The curious physician: exploring the role of curiosity in professionalism, patient care, and well-being.

Abstract

Introduction: Curiosity is a fundamental human trait that drives learning and exploration. However, research on curiosity has received little attention in the medical field, despite its potential to enhance knowledge acquisition, work performance, and psychosocial well-being. This study aimed to address part of this gap by investigating physicians' perspectives on their personal experiences with curiosity and its role in their professional practice and medical training.

Materials and methods: This qualitative study was conducted with 12 physicians from the University of Heidelberg Medical Hospital. Participants were contacted randomly via email and invited to participate in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews between September 2019 and February 2020. The authors employed Mayring's approach, which denotes a qualitative content analysis method characterized by its systematic and rule-guided approach to analyzing textual data, aiming to extract meaningful insights and patterns or themes. The identified themes were linked to overall categories to draw conclusions from the data.

Results: The interviewees highlighted three main areas regarding curiosity's importance [1]: as a driving force for (lifelong) education [2], in building empathetic physician-patient relationships, and [3] as a core quality of a good researcher. They primarily linked curiosity with positive emotions, while the non-expression of curiosity was associated with dissatisfaction, boredom, and exhaustion. Factors such as heavy workloads, time constraints, stress, and lack of autonomy inhibit their curiosity, while varied activities, professional exchange with colleagues, and exposure to new challenges foster it. Physicians' perspectives on the link between burnout and curiosity were not consistent. Interestingly, some viewed curiosity as protective against burnout, while others saw excessive curiosity as a potential source of frustration and burnout.

Conclusion: This study represents the first attempt to explore physicians' perspectives on curiosity in medicine. The findings highlight the potential importance of curiosity in shaping medical professionalism and improving patient care. However, its pursuit is hampered by the challenging working conditions faced by doctors, suggesting a need for enhanced support and cultivation.