ORIGINAL ARTICLE Qualities of a good Singaporean psychiatrist: Qualitative differences between psychiatrists and patients Phern-Chern Tor 1 MBBS MMed (Psy) & Jacinta O.A. Tan 2 MBBS MA (Oxon) MRCPsych (UK) MSc (Child Health distinction) (Warwick) DPhil (Oxon) 1 Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore 2 College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK Keywords Asian, psychiatry, qualitative, quality, Singapore Correspondence Phern-Chern Tor, MBBS, MMed (Psy), Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital (S) Pte Ltd, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074, Singapore. Tel: +65 67 795 555 Fax: +65 67 795 678 Email: torphernchern@gmail.com We declare that this thesis is an original work and has not been published or submitted elsewhere. Ethical approval was given by the NHG Domain Specific Review Board reference A/10/237. Conflict of interest: We declare that we have no relevant conflict of interest. Author contribution: Both authors contributed equally to study design, data interpretation and manuscript preparation, and are in agreement with the content of the manuscript. Received 5 January 2014 Accepted 3 July 2014 DOI:10.1111/appy.12149 Abstract Introduction: Pilot studies in Singapore established four themes (personal values, professional, relationship, academic-executive) relating to the qualities of a good psychiatrist, and suggested potential differences of opinion between patients and psychiatrists. We sought to explore differ- ences between patients and psychiatrists regarding the qualities of a good psychiatrist. Methods: Qualitative analysis of interviews using a modified grounded theory approach with 21 voluntary psychiatric inpatients and 18 psychiatrists. Results: One hundred thirty-one separate qualities emerged from the data. The qualities of a good psychiatrist were viewed in the context of motivations, functions, methods, and results obtained, mirroring the themes established in the pilot studies. Patients and psychiatrists mostly concurred on the qualities of a good psychiatrist, with 62.6% of the qualities emerging from both groups. However significant differences existed. Patient-specific qualities included proof of altruistic motives, dili- gence, clinical competence, and positive results. What the psychiatrist represented to patients in relation to gender, culture, and clinical prestige also mattered to patients. Psychiatrist-specific qualities related to societal (e.g. public protection) and professional concerns (e.g. boundary issues). Discussion: The results of this study demonstrate that patients and psy- chiatrists have different views about the qualities of a good psychiatrist. Patients may expect proof of care, diligence, and competence from the psychiatrist, along with positive results. In addition, psychiatrists should be mindful of what they represent to patients and how that can impact the doctor–patient relationship. Introduction Singapore is a small city state (710 km 2 ) on the tip of the Malaysia Archipelago and one degree north of the equator in South-East Asia. It has a population of 5.3 million people consisting of three main ethnic groups (Chinese, Malay, and Indian). Its official language of business and education is English, and the literacy rate is 96% (Department of Statistics Singapore, 2012). While there is much consensus in published Western literature regarding the core qualities of a psychiatrist (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2009; American Psychiatric Association, 2010a,b; Royal Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, 2010), there is only preliminary evidence that patient and health care provider views on medical care in Asia differ significantly (Pang, 2008), while the challenges facing psychiatrists in Asia are similar (Chong, 2007). A pilot quantitative survey (Tor et al., 2009) was conducted to look at the qualities of a good psychia- trist in Singapore, which showed that there were four main themes for the qualities of a good psychiatrist (in order of importance): professional qualities, per- sonal value qualities, relationship qualities, and Official journal of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists Asia-Pacific Psychiatry ISSN 1758-5864 135 Asia-Pacific Psychiatry 7 (2015) 135–142 © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd