How good is a good enough doctor?

When we think of being a ‘good enough’ medical student, our thoughts might go straight to exams. Have we passed them all? What about merits, or even distinctions? It’s easy to prioritise exam scores above all else as it is one of the only times we get clear, concrete feedback - or a number that tells us how ‘good’ we really are. But can exam results capture everything or is something missing here when we talk about being a ‘good enough’ medical student or doctor? Can written papers or practical exams like OSCEs ever really sum up whether we’ll be ‘good doctors’? And despite so much pressure to excel, do we really need doctors to be the best or do we need them to be good enough? Expert guests: Abi Rimmer is a news reporter and careers editor at The BMJ. She is responsible for the careers content and reports on workforce-related and NHS policy issues. She was also recently treated as a patient for stage III rectal cancer. Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.