Patients who define experience, attitude, aptitude, and change for a doctor's course are those from the dynamic. This article provides some straightforward suggestions for winning over the hearts and ailments of patients.

1. Greet the patient: Establishing a good rapport

Everyone likes to be greeted and acknowledged. The key to creating a good rapport with patients is to start right: greet them appropriately and try to refer them by name.

This small change in routine checkups will make you stand out more, patients will notice you more and consult you every now and then. Guiding them right even if it is not in interest will always repay you.

2. Be patient: Hear the complaints and observe

1. The art of listening and observing has to be redefined and practised over and over. Patience is the virtue of excellence that has to be mastered.  
2. The patients want to talk about the ailing disease but most importantly the person sitting across them should be willing to listen and observe the nonverbal clues, a doctor wishing a good setup with an outpouring of patients but mismanaging them due to overwork is a catastrophe.
3. Observing the mannerisms, speech, and movements not only guides us to our diagnosis but helps us to analyse the situation and to act accordingly.

3. Be curious: Stay hungry stay foolish

1. A doctor is always a student who revitalises himself/herself with medical knowledge.
2. The fickle-minded human body is everchanging so, updating ourselves to the latest developments and constantly transitioning into a better version of ourselves is very important.
3. We should never forget our roots: our basics but modify ourselves for the new world.

4. Be perseverant: Success comes to those who sweat

1. Anything worth achieving, having or liking will make you run towards it.
2. You studied for more than 10 years for your dream, to shine like a star in your sky of dreams then wait a little more; steady growth is always better than crash and burn. Any job isn’t risk-free you need to invest your time, money and patience.
3. Give it you're all for 1000 days. No cutbacks, no shortcuts: You will definitely see the path clearing and your satisfaction’s horizon meeting with success.

5. Be competitive with yourself instead of being compared with others

1. You need to grow constantly yet steadily, you decide your pace and ace it with grace.
2. Comparisons with others will always let you down. Always learn from others but never take away your opportunity to fall down and rise again, you need to be the better version of yourself: A better doctor and the best human being.
3. Competitiveness will increase your willingness to grow, adapt and change while comparativeness will make you lose sight of your goals in exchange for a short-term façade of happiness.

6. Have a moral compass: Don’t lose your principles for your success

This a controversial statement in our line of work because we are here to serve the patients but success and the need to achieve your goals should never mar your judgement. Clear and crisp advice to patients without any maleficent thought is why we became doctors: never lose this vision. We aren’t gods, merely a human carrying out our humble work.

7. Be empathetic: Firm and caring always

Empathy is a virtue to be developed, a skill to be mastered without overdoing it. You need to understand the patient before the disease itself. A firm and caring nature will always nurture your soul and your patient database will keep expanding.

A doctor’s worth is often judged by the number of patients he/she consults on, the crowd of patients waiting to see him/her but not all that glitters is gold. Numbers matter but honesty and humility matter more. To have the opportunity to touch patients' lives is an immense responsibility, a responsibility with both wonderful and dire consequences.

Sir William Osler said,

“A good physician treats the disease; the great physicians treat the patient who has the disease”.

It is in our hands to be great or to be mediocre.

Disclaimer- The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of M3 India.

About the author of this article: Dr Tosha Shah MS is a Senior Consultant practitioner at Dhiraj Hospital, Vadodara.