Medical Doctors Ranked First with Highest IQ amongst job professions
How Smart are Medical Doctors? An interesting study published by the University of Wisconsin suggests that doctors (M.D or equiv O.D, dents, etc) have the highest IQ on average.
Though I’m not a huge supporter of IQ tests but I would say that most doctors are somewhat smart. However, I would further add that, having a high IQ does NOT make good doctor.
Being a good doctor requires more than just book smarts. It requires strong work ethics, commitment and clear communication skills. Understanding basic science and pathology requires you to be smart. Facing death and the sickness of others requires human compassion.
A often neglected, but perhaps more important measurement is Emotional intelligence. Doctors with high EQ care for their patients better.
Medicine is both a science and an art. Doctors have to understand bio-mechanisms and lab tests as well as human emotions and feelings. People who are aware of their own emotions and can empathize with others will be more likely to give excellent patient care.
Unfortunately, the ever increasing emphasis on test scores (GPA, MCAT, USMLE) may be a bad sign for our future doctors. We are increasing our IQ statistics but consistently neglecting our EQ measurements. Medical schools have acknowledged these problems and have begun pushing for more arts and humanities in medicine.
People don’t care how much you know–until they know how much you care.
A higher EQ is beneficial for doctors too. A patient is more likely to trust their physician and disclose information if they know their thoughts and ideas will be respected. Even though medical knowledge is growing exponentially and as physicians, we will continually learn medicine, we must not neglect our emotional education either. Doctors treat patients, not diseases.
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#1 by FuckPatchAdams on February 23, 2009 - 7:07 pm
Are you seriously arguing that being nice to patients trumps the competency of your care? I can be the nicest person you’ve ever met but if I fail to diagnose your brain tumour I’m still going to get sued and you’re still going to die. Good grief.
#2 by medaholic on February 26, 2009 - 2:58 am
I don’t know where you inferred that I said being nice is more important than competency of care. Almost all doctors are smart and competent at what they do. Otherwise, they would not have gotten in and graduates in the first place. However, I am saying that doctors with empathy and human compassion are much better than just doctors with their book smarts.
#3 by Sunny on January 10, 2010 - 8:22 pm
Really Medaholic? Do you know what they call the person who graduates last from medical school? I’ll give you a hint; Doctor.
#4 by Billy Jr. on January 19, 2010 - 10:41 am
Face it. In my vast experience, doctors are largely a joke, save a few specialists who actually have a clue, and give rat’s behind. All of you would-be and practicing doctors should simply cut the superiority act. Look at yourselves critically, and you may just end up being far better at what you do. Ignore me at your professional peril.
Out. Now go ahead and ban me. I’m much too correct. This much I know. What I’m impressed with is a down to earth, communicative and caring doc, who also possesses knowledge. When I find one, I’ll let you know. Not an imbecile who thinks he knows everything, yet never heard of the supplement called Garlique.
#5 by medaholic on January 20, 2010 - 11:55 am
@Billy Jr. : I wouldn’t go as far to say doctors are a joke, after all many do go through many years of training and long hours at work to become competent in their field. But I do agree with you that doctors with superiority complexes are bad news.
#6 by Josh on March 31, 2010 - 6:38 pm
Completely agree! As someone planning on going into medicine I’ve seen both sides of the spectrum. While being very smart can make you a good doctor I don’t feel you can be a great doctor unless you possess both.
#7 by Dr. Castle on August 4, 2010 - 7:16 pm
Entering into a medical school usually requires a good undergraduate program in a university that the student excelled in earning a GPA that places them in the top 10% of the class (on avg.). Then depending on the nation but I am assuming in Canada or the US, they require to get usually 30+ on the MCAT which is a standardized test where the median is 8/15 for each section of 3 total sections. In addition, they require a great resume showing volunteer, physical and hobbies that provide a well rounded image, 3 recommendation letters that speak of the character of the student, and then go to a medical interview in which usually around 1 in 4 get selected to enter into the medical school.
Following that the student needs to do 2 extremely heavy years of medical sciences, then 2 years of hospital rotations with 2 board certification exams the first of which is an 8 hour exam with 322 questions. The passing mark on all these tests as well as in the medical school is usually around 70%.
Then the student does 3-5 years as a resident at a hospital where they usually work 80 hours a week, and thats not a typo. In my time it use to be as high as 110 hours a week. You basically live in the hospital for those years. After you finish all of this you are left with about a 200,000-300,000 USD debt.
Due to all of this, doctors are very highly regarded in the proximal working environment. We know we can only “recommend” to the patient what to do, but because of the trust the patient instills in the doctor, we are obliged to assume that the patient will blindly follow this advice so we better know what we recommend.
The nurse’s primary objective is to to facilitate the care of the patient, and assist the doctor. The doctor’s primary objective is to diagnose you and then offer you with your possible treatments. It does help if a doctor has socializing skills and smiles but it is not as big a deal as you may believe. With the expansion of preventative medicine though and “team-think” and “group-based” medical care it is becoming more important.