What makes a good doctor?

Abstract

What makes a good doctor probably depends on whom you ask. Patients value interpersonal relations, and being involved in decisions about their care. In contrast, hospital executives place an emphasis on the ability to meet key performance indicators critical to the flow of patients through hospitals.

Identification and evaluation of the core elements of character education for medical students in Korea

“…Discussions of the qualities of good doctors and the need for personality education in medical education can be found in several previous studies [6,7,12]. Nonetheless, the overall consensus in the literature is that character education in medical school has not been successful, and the current problems of character education need to be reviewed.…”

Does continuing professional development make good doctors?

“…Further to the crux of the issue raised by O'Donnabhain and Friedman, the question can be extended: does continuing professional development (CPD) make good doctors? This question directly addresses the push by the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) for a greater degree of CPD – and accountability therein – in the process currently proposed for its professional performance framework (PPF).…”

“…This may take the form of seminars, conferences and workshops. O'Donnabhain and Friedman grouped this with the concept of learning new techniques. These actually represented separate categories (2 and 4) in the 2018 MyCPD Framework of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians – summarised in Table – but have been amalgamated into a single category of the MyCPD 2019–2020 Framework, to maintain consistency with the CPD arm of the PPF suggested by the MBA .…”

“…These are more achievable than, say, conducting original research and publishing the arising results. The examples cited by O'Donnabhain and Friedman (Snow, Marshall, Watson/Crick/Franklin and Tu) are well out of the reach of the average Royal Australasian College of Physicians Fellow! The shift reflects the need for better quality CPD and to encourage a more interactive involvement of the individual rather than engaging in passive activities such as attending conferences.…”

“…The shift reflects the need for better quality CPD and to encourage a more interactive involvement of the individual rather than engaging in passive activities such as attending conferences. These promote the desirable behaviours of a good doctor to remain current with knowledge and evidence in their field, to be patient centred, to motivate and support colleagues and to contribute to the scientific understanding of disease. It can be argued that it is also an avenue for displaying leadership (within the community).…”