What makes a good doctor?

What makes a good doctor?

Nurses observe, assist, and collaborate with doctors more than anyone else, and a more demanding profession probably does not exist.  With the long hours, heavy responsibility, taxing mental exertion and constant phone calls, its a tough job to be a doctor, much less a good one.

So, what makes a good doctor?  First of all, we have to suppose a doctor is up to date on all current info, and competent clinically, so none of that will be mentioned here.  A good doctor excels at his/her profession, and here are some of the reasons why:

A good doctor has excellent bedside manner, and communicates well with patients.  All doctors are on very tight schedules, but the best ones can work within their time constraints, and keep their patients informed and knowledgable about what is going on.  This allows patients to make decisions about their plan of care, and decreases anxiety and stress.  The doctors who make this happen have much happier patients.

A good doctor will also maitain his/her composure in life or death scenarios.  Yes, its true, doctors really do make decisions that can push a patient's outcome either way, remember we mentioned heavy responsibility?  Most doctors are used to this sort of thing, but its still almost always unexpected and very complex.  The very best can remain calm, think things through, and communicate in a clear, concise manner exactly what needs to be done.  This really can be the difference between life and death.

A good doctor is also a willing teacher and listener.  A doctor is almost always in the position to teach others, as they are the most educated member of the healthcare team. (By saying this, I am breaking an ICU nurse rule that we never admit that a doctor knows more than us, it hurts our egos, but its true.)  A good doctor shares information when appropriate, and increases the level of functioning of the individual, and the whole team.  He/she also recognizes that they can still learn from the people they work with, and they willingly listen to opinions and input, and continue to learn therefrom.

One last thing that makes a good doctor: selflessness.  Thats a big tough word, and not something that is expected of most professinals, but the nature of being a doctor requires that of the good ones.  They must put themselves aside, their stress, and life's normal frustrations, for the good of the patient.  Thats tough.  Without getting too philisophical, being a doctor, at its core, is caring for others; and if you're going to do that well, you gotta be selfless.

So, if your doctor can do these things, and juggle everything else required of him/her, you have a great doctor.  Its not a bad idea to let them know you think so, a good doc could always use positive feedback.