Eventually there comes a point where you have to decide what kind of doctor to be. Not the technical stuff, like whether you’re into urology or neurology, but the more important matter of your bedside manner. Your stage persona evolves throughout your training but you generally settle on a way of dealing with patients a couple of years in and carry it through into your consultant career. Are you smiley, charming, and positive? Quiet, contemplative, and scientific? I presume it’s the same decision police officers make when they decide if they’re good cops or bad cops (or racist cops).
