Characteristics of Exceptionally Good Doctors: A Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Survey of Adults

BACKGROUND: Doctors constitute a significant proportion of a very large number of medical interactions. They are known to vary in the quality of their work, with some having an exceptionally beneficial effect on patients’ physical health. In a qualitative study, we interviewed medical doctors on their opinions and experiences of exceptionally good doctors. Their responses and the results from previous research are used as a basis for this proposed cross-sectional survey directed to members of the public on their encounters with exceptionally good doctors. The primary aim of this cross-sectional study is to describe the characteristics of exceptional doctors as reported by a large representative sample of adult patients. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A mixed qualitative and quantitative anonymous cross-sectional survey of 500 Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) respondents, who have met one or more exceptionally good doctors in their life, will be conducted. Information requested will include reasons for nominating a particular doctor; experience of how that doctor differs from other and average doctors; and 34 5-point Likert scale questions on the characteristics of that doctor and the same Likert questions for the average doctor. An opportunity to report their experience in free-text form will be provided. Sample size will be sufficient to obtain a margin of error of 4%. The authors will provide descriptive statistics, including graphs of the Likert scale question responses; conduct factor analysis for internal validity; investigate satisficing and logical inconsistencies; and explore whether there are multiple types of exceptionally good doctors. DISCUSSION: Previous surveys of patients’ perceptions of doctors exist though none have focused on exceptionally good doctors. The expected results will include a list of characteristics that are important to patients in determining exceptionally good doctors.