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The Doctor’s Selection Process
The Doctor does, on the majority of occasions, select companions who have the right stuff. All of his companions tend to be independent and expressive with a strong work ethic. However, the Doctor’s selection process is quite messy. What other factors does he take into account?
The Doctor often selects companions who have either medical or academic qualifications. For example, both Martha Jones (who is a medical student when she first meets the Doctor) and Harry Sullivan (a lieutenant surgeon in the Royal Navy) are medically trained. In fact, one of the Doctor’s companions, Dr. Grace Holloway, is an accomplished cardiologist who actually triggers the Doctor’s regeneration after subjecting him to an ill-judged heart operation.9
Perhaps the Doctor is selecting companions on the basis of their intelligence quotient (IQ). IQ is determined by a set of tests that are designed to measure human intelligence. High IQ levels are thought to be associated with occupations such as medicine and academic jobs. It is likely that if River Song (a.k.a. Melody Pond) with her doctorate in archaeology, Zoe Heriot the astrophysicist, and Dr. Elizabeth Shaw the UNIT science officer recruited from Cambridge University took an IQ test, they would score highly. However, psychologists are starting to think that IQ alone is not the best predictor of success in occupations such as medicine. Recent research suggests that traits of self-discipline and motivation are also important.10 In fact, not all of the Doctor’s companions would have scored well on traditional IQ tests. Jo Grant, for example, who is hired by UNIT to be the Doctor’s lab assistant, says she actually failed her science exams.11 Many of the Doctor’s companions have not had high-powered jobs, with Ace working as a waitress, Rose Tyler working in a department store, and Donna Noble working as a temp. Indeed, when Romana boasts to the Doctor that she graduated from the Time Lord Academy on Gallifrey with top honors, the Doctor is not impressed.12 He points out that she lacks experience. Therefore, it is clear that the Doctor, like occupational psychologists, knows that academic smarts do not automatically mean that someone is the right fit for a job role.
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