Five traits and qualities of excellent medical professionals

Being a doctor is about providing the highest-quality patient care, but being a great physician requires more than 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. This could include helping them find a medical specialist, acquiring a prescription, or simply being there for them.

Earning a medical license might be a huge accomplishment for a doctor, but that accomplishment may seem small after the 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 characteristics that separate one practitioner from another; however, patients value practitioners with good communication skills and bedside manners.

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

Empathy

• Besides healthcare providers working on becoming role models, hospitals, clinics, and patients look for professionals to support them while doing their jobs.
• 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 work performance, this is not true.
• Empathy is a powerful tool that helps build patients’ trust, calms anxiety and improves health outcomes. The key to patient satisfaction is essential beyond medical history, signs, and symptoms.
• It is common for patients to experience fear and apprehension when visiting a healthcare provider, regardless of the extent of injuries.
• 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.
• Research has shown that empathy is 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. Ensuring patients receive proper care requires more than just performing procedures or making an accurate diagnosis.
• Communication is critical 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 healthcare, patient safety is the priority. Therefore, establishing an effective communication structure within the healthcare organization is crucial.
• 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; 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 about setting up appointments or scheduling surgeries among medical professionals.
• Lack of communication leads to medical errors and danger to patients’ health in severe cases.

Leadership

Being a healthcare provider means facing circumstances that require 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 daunting, bringing out the best in one another produces excellent results and benefits both the patient and the organization.
• Leadership skills make a significant difference. When tasks run smoothly under proper instructions or guidelines, patients are satisfied, knowing they are carefully looked after.
• 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.
• 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. A practical 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 way to overcome burnout or relax, which most healthcare professionals do not do.
• 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 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 tasks that require immediate attention, and that can be dealt with later.
• These skills will make the job easier and ensure 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 and look after patients in the workplace.

Conclusion

Working as a healthcare provider does not mean focusing only on learning new skills. Patients look for 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 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 preserve cost, prevent mistakes, and, most importantly, improve the patient’s quality of care.