Do You Have the Mind of a Doctor?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Do You Have the Mind of a Doctor?
Image: Terry Vine / DigitalVision / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Whether you work in a national healthcare system or you're dealing with private healthcare, and whether you're a military or civilian, being a doctor is ultimately the same job. You have to be fanatically dedicated to helping people to live the best life they can. Most of the time, this means healing injuries and curing diseases. However, sometimes it means helping people to cope with chronic conditions, buying time or quality of life in the face of an impossible medical challenge and sometimes even easing a person's passing from this world.

That's why there are plenty of elements that go into being a great doctor. You have to be book-smart and willing to put in years of study involving long and often unpredictable hours. You have to learn hundreds of drugs and how they interact with each other (and with different conditions) and know when to adjust the dose in different directions or try something else. You also have to memorize a list of symptoms and correctly associate each one with the right problem. On top of all of this, you have to be able to address the full humanity of the patient and see them as more than a collection of systems.

Do you have all of these qualities and more besides? It's time to find out!

What percentage of people do you actually like?
80% or more
70%
20%
50%

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Do you look good in a white lab coat?
Absolutely!
I don't know.
No
Not as good as in a suit

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Can you remember long lists of seemingly unrelated items?
Yes! I love it!
Yes, but I can't be bothered.
Nope
Depends on the type of item

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How steady are your hands?
Like a rock
Like a metronome (They move, but predictably.)
Like jelly
Like a pianist

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How important is money to you?
Very
Fairly
Not at all
It's the most important thing.

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Could you break bad news to someone in a sensitive way?
I have, many times.
I could learn.
No. I am incredibly insensitive.
Yes, but please don't make me!

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Would you be willing to spend ten years in college?
Yes, please!
Not really
Heck no
Not all in one block

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How icky do you find the sight of blood?
I like it fine.
I can deal.
I fear and loathe it.
I'm weirdly intrigued by it.

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Can you fill in a form quickly and accurately?
Yes, and my handwriting is great!
Yes, but my handwriting is bad.
No, I move decimals all the time.
Yes, but I hate forms.

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How easily do you separate your work and home life?
I don't actually think a doctor should be a robot who does that.
I can, but I don't!
I can't do that.
I totally can when I want to.

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Confidentiality is everything. Can you keep a secret?
Yes!
Not if it's really juicy
Nah. I'm a sieve.
Don't make me! I love to gossip.

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How well can you operate on not enough sleep?
I almost don't need sleep.
I can't really handle that.
I would definitely die very quickly.
I can, but I am grumpy.

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How official do you sound when you say "Scalpel"?
Super awesome
Pretty decent
Like a fraud
Like I'm a soap actor

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Do you often fantasize about being the person who can swoop in and help in an emergency?
I don't fantasize. I am that person.
Often
Never
Actually, that is my recurring nightmare.

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Do you mind people only wanting to see you when they are unwell?
No, I like feeling needed.
That is a little offensive, yes.
I would hate that.
Eventually, it would get to me.

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When you make a mistake, how comfortable are you with owning it?
I can handle it like a grownup.
I can't do that, but I'm learning.
I never do that.
I can do that, but I hate it.

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What is your tolerance for ambiguity?
Very high
Quite low
Non-existent
Higher than most

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How do you feel about the prospect of constantly having to update your skills to say relevant?
I love it!
I hate it!
I refuse to do it!
I like it!

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If a patient told you they learned something from some quack website, how would you get them to change course?
Patiently and with evidence
Harshly and with judgment
I wouldn't bother. That's just Darwin at work, man.
I would tell them to see a witch doctor because we don't roll that way in my office.

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Do you consider yourself a team player?
Yes, as long as the team is respectful.
Yes, as long as the team is competent.
Nope
I can be, but I don't like it.

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Would you move to another city for work?
I have!
I would!
I wouldn't!
I might!

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Can you deal with being in plenty of student debt?
I have rich parents who saved $300,000 for my education.
I am nervous about that.
I can't do that.
I am deterred by that, I won't lie.

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How strong are your math skills?
Einstein-like
Very good
Terrible
Better than my old teachers would believe

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How important is a clean working environment to you?
Essential
I don't mind much about that.
I love muck!
Quite important

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Do you love to keep meticulous records?
That's my idea of heaven!
I hate that.
No, and I can't anyway.
I actually do love a good spreadsheet.

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Is there a particular organ or system in the body that interests you?
I love them all!
I love one in particular.
The body is just a vessel.
I like quite a few of them.

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Can you deal with effectively being on call in just about any situation, forever?
Yes. It makes me feel like a superhero.
I don't know yet.
Definitely not
Maybe

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Do you like the idea of a hierarchical career where the next step is generally clear?
I love it!
I like it!
I hate it.
I could accept it.

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How much physical work do you like your job to include?
About 25%
About 40%
All of it
About 30%

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How much reading do you do just for fun?
I'm a bookworm.
I read newspapers and biographies but not fiction.
I don't read much.
I only read fiction.

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