Hi all,

Before I begin, let me clarify a few things:

1. Most of what follows is based on my experiences(either as a patient myself or a concerned relative) with Indian Doctors. Some of it may be trivial, to others, but most of it is skills a doc will need and ignored in school.
2. I’ve split it in two (specialists and generalists) but there’s a fair amount of overlap.
3. These are fairly high standards, but worth shooting for and I’ve kept the focus on smart rather than hard work.
4. I’ve stayed from a few topics like: bedside manners/social skills, specific medical treatments and conditions(obviously, I’m not a Doctor after all) and a few others, you can add/delete(also specify/pick levels) as you see fit.
5. Pick the skill-levels as demanded by your client population and adjust.
6. I’m assuming generalists, don’t have to deal with emergency cases, but in some parts, that’s not likely then pick common emergency areas and follow specialist advice.
7. I wrote this based on my experiences and with humansin mind, but veternery Doctors may find some useful too.

Generalists(general medicine):

1. Get extremely unbeatable at 20 Questions(rationality link). It’ll help you make your initial diagnoses(ones based on questions about symptoms) faster and more accurate.
2. Understand probability, bayes theorem and how to apply it^**.(linkto calibration game). This will help you interpret the test results, you ordered based on the 20 questions.
3. Understand the upsides and downsides of the drugs you prescribe. Know the probabilities of fatal and adverse side-effects and update them with evidence(Bayes’ theorem mentioned above) as you try out different brands and combinations.
4. Ask and Keep a history of medical records and allergies of the patient and till their grand parents.^*
5. Be willing and able to judge, when a patient is better off with a specialist. Try to keep in touch with Doctors nearby and hopeful all types of specialists.
6. Explain the treatment options and pros and cons in easy language to the patients. It’ll reduce misunderstandings.

Specialists:

* — I understand this is difficult in Indian circumstances, but I’ve seen it being done manually(simply leaves of prescriptions organized alphabetically, link to dr.rathinavel) , so it’s possible and worth the effort unless, you practice in area of highly migratory population.(for example rural vs urban areas).

**– If you’re trying to compete on availability for consultation, you’ll need to be able to do this after being woken in the middle of the night.

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