From KevinMD:
What makes a good doctor?
There are two important characteristics. The first is clinical skill: the ability to find a pattern in the patient’s signs and symptoms, the ability to identify the pattern, and the judicious use of medical tests to fill in the blanks of the pattern. The second characteristic is compassion: the ability to care about the patient and empathize with his or her situation.
Many doctors have one or the other. Some of the greatest clinicians have excellent clinical skills, and poor bedside manner. And some of the most popular doctors have terrible clinical skills, but are easily able to deceive patients because they are kind and compassionate.
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