How can healthcare providers, especially doctors, find a common ground where trust, empathy, professionalism and care are valued tenets?Have you ever felt like your physician was about to give you a hiding for your failure to adhere to a prescribed care plan? Or perhaps you’ve been berated by your physician at some point for one reason or another. Well, you are not alone. While various factors such as cultural dispositions may dictate the doctor-patient relationship, troubling encounters may put a strain on an otherwise good relationship, often to the detriment of the patient’s health. As a result, incidences of distrust, violence and cynicism towards the entire medical profession are not uncommon. How can healthcare providers, especially doctors, find a common ground where trust, empathy, professionalism, and care are valued tenets? Here is a lowdown on the core aspects that make a good doctor and which need to become a pervasive feature of medical training and practice. After all, good medical practice goes beyond the repair of torn ligaments and prescribing medications. 

Adherence to the Hippocratic Oath

While it may seem like a no-brainer, the Hippocratic Oath calls upon a doctor to uphold certain ethical standards in the treatment of a patient. This includes, but is not limited to, showing empathy and offering respectful care regardless of a patient’s creed, social or economic status or race. It’s imperative upon physicians not to knowingly harm their patients and to value their patients’ privacy. 

Engagement in continuing education and personal growth

The medical field has been growing by leaps and bounds, especially with continued use of technologically advanced tools and approaches to care. In the same vein, the gains made in medical research and emerging theories mean that doctors can only offer high quality and individualised care after accessing various medical resources. Present-day complexities in medical specialties mean one thing: a doctor needs to engage in innovative research and to involve other healthcare specialists in the development of a tailored care plan to fit a patient’s needs. The good doctor is constantly learning and acquiring new skills. Her learning curve is in an upward trajectory—regularly updating her skills and questioning new knowledge. 

Similarly, when a physician communicates coherently to a patient regarding the treatment options available, he or she is more likely to engender trust. This tends to foster strong doctor-patient bonds, without which healthcare delivery is fraught with unending hiccups. Conversely, a doctor who lacks the essential skills needed for patient engagement is likely to fall into disrepute, which in turn may lead to public aggression or disregard for the profession. 

Acquiring requisite experience

Practice makes  perfect. So goes the old adage, which applies to medical practice as well. Truth be told: “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.” Medical errors are common feature of the profession. However, doctors have a hard time dealing with their misdeeds and would rather sweep them under the rug owing to two reasons: the fear of malpractice suits and the shame attributable to dropping the ball. 

Doctors are fallible, as are all human beings. However, pushing them against the wall when medical errors occur only aggravates the situation. Such physicians may either opt to blame others or, at worst, ignore the problems. Public apprehension also makes it difficult even for experienced doctors to own up to their faults. Perhaps, if patients and the media alike were more empathic, doctors would be more open to learning from their mistakes as opposed to being guilt-ridden and evasive. 

Engaging family members in patient care

Illness can have a profound effect on a family, more so if the patient happens to be the family’s sole breadwinner. Such family dynamics tend to affect patient care and a physician cannot afford to disregard the family’s involvement. Through coordinated care, a good doctor is better poised to share the patient’s concerns and promote mutual understanding on the best course of action. 

Furthermore, the good doctor helps the family interpret complex medical information to avert biases or misconceptions that may arise when information is misinterpreted. The physician may also play a pivotal role in preventing conflict or negative judgment and loathing by helping the family come to terms with the patient’s condition based on an objective standpoint. 

Listening attentively

Oftentimes, an overwhelming patient burden and time constraints preclude doctors from becoming active listeners. As a result, they may fail to keep tabs on a patient’s emotions and cognitive data or to conduct separate family meetings to address certain issues. Empathetic listening is a must-have skill for every physician. It’s incumbent upon medical schools to help their students hone the skill through practice. 

A good doctor pays attention and accommodates a patient’s perspective, even when it’s not evidence based. For instance, instead of adopting a biased opinion of a patient’s failure to take medication, a physician should investigate the socio-dynamic factors such as patient’s financial situation, transportation, access to a pharmacy, and cultural/religious beliefs before ascribing blame to the patient.

In a nutshell

A doctor of good repute attempts to uphold a patient’s basic right to medical care and exercises discretion while handling a patient’s confidential information. She takes a proactive role in enhancing the efficacy of healthcare delivery through continuing education and research. She is thoughtful, eager to lend an ear to her patients and well equipped to take the reins when the situation demands it. Moreover, she shares her expertise with patients, trainees and fellow professionals in an effort to foster a holistic approach to patient care that delivers the desired results.