Essential Personality Traits For The Medical Field
The medical field presents more opportunities than ever before when it comes to earning power and career growth. This applies from conventional doctors and nurses to other supplemental and specialized professionals. However, just because these benefits are present, doesn’t mean that everyone is well suited for the medical profession.
On top of the years of study and training that professionals go through, there are also certain key personality traits that make some people better suited for the job than others. Here are some key examples.
Passion
People on the outside looking in may just see the earning power many medical professionals have as a major draw to the field, but the truth is considerations don’t stop there. Medical professionals also have to work long hours on a schedule unlike any other industry, and are often put in a series of high-stress situations on a daily basis. It’s not a surprise that many medical professionals are at risk of burnout or mental health issues as a direct result of their jobs.
Because of this, people that stay in the medical world for the long haul don’t do it for the money, but because they genuinely want to help people. It’s important for you to consider that fact if you’re on the fence about entering the profession.
Patience
A lot of the day-to-day work of medical professionals includes interfacing with patients. This can get frustrating at times. Chances are that patients don’t have the same level of education you do, and may not be able to understand medical concepts at first. As a result, you need to be patient and prepared to meet them at their knowledge level. This can mean learning to simplify complicated points, which is far from an easy task. However, it’s well worth it. Not only does this help you better interface with your patients, but they are more likely to take instruction from someone they feel is trying to understand their concerns. This goes hand in hand with the next trait.
Empathy
It’s easy to get irritated with a patient when they are dealing with a health issue that could have been avoided. However, they may have their reasons why the issue got out of control. It’s important for medical professionals to show empathy towards their patients at all times. Many patients approach medical professionals with sensitive topics that they may not be entirely comfortable discussing. Understanding their situation and properly supporting them will allow them to give you the information that you need in order to put together a diagnosis and treatment plan. Much like patience, studies show that empathy is key for helping patients respond to your guidance and follow your recommendations.
Teamwork
While you may not think of it as a conventional office environment, all medical professionals are in some sort of team. This is fairly obvious for settings like hospitals, but even in smaller practices, things are rarely a solo act. Doctors are supplemented by professionals, and the entire operation is run by clerical/office staff that help in terms of billing, appointments, patient issues, and other items. It’s essential that you know how to work with and communicate with others in terms of long-term success. Sometimes, you may need to collaborate with other specialists as well in order to work on a patient’s treatment, so keep that in mind as well.
Attention to Detail
When it comes to someone’s health, every little detail matters. Failing to notice one small issue could mean potentially misdiagnosing someone, not only affecting their health, but potentially putting you at legal risk. Because of this, attention to detail is a key trait that every medical professional should have. For some people, this is a natural part of their personality. For others, this is closer to a developed skill. Be sure to look over things like patient information, x-rays, or test results not just for what they say, but for anomalies or other information. This will minimize the chance of any dangerous surprises later on.
Flexibility
This especially applies in emergency settings, where one single issue can throw off plans for the entire day. And certainly, current events are testing the flexibility of the healthcare system unlike ever before. As a result, it’s a good idea to try and have contingency plans in place, as well as not get overstressed when something happens that forces you to adapt. Keeping a cool head is key in the medical world to make sure that everyone stays as safe as possible. This also neatly ties into the final trait that we’re going to cover.
Foresight
Part of being in the medical world is always being prepared. This doesn’t just apply to your patients, but also to other aspects of the job, like technology or working with others. If things go wrong, the stakes can be high, so you want to think ahead to potential issues so you can plan how to adapt. You can’t predict everything, but it’s important to try.
Foresight plays in other ways as well, for example, making sure you try and save as much time as possible for parts of your job that aren’t directly related to patient care. Certification is a good example. Making sure that you are properly certified and recertified is key to make sure you are compliant as well as aware of different changing medical standards. This is important information that is essential to all professions in the medical field, from EMTs to doctors.
Foresight, in this case, means finding the best certification options that fit into your busy schedule, and that means going online. However, you also want to work with the top online providers that you trust to ensure your certification meets the proper standards. That means working with professionals like ProMed. We offer certification courses designed by experts that adhere to AHA and ILCOR guidelines. These cover essential methodologies such as ACLS, CPR, BLS, and PALS, and come complete with a 100% money-back guarantee.
