Find out the vital skills that a doctor needs for the effective performance of duties.

18 vital skills needed to be a doctor

For anyone looking forward to being a medical doctor, it is important for him or her to understand the crucial skills they need to be a part of the great field of healthcare.  Although it is crucial to have academic qualifications, experience, and other professional certifications, doctors need specific skills, which can improve their work performance. Here is a list of skills every doctor must have:


Interpersonal skills

  • Empathy - a good doctor should have a concern for people. They should care for patients and their colleagues.
  • Concern for patients’ safety and good health - Doctors’ primary goal should be to provide quality care notwithstanding the demands of their work.
  • Good relation- Doctors should also be able to build healthy relationships with their colleagues since certain healthcare assignments require team work.
  • Considering other people’s opinions - An ideal doctor knows that the ideas and interests of others matter as well.
  • Lovable - They say what is in the heart can be seen on the face. Doctors should have a lovable or a likable personality. Colleagues and patients should consider them to be approachable.

Creativity and Innovation

  • Enquiring mind - The health care sector is fast evolving. Therefore, a doctor must analyze and improve the knowledge they already have.
  • Rational - It is important for physicians to carry out various procedures based on facts.
  • Imagination - Doctors should also seek to establish solutions for the daily problems that affect their practice.
  • Innovative - Contributing new ideas to the existing knowledge is a crucial skill for doctors.

Management skills

  • Decisiveness- doctors should make decisions with confidence.
  • Ability to handle stressful situations.
  • Humility - As a doctor, it is important to be humble. Regardless of the experience or the academic qualifications one has, accepting that they lack certain capabilities can enhance their relationship with their colleagues and subordinates.
  • Hard work- As a doctor it is important to channel all your energy to work especially during the peak periods.
  • Focus - Doctors should be focused on achieving the quality care for the patients.
  • Patience - Doctors have to be patient since sometimes the work can be demanding.

Safety skills

  • Adherence to clinical guidelines - Following rules and guidelines is part of the doctor’s job. Clinical guidelines ensure that physicians maintain safety when handling patients.
  • Ethical - Acting ethically when conducting doctor responsibilities can improve patients’ safety.
  • A keenness for details - It is crucial for a doctor to identify certain symptoms, which could derail the safety of a patient in real time.

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