Heidi Moawad, MD

Physicians traditionally learn professional skills from other physicians. And there is a lot to gain from paying attention to the workplace attributes of non-physician colleagues as well.

Formal medical training is focused on diagnosis, management, and documentation of patient care. It is important to keep in mind that there are also other key fundamentals that can help you immensely in your career as a physician. Colleagues who are not doctors often exemplify many of these valuable professional traits.

Doctors must learn to relay vital information quickly to expedite patient care. But sometimes, work-related communication requires softer edges.

Non-physician professionals, especially those who have risen to positions of leadership, usually communicate in ways that are polite, effective, clear, and concise.

The language used by non-physicians who are adept at effective communication is often deliberately designed to blend confidence with a non-threatening tone and to steer away from vague statements that could be misunderstood.

If you are a physician interested in eventually reaching a more powerful position in your work, it can pay off to read and reread effective correspondences and to listen carefully to good communicators, noting the approaches that you have found to be most effective or that you admire so these methods can become part of your own communication toolbox.

Liability is a major part of clinical practice. And professionals who do not provide patient care generally don’t carry this heavy burden over their heads.

The less malicious environment contributes to the fact that non-physician professionals, even within the field of healthcare, are not usually focused on placing blame or vigilantly guarding themselves against blame.

The calmer acceptance of responsibility that is a common part of non-physician professional interactions can be a refreshing relief. Seeking professional interactions that are devoid of defensiveness can help make your day-to-day work as a physician more pleasant. 

And absorbing that harmonious attitude is important for situations that can be more effective when carried out with kindness and a gentle touch —like teaching students and residents.

Doctors always have a number one priority—safe and effective patient care. Yet when it comes to things like negotiating a schedule or reimbursement, physicians often consider only the top priorities of getting the best reimbursement and the best schedule.

Non-physicians often enter negotiations with the understanding that all players have to gain something from the agreement. Doctors can learn from this perspective and leverage substantial advantages by looking at others’ points of view.

It is not a bad thing to consider many factors when looking out for yourself—in fact, considering a variety of factors yields enormous returns.

For example, if you are asked to cover a clinic in a different location once a week, you need to understand exactly what everyone else who is involved in the matter will lose or gain from the whole process—and only then can you position yourself to provide enough value to get what you want from the service that you are providing.

Professionals in healthcare who are not physicians often model teamwork very well. Part of this process includes giving and receiving constructive feedback and praise and acting on feedback as a learning process.

Even people who are able to do many different parts of a project can be willing to share tasks with others to end up with a better result than what would have been possible with one person’s work alone.

This ability to be an anonymous part of a team without necessarily taking sole credit for the result can help build camaraderie in ways that lead to long-term trust among colleagues.

Physicians work in intense settings and are the decision-making leaders when it comes to patient care interactions. Learning from other physicians is a priceless privilege.

Sometimes, a doctor can also adopt some valuable professional skills from non-physicians that can add to a physician’s ability to climb the ladder professionally.

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It is important to keep in mind that there are also other key fundamentals that can help you immensely in your career as a physician. 

Doctors Can Learn Professional Skills from Non-Physicians

Teaching medical students in the clinical setting is a professional activity that many physicians enjoy. You are likely to be contacted by students who reach out to shadow you in your work—whether you take care of patients directly or work as a diagnostic clinician, such as in radiology or pathology.

You might consider having medical students shadow you in your office or in the hospital, even if you don’t primarily work in a teaching setting. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to having a medical student shadow you.

And, while most doctors like the experience of teaching medical students during clinical work, this type of interaction isn’t right for every physician. You can have an impact on the next generation of physicians, but sometimes the cost to your current practice might not make the investment worth it for you.

You are likely to recall the experience of shadowing physicians during your own medical school years. As you have gained expertise and experience, you might decide that you want to teach students yourself. There are a number of benefits to working with medical students, and some of these benefits might enhance your satisfaction with your own work.

: The most beneficial aspect of having a medical student shadow you is the opportunity to teach. You can model good clinical care in terms of things like communication and diagnostic and treatment planning. And, throughout this process, you might sense mistakes that your students could make in the future and preemptively correct them, which will benefit your students for the long term.

: When medical students shadow you, they will often interview your patients before you do. When patients are faced with the same questions repeatedly (from a medical student and then again from you), it can jog their memory to recall certain aspects of their own medical history, potentially bringing things like risk factors or subtle symptoms to the forefront—and improving patient care.

: Sometimes, students may focus on unusual aspects of the history or diagnostic tests. Students who are new to patient care may have questions about unfamiliar things that could otherwise go unnoticed.

: Patients may appreciate the extra attention they receive from medical students, who are often meticulous and sympathetic. Many patients may also feel a sense of pride in the opportunity to help a medical student move forward with their education.

: When you take the time to teach students who shadow you, they will remember you. As they move on and become practicing physicians, they may refer patients to you. Even if they go into your specialty, your former students may send challenging patients to you for your second opinion.

There are also a few disadvantages of having a medical student shadow you in your clinical practice, and these could be deal breakers for you if they seem like they could ruin your day or interfere with patient care.

: Teaching can take time, and it can delay your clinic. You might find that you are getting behind as you explain things, and this can prolong your day in the hospital or the office, leading to frustration and fatigue.

: Sometimes students can misunderstand or misinterpret things that are going on in your office, especially when things happen fast. A student who has a habit of inaccurately “filling in the blanks” when they don’t understand something may end up saying things about you that are incorrect, potentially causing others—including other physicians—to misunderstand and negatively view your practice.

: Patients often don’t differentiate between physicians and students. If your patient asks the medical student a question, there is a small chance that the student who is shadowing you could give an incorrect answer to your patient. As we all know, “you don’t know what you don’t know” and partial knowledge can be more dangerous than no knowledge at all. Setting boundaries and clarifying responsibilities can help alleviate these issues.

Overall, having a medical student shadow you can be a great experience. But for some doctors, this isn’t the right fit. You have to understand your own strengths and weaknesses as you decide whether teaching students in the clinical setting is right for you.

You have to understand your own strengths and weaknesses as you decide whether teaching students in the clinical setting is right for you.


The Pros and Cons of Having a Medical Student Shadow You

Physician podcasts have become more available and widespread in recent years. A number of physicians have started popular and well received podcasts. Doctors often recommend physician-run podcasts, as well as other podcasts of interest, to each other.

Topics ranging from personal finance to career management to wellness tend to appeal to doctors, and sometimes the subject matter is directed towards them at specific professional stages.

Podcasts are easily accessible with mobile devices, and they suit our current media-based environment, in which consumers seek out highly tailored content rather than listening to material that is geared towards the general population. Doctors can get the most out of physician-directed podcasts with a combination of planning and spontaneity.

The most common time for doctors to listen to podcasts is while driving. You can also consider listening to podcasts while exercising. Activities like using a treadmill or even lifting weights can lend themselves well to taking in a podcast. You can make your day more efficient by learning while working towards fitness goals, and this can help motivate you to exercise if you need a nudge.

While you might initially search for programs to listen to, eventually you may see similar programs that you could decide to listen to if they also interest you. Creating and loading a list of interesting programs can make the process efficient.

One of the biggest problems in listening to podcasts while “on the go” is temporarily losing Wi-Fi. Sometimes downloading the program in advance can prevent interruptions caused by an inconsistent internet connection. 

As we consume more information in different formats rather than through print, the value of being able to refer back to useful material remains important. For instance, if you listened to a podcast about taxes, you might want to save the program until you are ready to use some of those tips.

Or if you have found some leadership advice helpful, you might want to refer to it and refresh your memory when you are deliberating a big decision about your practice staffing arrangement.

Consider creating a folder or tab on your computer, phone, or in your email so that you can easily find this digital information when you need it later. Some podcasts feature an interview and may include a portion with a cluster of facts that you can use. You could consider adding a note to remind yourself which part of the podcast has the relevant information that you want to revisit.

Departmental Journal Clubs offer an opportunity for physicians to get together and critically assess newly published research. The practical aspects that go into the practice of medicine are becoming more complex, necessitating continued learning of multiple aspects of career management.

The same principle of critiquing research can be applied across specialties when doctors get together to discuss a physician directed podcast, potentially sharing opinions about the content and adding additional relevant insights to the discussion. Such a process can help build camaraderie among doctors with common interests who might not have had the chance to build each other’s knowledge otherwise.

If a specific podcast really resonates with you, consider reaching out to the host. Many physicians who host podcasts are relatively accessible. You could pose a question that you want to learn more about, and the host may end up addressing your topic in a future program if it seems like it would be relevant to other listeners too.

You can even become more involved by offering to be a guest on the show if you have an area of expertise that you think the audience would appreciate hearing about. And, if you run a physician centered service or business, you could find a mutually beneficial sponsorship arrangement.

Of course, keep in mind that your attempts to connect might not be successful, especially if the podcast is extremely popular and/or your interests don’t align closely. But podcasts can be an opportunity for you to potentially connect with other physicians if it is the right fit.

Overall, our consumption of information is constantly changing. Using podcasts effectively can help improve your knowledge base and may even help you promote yourself and your professional interests.

Doctors can get the most out of physician-directed podcasts with a combination of planning and spontaneity. 

Getting the Most Out of Physician Podcasts

Virtual communication has been around for decades, and for the most part, doctors have only used this type of technology sparingly, or not at all.

The sudden safety precautions that emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic have essentially hit fast forward on the use of remote meetings and job interviews. Even physicians who would otherwise have adamantly avoided video conferencing have had to incorporate some virtual communication to avoid being shut out of the professional world.

But adjusting to the use of device-aided live meetings goes beyond participating at bare minimum levels. The convenience of virtual events that has become so widely apparent means that remote video conferencing for interviews and other professional activities will remain a part of doctors’ jobs for the long haul. There are some strategies that even reluctant video conference-goers can incorporate to optimize these remote interactions.

Planning ahead is more important for remote meetings than for in-person events. There is often a silence in virtual conferences, whether they involve only two people or a larger group.

An agenda with a timetable that is shared in advance with all participants can help everyone prepare and know what to expect. If participants aren’t talkative, it is perfectly fine to explain that you are running ahead of schedule and skip to the next point on the agenda—but not having a schedule can leave participants feeling uneasy.

Another important aspect of video conference events is to put in time for breaks. For meetings that last over an hour, participants may need simple things like a tissue, a coffee refill, or to use the restroom.

When people do these things in person, they often leave bags or papers on their seat, and it doesn’t appear that they just disappeared or lost interest.

In a virtual meeting, a disappearing participant can seem uninterested. And a scheduled break adds a level of consideration for everyone involved.

 to feel watched for hours on end. In traditional in-person meetings, participants often look at notes, a screen, or a blackboard.

This same sense of variety is important in virtual meetings too, and screen sharing can help you achieve that. Not only is it a practical way to share information, it is a way to help people feel that they aren’t on the spot every minute of the conference.

Another important aspect of periodic screen sharing is the realistic acknowledgment that participants may have prepared in advance, but probably didn’t memorize every detail of an email or another important document. That reminder can help everyone get on the same page without having to constantly flip back and forth between tabs on their computer.

Interviews during the 2020/2021 academic year—such as medical school and residency interviews—are largely virtual. It can be exhausting for candidates who wonder about the impression they made on one interviewer after another.

While this is also the case in person, there are natural buffers in an in-person interview—such as group tours, the casual walk from one office to another, and running into chatty physician colleagues that help break the ice with your interview candidates.

If possible, it might be beneficial to replicate that group experience with candidates potentially waiting together in a virtual pre-interview chat or video tour.

And candidates who you are interviewing for a position may need a break between interviews to get up and stretch their legs, even if that is only happening at home.

When you are having a video conference or interview, next steps can be unclear, especially if it isn’t customary to have this type of meeting in a remote setting.

Participants who are waiting for some type of answer or sense of resolution can be anxious about what to expect. It can help to let them know a timetable for when they can expect an answer, or when they might be given more direction about next steps.

By now, most doctors have a comfortable space to go during virtual meetings. But if you haven’t done so already, consider checking what your background looks like, decide how far away you want to place your screen, and pick the right angle. Consider wearing headphones to avoid interference from the noises around you. And if your neck or back start to hurt from too much teleconferencing, consider standing for some of your meetings to vary your position.

There are some strategies that even reluctant video conference-goers can incorporate to optimize these remote interactions. 