Personality: I don’t care about his personality, as long as the job gets done. Niceness on his part is icing on the cake though.

Accessibility: A couple of weeks for routine things is okay. With my medical group I can go to Urgent Care and there is always the E.R. I always try to be brief during an office visit, but sometimes even when a physician is in the same room as me I get the feeling he is actually mentally with his next patient. Making more money, dollar signs. That can be so irritating. He can be physically there but yet not accessible. I might have waited a month for an office visit and have a written list of questions, medications to go over, etc. I don’t feel 15 minutes is long enough for most visits. 20 minutes should be minimum. When I see a physician in his office I want his full attention. Sit down. Look at me. Listen. I, for one, don’t do idle chatter. I can learn something from you but also, you just might learn something from me too.

Education: I always try to Google a new physician to see where they went to school. I kinda do prefer someone who was educated awhile ago (not real old so as to be out of date but not so young he is the new arrogant type) so I know he has solid experience. I think they go hand in hand.

Personality: I don’t care if he makes small talk or not. I am more concerned with things other than his personality. I hire him to do a job, get me well and get me out of there.

Management Style: I like a physician who asks my opinion about my medical care. I never tell a physician that I am a nurse. I do like to participate in my care. I had a biliary sphincterotomy once and asked a physician about a pancreatic sphincterotomy and he asked, sincerely, if I thought it would be a good idea. I said I didn’t know and would like more information about it and we had a good discussion. I really appreciated his asking me what I felt I needed or wanted.

Language: I had a negative experience once with a surgeon who spoke English as a second language and spoke poor English. He took his residency in the U.S. and he came highly recommended but I should not have gone to him. When I’d talk to him he just didn’t get concepts. Now I don’t go to any physician whose English is not flawless. I think they might have passed the appropriate tests to pracitice medicine here but might not really understand the concepts. My current pcp was born in Asia but speaks perfect English. I am very happy with him. He gets it.

Disciplinary Action: This is one item that I would like to see improvement on. As a patient I feel a great need to know more about the physicians I must see. I would like to have instant and easy access to see the legal side of their disciplinary actions. I saw a fantastic surgeon two years ago who had some whistle blower issues and went to him anyway, I respected him. They know a whole lot about me, I am open and honest. I need to know more about them.

Education: I do not want to see any doctor who received their degree in the 90’s or later. The newly-minted doctors are too lifestyle-oriented. They’re the kind who are likely to take long vacations and refuse to be available to their patients. They’re also likely to over-treat me in order to squeeze extra money out of my HMO.

Personality: Intelligence should be self-evident in the way my doctor speaks. My doctor should be willing to listen to me fully. My doctor should also give me the benefit of the doubt, as I am the only inhabitant of my body and therefore I am the only one who knows what feels “wrong”.

Accessibility: If I am sick, I want to see my doctor the same day or the next day. It would be nice if my doctor offered extended office hours a couple days a week. If I have very important questions, I’d prefer to speak to my doctor and not an “on call” doctor who has never met me before.

Management Style: If it’s nothing major, I just want some reassurance that it’s going to go away soon, and maybe some help with the symptoms while I wait. If it is something major, I’d like for the doctor to do as much as possible, and quickly. I don’t like playing office and phone tag over the course of two months with my PCP and specialists.

Cost: I’d prefer to have the least expensive treatment that does the most good, unless I’m allergic to it or something.

Language: I am only willing to see doctors who speak understandable English. I lived outside the US for many years and the language barrier got me into trouble too many times, even though they spoke English and I spoke the native language. Shades of meaning get lost in translation when non-native speakers collide. I wound up grossly under-treated for severe pain. I also do not want to struggle to understand heavily-accented English. I have grown weary of that game. I just want to be heard and understood — and be able to hear and understand.

Personality: Nice, understanding.

Education: Never thought about it before. I’ve never actually checked to see where any doctor I’ve gone to went to school, although maybe I should. US or not - see below.

Accessibility: A 2 or 3 week wait is fine for check-ups, but if I’m sick I want to be able to see them within 24 hours, usually. If I have something minor to ask, its nice to be able to talk to a doctor on the phone briefly or at least be able to relay a message through someone - as long as I feel my privacy is respected by that person.

Management Style: I haven’t had anything too seriously wrong to really be able to answer this. But I think I would like them more aggressive if there is a possibility of something seriously wrong.

Cost: I have good insurance, but I am intrigued by medical practices that aren’t taking insurance any more. Don’t know if I could afford it though.

Disciplinary Action: I wouldn’t know how to find out this information about a doctor, but it is something I would like to know.

Other: I prefer a doctor I feel I am able to communicate clearly with, so having English as their first language can be helpful, although as long as I can understand what they are saying to me and I think they understand me also - that’s the important thing. I am sometimes concerned about cultural differences - which could lead to misunderstandings. And I also have some concern about a male doctor from a area or culture that doesn’t tend to respect women’s rights.

In general, I want a doctor that I feel I am able to work together with to keep me as healthy as possible. One who respects me and sees me as an equal human being. I have a science background and I don’t appreciate being talked down to by doctors. I would absolutely love a doctor who could give me copies of research articles or reviews about health topics I am interested in and who would discuss the latest research with me.