October 16th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Opinion
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Over the years, I have found that patients can be loosely grouped into 4 different types. Nothing particularly wrong with any type, but it does help me to approach patients appropriately if I can get a sense of what type they are.
The four types are:
Type A: If a surgery can “fix” or “cure” me such that I won’t have to take medications every day of my life, than let’s do it.
Type B: I will never consider surgery unless it is a life-threatening situation. If a medicine can help, why do it???
Type C: I will consider surgery only as a last resort when all else fails.
Type D: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
May 12th, 2011 by DrWes in True Stories
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It was interesting lunchtime conversation. A lone doctor listening to some highly experienced and capable nurses, reflecting on their work:
“If the patient’s nice, it’s a lot easier to want to go back in that room with them. Their reputation travels at the nurses station. But if they’re mean, well, it’s not as easy to go back in there, so I might not stop by as often.”
“I agree, it’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.”
Words to live by.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
February 12th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Currently, the most important test prospective medical students take is the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT.
Despite what schools say, an MCAT score holds tremendous weight, more so than a brilliant essay or a stellar recommendation letter.
In an interesting New York Times piece, Pauline Chen wonders whether that score itself leads to a great physician. She discusses an article showing that students’ cognitive traits may be equally important.
Although students go through several interviews to get an assessment of their personality, these are rarely standardized, and certainly not quantified. It’s important to know, for instance, how a student responds to stress: “If I know someone is not just stress-prone, but stress-prone at the 95th percentile rather than the 65th. I would have to ask myself if that person could handle the stress of medicine.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
