Five traits and qualities of excellent medical professionals

Being a doctor is about providing the best quality care to the patients, but being a great physician requires more than just high exam scores or learning medical terms.

Contrary to popular belief, only the treatment is ineffective in helping the patient; compassion and empathy are also essential.

Sadly, these qualities aren’t found in most doctors; but it is necessary to understand that when patients are vulnerable, they seek comfort to get through difficult times.

A good doctor should do whatever the patient needs to be comfortable in such circumstances. It could be either helping them find a medical specialist, acquiring a prescription, or simply being there for them.

For a doctor, earning a medical license might be a huge accomplishment, but that may seem small after a doctor enters the practical world.

Besides learning skills, physicians should work on qualities that would make them better doctors and human beings.

Five traits and qualities of excellent medical professionals

One might wonder about the traits that separate one practitioner from another; however, patients value practitioners with good communication skills and bedside manners.

Let’s look at some qualities that practicing will help medical professionals perform their roles more effectively.

Empathy

• Apart from healthcare providers working on becoming role models, hospitals, clinics, and even patients look for professionals that will provide support meanwhile doing their job.
• Numerous platforms like healthtech recruitment help ensure that medical professionals hired are competent and can positively impact the outcomes.
• While many people might consider empathy a sign of weakness that compromises performance during work, it is not valid.
• Empathy is a powerful tool that helps build patients’ trust, calms anxiety, and improves health outcomes. The key to patient satisfaction plays an essential role far beyond medical history, signs, and symptoms.
• It is common when a patient visits a healthcare provider, regardless of the extent of injuries experiences fear and apprehension.
• As a doctor, understanding patients’ feelings and putting yourself in their shoes will help you understand their emotions, develop accurate diagnoses, and administer appropriate treatment.
• According to research, empathy has been associated with fewer mistakes or malpractices, increased patient satisfaction, and improved medication tolerance.

Excellent Communication Skills

• Good communication skills are essential for medical professionals, whether talking to relatives or patients. It takes more than just performing procedures or making an accurate diagnosis to ensure patients receive proper care.
• Communication is the critical factor in various aspects of the healthcare system, from sharing patient information to discussing how to treat the patient. Strong communication policies can impact the patient’s well-being.
• When it comes to communication in health care, patient safety is the priority to establish an effective communication structure within the healthcare organization.
• Incorporating the best communication practices helps healthcare providers protect their patients and improve treatment efficiency.
• Communication is not limited to the patient’s well-being only; it is helpful in inter and intrahospital settings. Interhospital communication involves sharing medical records among institutions or transferring medical equipment between sites.
• All such activities require clear communication. Poor communication skills prevent proper access to patients’ medical records, which results in a second opinion or duplicate tests that aren’t necessary.
• Intrahospital communication is about sharing information among medical professionals about setting up appointments or scheduling surgeries.
• Lack of communication leads to medical errors and danger to patients’ health in severe cases.

Leadership

Being a healthcare provider means you would have to face circumstances that will require making immediate decisions and instructing others on what to do. One of the qualities of a medical professional is the ability to stand up in the face of difficult situations and take charge.

• Leadership skills enable you to inform other healthcare team members about the changes and implement them in daily routine tasks.
• As a team leader, you will deal with various tasks and get the opportunity to inspire and help others to reach their maximum potential.
• Although it might be a daunting task, bringing out the best in one another produces excellent results and benefits both the patient and the organization.
• Leadership skills make a significant difference. It keeps the patient satisfied with knowing that they are carefully looked after when tasks are running smoothly under proper instructions or guidelines.
• No one is comfortable stepping out of their comfort zone; however, change doesn’t seem difficult or uncomfortable when motivated to implement what is learned.
• Being a leader is about voicing your opinions and giving innovative ideas a fair chance.

Stress management

• A healthcare provider is recognized not for performing well but for handling stressful situations. Long hours dealing with hospital-related issues can surely take a toll on mental health, impacting patients’ health.
• It could all be overwhelming if the problem is not addressed with good stress management skills as a doctor.
• Coping with job-related stress can be easy if carefully handled using specific strategies. An effective method for dealing with stress is talking about it. While talking might not solve the problem, it helps teach how to handle stress.
• In addition to talking, getting some exercise in between the hectic routine is the best route to overcome burn-out or relax, which most healthcare professionals do not get.
• Exercise is the best option to tackle stress because it releases stress-relieving hormones and enables deep breathing, relaxing the mind and the body.
• Medical professionals can only perform well if they know how to balance their emotions with work.

Organizational Skills

• As a medical professional, it is evident that you will be dealing with many patients. However, there will be medical records and other paperwork on your hands that could be difficult to handle. In such situations, your organizational skills play a significant role. They will decide your ability to handle tasks diligently.
• Organizational skills help prioritize which tasks require immediate attention and which ones can be dealt with later.
• These skills will make the job easier and ensure that the patient receives quality care while work-related tasks are also looked after.
• Having organizational skills speaks about your ability to function effectively and adequately look after patients in the workplace.
• Conclusion
• Working as a healthcare provider does not mean focusing only on learning new skills. Patients look for the type of care that ensures the best treatment and addresses their every query until they are satisfied.
• A good physician is recognized for the qualities that benefit the patient outcome.
• In today’s time, where the emphasis is more on just treating the patient rather than offering support, healthcare providers must work on skills that will lead to productive results in the future. Knowledge or a new skill might help save a patient.
• Still, skills like empathy, stress management, and communication skills preserve cost, prevents mistakes, and, most importantly, improve the patient’s quality of care.