Physicians play an important role in our lives for they are the ones that are charged with the responsibility of maintaining our health as well as restoring it in case it is lost. Medicine has a long history and over the years many changes have taken place in the field and will continue to take place and for one to be relevant in the field of medicine as a physician, there is need for one to have certain qualities and competencies. One of the most important competencies is the ability to incorporate technological advances into practice.
This is because technological advancements in the 21st century have made treatment for a variety of diseases possible as well as cheap (Breen and Cordner 59). Technological advances will continue to occur and so a physician should be able to keep up. Related to this, a physician should be up to date with current research and developments in the field of medicine and this means reading of medical journals and other healthcare literature. In addition, physicians are required to know about things such as billing practices, taxation and insurance regulations (Breen and Cordner 388).
Another competency involves the ability to communicate effectively with the patients, colleagues and other medical staff. Personal qualities are also important. One of these is being ethical-a physician should not apply unethical approaches to problems. Intelligence is also important as the physicians are supposed to clearly understand the medical concepts since mistakes could lead to loss of lives. Another thing is that a physician should be compassionate where they are sensitive to the patient needs (Breen and Cordner 8).
A physician should also be dependable and dedicated such that they can be relied on to work even beyond what is expected of them (Breen and Cordner 8). Clearly, the 21st century physician is not supposed to be dormant. The 21st century physician is supposed to continually read to keep up to date with recent developments in the medical field and develop personal qualities that will enable the physician serve the patients and the community well. Work cited Breen, Kerry and Stephen Cordner. Good Medical Practice: Professionalism, Ethics and Law. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.