“What are the qualities of successful doctors?” is the question that both practicing medical doctors and medical students want to be answered. Of course, you are curious. After all, you want to be a successful doctor too. So, what makes them successful? Is it their excellent choice of medical schools? Their outstanding grades? To give you some tips on how to be a great physician someday, here are some of the qualities of successful doctors:
Successful doctors are excellent communicators
Social interaction is both inevitable and important in medical practice. Case in point: Dr. Cristina Yang of Grey’s Anatomy. Dr. Yang graduated received top honors from Stanford Medical School and got her PhD from Berkeley. She is a walking medical textbook with excellent surgical skills. So, what’s missing? People skills. Dr. Yang is not comfortable with communicating with her patients or good at delivering terrible news. You need to find a balance between medical aptitude and social skills to be a successful doctor. Patients are people too, and they need to be taken care of with enough sensitivity.
Successful doctors are keen observers
Great things, they say, come in small packages, and this still holds true when it comes to diseases and disorders. Malaria starts with a tiny mosquito bite. Cancer begins with a small malignant tumor. An eye for detail is very important in medical practice because it will help you in easily identifying the cause of an illness or the problem of a patient. A keen observation will help you save a person’s life. In medical practice, you have to stay curious and alert 100% of the time before things get worse. If you wish to have a successful career in medicine, then you should start practicing that Sherlock Holmes vigilance.
Successful doctor are time management experts
Yes, time management is very important in medical practice. Time management, however, doesn’t start with medical residency. It should start during medical school. Practicing excellent time management skills during medical school not only helps you study all your lessons well but it also helps you get more sleep. Organizing your daily activities into a tight schedule is very effective in fighting procrastination and laziness. If your schedule for studying biochemistry is from 8:00 to 10:30 pm only, then you must understand pyruvate oxidation by 10:30 pm. And if your schedule indicates that you need to be asleep from 12:00 midnight to 5:00 am, then you better be in bed once midnight strikes.
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Have you decided on a medical specialization yet? If not, then you should start checking your options now. Selecting a medical specialization, just like writing sample medical school personal statements, needs a lot of careful planning and evaluation. One of the things that you have to consider in your selection is the tightness of competition. Medical practice, after all, is not only about helping other people survive but also helping yourself survive. To help you make your choice, here are some of the most competitive medical specializations according to most people.
Neurosurgery
It may look easy for Dr. McDreamy, but neurosurgery is actually one of the toughest specializations in the medical world. There is absolutely no room for mistakes in neurosurgery because the nervous system is the control unit of a person’s entirety, so damaging one part of the brain can ultiately harm the whole person. Even the slightest mistake in neurosurgical operations may lead to paralysis, coma, psychosis, brain damage, or death. Despite the risks associated with it, neurosurgery still remains as a favorite medical specialization among aspiring doctors. Many doctors are drawn toward neurosurgery because it is both challenging and exciting. The human brain is so powerful and delicate that every successful neurosurgical operation seems like a medical breakthrough.
Dermatology
In a world where people are obsessed with physical beauty, it comes as no surprise that competition in dermatology is very tight. Skin care services, despite their being expensive, remain very popular because people want to look good all the time. Dermatology, however, is not limited to wart removal or skin whitening services. It also involves the treatment of skin diseases such as impetigo, dermatitis, acne, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, eczema, and melanoma. Because of its wide scope of potential patients, dermatology is still one of the most sought-after medical specializations today. Dermatology appeals to many medical practitioners because it involves a wide variety of medical procedures and a huge amount of salary.
Competition in neurosurgery and dermatology is tight, but it doesn’t mean that you have to cross them out of your list. If you think you can handle the insertion of electrode in people’s brain or the removal of tissue from people’s eyelids, then go for it. After all, you did mention in your sample medical school personal statements that you will do whatever it takes to succeed in the world of medicine.
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After coping with stress in medical school and adapting to the pressure of medical residency, doctors must face yet another tough challenge in their medical career: the selection of medical specializations. Here are some of the most popular medical specializations:
* Plastic surgery
One of the most popular specializations in the world of medical practice is plastic surgery, but what most medical students do not understand is that plastic surgery is one of the toughest medical specializations to excel in. The reconstruction of physical deformities and enhancement of physical assets are not as easy as creating incisions or making stitches on a patient’s body. Plastic surgery is always coupled with a lot of risks, which usually include paralysis and death.
Cause of popularity: Aside from the expensive rates involved in surgical procedures, surgery owes it popularity to people’s undeniable obsession with physical beauty.
* Pediatrics
Because cute little kids are so hard to resist, more and more medical students are making their way toward pediatrics. The job of pediatricians goes beyond asking for deep breaths and checking for possible infections. Pediatricians provide medical care not only for children’s physical health but also for children’s mental condition and social wellness. They also give tips and guidelines on how to avoid chronic diseases and maintain proper nutrition.
Cause of popularity: Aside from having adorable children as patients, pediatrics owes its popularity to the fact that most parents will pay large amounts of money just to ensure their child’s safety.
* Obstetrics and gynecology
Probably the most popular medical specialization among female doctors is obstetrics and gynecology. This medical specialization remains close to every female doctor’s heart because it focuses on parts of the anatomy that are found only in women. Obstetrics and gynecology deals with the provision of medical care for the reproductive health of both pregnant and non-pregnant patients.
Cause of popularity: Aside from the challenge and excitement of administering births, the fact that women get pregnant and give birth every single day assure these medical practitioners of a stable practice.
The cultural popularity, as well as the amount of salary involved, should never be the basis for selecting a medical specialization. Medical practitioners should choose a medical specialization in which they feel most useful in. Those interested in treating skin diseases should pursue dermatology, while those who are interested in treating heart diseases should go for cardiology. The selection of medical specialization must always be based on passion because that is the only way doctors can do their job effectively.
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