Commentary by Susan H. McDaniel PhD

Dr Laurie Sands Distinguished Professor of Families & Health
University of Rochester School of Medicine Rochester New York

Ansel is my active, curious, articulate 6 year-old granddaughter.  Her mother recently found this message on Ansel’s bedroom floor. We have no idea how Ansel understood all this.  While she knows I’m a doctor who talks to people about their feelings and her grandfather is a physician, she lives many hours away from us with her parents--neither of whom are in healthcare. I research and run a physician communication coaching program, but have never spoken to her about anything regarding the program or how physicians communicate.

Ansel has always said she wants to be a physician when she grows up.  She comes from a long line of physicians: two great-grandfathers, a great-great-uncle and a great-great aunt. Ansel loves going to the doctor, and says she even likes to get shots because I can watch what they’re doing.  It only takes a minute and then I get a prize. Plus the day I broke my elbow, I was sure I was going to be a doctor because the stuff they were doing was so cool.  (Honestly, she said this.) 

When I asked her about what she wrote, Ansel said: I was pretending to study to be a doctor and this was a test I had to take about what makes a good doctor.  I asked her:  How do you know these things? She said: What if you’re doing surgery, or a little kid is nervous and getting a shot? You have to be kind and distract the kid so you’re halfway through before they notice.

When I asked about the drawing, she said the dark colors are when she messed up: I just tried to make the mistake into something good.

There’s a lot we can learn from 6-year-olds.