellow man in many situations, especially in the context of a physician. Without knowledge you are explicitly subservient to the directions of others. After knowledge, you must have wisdom to know when and how to apply that knowledge - to know what circumstances call for action as opposed to simply knowing the correct action. There are a lot of other characteristics or virtues, but without wisdom you don't know when to be compassionate and when to be unyielding, when to be humble and when to be proud. Wisdom also helps to fill any gaps in knowledge, for with wisdom you can identify those gaps and ask for help. And finally you must have courage - after you know the array of actions and reactions, and have the wisdom to know which to apply in a given situation, you must have the courage to actually act. Without action, your knowledge and wisdom are empty as a physician.
Click to expand...

:cool: I can accept this as pretty good stuff.
 
Auron said:
haha, how about perceptive? A good doctor should be able to infer things about their patients that might not be obvious to others.
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Or perceptual?
 
What THEY want to hear -

Professionalism
Humility



In reality-

The ability to take a psychological, emotional, and physical beating and to bounce back. The ability to take your normal "recovery time" from such a beating and make it near zero.

Medical school will teach you this very, very quickly. It WILL kick your ***. No question whatsoever.
 
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