“Absolutely! I adore my iv therapy mcallen tx-he’s great!” I answered immediately, and then I started a long, emphatic testimonial, as if I were my doctor’s publicity manager. During my monologue, I used words like “smart,” “logical,” “listens,” and “respectful.” Afterwards, I realized I had not uttered the words “qualified” or “well-trained”-not even once.
The conversation with my sister made me ponder the factors and characteristics that set the great doctors apart from the good ones. Websites rating and ranking doctors crowd the Internet. On these lists, medical professionals earn the title of “Top Docs” based on surveys filled out by their medical peers. And so I posed questions to a panel of six doctors, nurses, and health care professionals. I asked: What do you look for when considering a doctor to oversee the care of your own family? In your opinion, what qualities do the very best doctors possess?
GOOD TO GREAT: THEY HAVE STRONG EDUCATION AND TRAINING
By choosing a doctor who is Board Certified by one of the twenty-four American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Boards, you can feel confident he or she meets nationally recognized standards for education, knowledge, experience and skills to provide high quality care in a specific medical specialty. Board Certification goes above and beyond basic medical licensure. Determining if a particular doctor is Board Certified is fast, free, and easy. Simply visit the ABMS website, register, and plug in the doctor’s name and city.
Mike Lipscomb, MD, an Emergency Room doctor at North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia and a physician with Apollo MD believes that doctors at the top of their fields have solid educational and training foundations to draw upon as they practice medicine. But Lipscomb also offers a warning.
“I wouldn’t put much weight on the big-name schools,” he says.
He explains that tuition expenses at these elite schools can reach well over $50,000 per year making them unrealistic options for many medical students.
“Many state schools are less than a third of this,” he continues. “High price doesn’t correlate to a better education. Some of the best physicians I know went to large state universities for school, and they made the choice to come out with as little debt as possible.”
“And I wouldn’t put much stock in research,” says Lipscomb. “Being good in the lab doesn’t necessarily correlate to being clinically competent.”
