This is a very interesting article linking curiosity with medical education written by Ami Schattner – University of Oxford and published in – JORSM 2015 Vol. 108(5). It underlies the success rate of any learning process in science be it medicine, engineering or even exploration of space or the natural world. The article points out that in the medical field it will lead to better quality of communication with the patient and will be the key to imperative feedback, habitual learning and advancement.

Curiosity underlies child development and plays a major role in learning, discovery and art. For clinicians it makes the difference between a tiresome consultation and a keenly expectant new challenge, a new learning opportunity with every new patient encounter. Curiosity should be an established primary goal of medical education and an acknowledged component of professional competence.

Although curiosity and observation can be acquired and cultivated, its ingrained presence must be a valuable asset. It is neither evaluated among medical school candidates nor is it taught in any school or college. Curiosity should take a key role in medical practice. If defined as an innate attitude of sincere, widely applied interest in other persons encountered and things observed, curiosity is associated with a desire to know more. It often applies to numerous everyday observations and encounters often to small details. Once acquired it becomes a lifelong trait and leads to thought and action and is not just passive.

In the medical field it will lead to better quality of communication and elicitation of the patient’s history and frequent search for patient tailored evidence yielding improved decision making. Curiosity also underlies tracking belated tests and verifying patient outcomes. It is the key to imperative feedback, habitual learning and advancement.

A physician’s interest will translate to knowing and acknowledging the patient, increasing his/her empathy and commitment. Patients are quick to sense when their provider truly cares and respond by better coping, increased satisfaction, trust and adherence leading to significant improvement in patient’s quality of life.

A curiosity based approach can therefore advance health outcomes by two distinct mechanisms, cognitive and emotive, strongly enhancing the current hampered patient-provider relationship and provision of patient centred care.

These multiple benefits contrast with the often prevailing cursory history and examination; infrequent search for evidence-based solutions; inattention to patients’ concern or feelings; and inadequate patient cantered care or shared decisions. For the medical community curiosity should therefore be nurtured focussing on training the eye and mind, accomplishing a genuinely patient centred encounter founded on listening and reacting to the patient. With curiosity based approach a physician’s job satisfaction is likely to increase together with diminishing stress, burnout and fatigue, improved well-being and enhanced professional performance involving fewer errors and greater empathy.