Ideal doctor? From WebMD

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7 Key Traits of the Ideal Doctor

A Good Attitude Goes a Long Way, Patients Tell Researchers

ByÊMirandaÊHitti

WebMD Medical News Reviewed ByÊAnnÊEdmundson,ÊMD

on Thursday, March 09, 2006

March 9, 2006 -- What makes for an ideal doctor? Patients share

their views in a new study.

The study appears in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. It's based on

nearly 200 patients treated at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and

Minnesota from 2001 to 2002.

In phone interviews with people who had no ties with the Mayo

Clinic, the patients described their best and worst experiences

with their Mayo Clinic doctors, with confidentiality guaranteed.

The doctors seen by the patients came from 14 medical

specialties.

The researchers -- who included Neeli Bendapudi, PhD, of Ohio

State University's Fisher College of Business -- then checked the

interview transcripts and spotted seven traits that patients

favored in their doctors.

What Made the List?

Here are the seven traits listed by the patients, along with the

patients' definitions of those traits:

* Confident: " The doctor's confidence gives me confidence. "

* Empathetic: " The doctor tries to understand what I am feeling

and experiencing, physically and emotionally, and

communicates that understanding to me. "

* Humane: " The doctor is caring, compassionate, and kind. "

* Personal: " The doctor is interested in me more than just as a

patient, interacts with me, and remembers me as an individual. "

* Forthright: " The doctor tells me what I need to know in plain

language and in a forthright manner. "

* Respectful: " The doctor takes my input seriously and works

with me. "

* Thorough: " The doctor is conscientious and persistent. "

That list isn't in any particular order. The researchers didn't check

whether confidence was more important to patients than

respectful treatment, for instance. The Mayo Foundation funded

the study.

What Didn't Make the List?

The traits covered doctors' behavior, not technical know-how.

That finding " does not suggest that technical skills are less

important than personal skills, but it does suggest that the

former are more difficult for patients to judge, " the researchers

write.

They add that patients may tend to assume that doctors are

competent unless they see signs of incompetence, the

researchers add.

One patient put it this way in the study:

" We want doctors who can empathize and understand our needs

as a whole person. É We want to feel that our doctors have

incredible knowledge in their field. But every doctor needs to

know how to apply their knowledge with wisdom and relate to us

as plain folks who are capable of understanding our disease

and treatment. "

Who Wants a Cold, Callous Doctor?

The study is the first of its kind, writes Li, MD, PhD, in a

journal editorial.

Li works in the allergic diseases division of the Mayo Clinic's

medical school in Rochester, Minn. He notes that he would have

liked to have seen more details on the patients who were

interviewed, such as sex, race, and age. This information would

be helpful since minorities and women have sometimes

reported worse treatment from doctors than whites and men.

Still, Li says it's natural for patients to want caring caregivers. He

drafted a list of seven traits that are the opposite of those

mentioned in the study:

* Timid

* Uncaring

* Misleading

* Cold

* Callous

* Disrespectful

* Hurried

" Can healthcare really ever be high quality if the patient-physician

interaction is hurried, disrespectful, cold, callous, or uncaring? "

Li writes.

(end of article)

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