What Sort of Thinking Is Required to Become A Doctor?

Medical students should train themselves to be critical in their thinking. This is crucial as critical thinking is a skill that is required to become a good doctor.

Seeing things in a holistic perspective is one requirement of a doctor. A patient will come to you with a complaint about their health rather than a written diagnosis. The complaint may appear to come from a physical illness but it may be a manifestation of a psychological problem.

 So, if one is able to see a person a whole rather than just focusing on a symptom, then one will make a good detective at finding the underlining cause of the symptoms.

In fact, a doctor is very much like a private investigator who  is given a clue by the one symptom the patient complained of. It is his responsibility to look for the next clue to get the diagnosis using his adequate knowledge of the basic science and correlating it with the clinical signs.


Attributes of a critical thinker:

• asks pertinent questions.
• assesses statements and arguments.
• is able to admit a lack of misunderstanding or information.
• has a sense of curiosity.
• is interested in finding new solutions.
• suspends judgement until all facts have been gathered and considered.
• looks for evidence to support assumptions and beliefs.
• is able to adjust opinions when new facts are found.
• looks for proof.
• examines problems closely.
• is able to reject information that is incorrect or irrelevant.
• sees that critical thinking is a lifelong process of self-assessment.
• listens carefully to others and is able to give a feedback.

-Ferrett S (1997)-