How are you defining “people skills”? This isn’t about being gregarious vs. an introvert, or having the personality of a top salesman. Do you consider yourself manipulated if you are treated with compassion vs. dismissiveness? Are you offended when a HCP tells you in advance what she is about to do rather than just acting on your person? You are suspicious of someone who treats you with respect, who has an understanding how you might be affected as he gives you the news that your beloved will never wake from his coma, or she has just told you that you have inoperable cancer, or operable cancer that will utterly change your life for the worse?
As a nurse, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the “people skills” of not only doctors, but of nurses and other health care professionals who care for patients. When they are severely lacking, it can be devastating for the patient or family members. With a few notable exceptions, being a doctor by definition puts you in the “people business.” Why anyone would go into a “people business” if he doesn’t like to deal with people is beyond me, but these kinds of HCP are out there in disturbing numbers. I’ve worked alongside some brilliant surgeons (and other doctors) who are actually very good at interacting with their patients, patients who are often quite terrified. These surgeons also understand the benefit of treating staff decently. Their surgical skills don’t deteriorate just because they happen to treat others well. I’ve also worked with surgeons who treat everyone around them like crap, including and especially their patients.They are not better at “cutting” just because they are jerks. Sure, if you MUST choose, you take surgical skill over compassion, kindness, and decency. But the point is that patients shouldn’t have to choose.
Having the ability to effectively deal with your patients(and coworkers) at the same time you utilize the vast amount of knowledge imparted in med school and beyond are not by definition mutually exclusive, though people often seem to think they are. Thus the “I’d rather have a doctor who knows his stuff than one with people skills” comments we often see. Well, I’d rather have both. I don’t want to have to prioritize one over the other. Some of these “people skills” can be screened for and also addressed in med school and residency.