Which soft skills are heavily weighted for pediatricians, especially for differential diagnoses in non-verbal patients?

Critical thinking, communication, and active listening

While clinical knowledge is essential, the practice of pediatrics relies heavily on soft skills due to the nature of the patient population. Critical thinking is vital for constructing differential diagnoses when patients, especially infants or young children, cannot articulate their symptoms verbally or clearly describe their history. Communication skills are necessary to convey complex medical information effectively to parents and older children alike. Furthermore, active listening is paramount for caregivers to accurately gather the necessary historical details about symptoms, exposures, and developmental changes from parents and guardians, as this history is often the key to unlocking the correct diagnosis.