What makes a 'good' family doctor? Study identifies 43 traits

Think you’re a good family doctor? Two graduates from the Faculty of Medicine in Grenoble, France, tried to find out—as part of their doctoral thesis—what it actually means to be a good family doctor. In a qualitative study of about 20 patients aged 19 to 84, Drs. Drs. Léa Guirado and Pénélope Dupont-Bourgoin sought to define the qualities patients expect from a “good” family doctor. This past March they defended their thesis, which they built within a context characterized by increasing difficulties of access to the health system, an 8% decrease since 2010 of general practitioners buckling under the “pressure of demand for care.” In other words, within a context similar to the Canadian experience.They came up with 43 qualities, including:Ability build a relationship of trustCompetenceBeing availableRepresenting the profession wellOngoing investments in professional developmentAdaptiveAttentiveAbility to explain clearlyAn allyA guideReassuringGives clear answersReadiness to be the referring caregiverIn their study, the two doctors also discovered new qualities they had not found in existing literature. These include taking patients seriously, relieving patients of guilty feelings, valuing patients and managing errors effectively.Read: Is empathy truly the clinician’s last stand?These newly surfaced traits “suggest the emergence of new patient expectations towards general practitioners,” wrote the study authors. “According to our interpretation of the results, there were prerequisites for being a good doctor, strategies and processes to remain one or become one, and missions that he had the duty to accomplish. Some stood out for their importance during our analysis.”A family doctor’s ability to build a relationship of trust is critical, they added. This “was sometimes so strong that it led to a negative a priori and a distrust in the very idea of seeing another doctor,” wrote the doctors, adding that“the fact of knowing your patient gave the general practitioner the status of ‘relative.’”Empathy was considered key in the healthcare relationship, with patients asking their treating doctor to demonstrate humanity and kindness. Clinical competence should be a given, according to the patients interviewed in the study. This consisted of: having reliable knowledge, being competent in several areas, know-how of technical gestures, asking relevant questions, showing insight to understand the reason for consultation, not making mistakes but also knowing your limits. Read: B.C. moves to accelerate process for thousands needing a family doctorWhen it came to availability, the study noted the importance of having an easy-to-reach office administrator or manager, an online appointment platform, emergency slots, being reachable, options for virtual appointments and being on time as much as possible.Good communication was also key. The study authors underlined the importance of tact, especially when broaching sensitive subjects, and the ability to put patients at ease through the use of humour and a warm attitude.Read: Social prescribing: giving a name to whole-person careThis article was translated from French and originally ran in our sister publication Profession Santé.

What makes a 'good' family doctor? Study identifies 43 traits

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