Continuing our series on psychological foundations for physician mental fitness (autonomy, connectedness, and competence) via self-determination theory (SDT), we are rounding out the final domain of physician autonomy this week – Team. Interestingly, over the past two weeks, many of my examples demonstrated ideas for autonomy of time, task, and technique actually involved team. Teamwork is interwoven into medicine, so it makes sense that it would impact the other three arenas.

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We continue to explore the foundational needs for psychological fitness – autonomy, connectedness, and competence. Autonomy has four important domains: time, tasks, techniques, and team. We covered time last week. This week, we will reflect on the tasks and techniques.

Tasks/Techniques. Depending on the setting practiced in (academic, hospital, rural full-spectrum, community outpatient, etc.), there are numerous tasks we each perform. I'm sure there are places where the...

We are in a series exploring the three foundational needs for physicians to optimize their psychological fitness – autonomy, connectedness, and competence (SDT). This week, we will reflect on time, the first of four domains within autonomy for physicians - Time, Tasks, Team, and Techniques. I'll also highlight a fifth "T" – Thoughts/Mindset within each facet as we unpack them each week.

Time. There is great variety in the amount of autonomy given to physicians. Many...

This month, we focus on the three basics of psychological well-being that improve vitality, motivation, and performance – Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence.

Last week, I gave an overview of my perspective and experiences of autonomy in medicine. Today we will take a deeper look.

The psychological definition of autonomy is the capacity to make an "informed, uncoerced decision." It involves the individual's ability to participate in an aligning manner willingly. From a social...

In the past, we have talked about getting back to the self-care basics. Specifically, we focused on three foundational physical needs and implementing those as busy healthcare professionals. This month, we will focus on three foundational psychological needs for mental and emotional fitness. These are based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and include autonomy, connectedness, and competence. 

Psychological Fitness.
Psychological Fitness can be defined as...

We conclude the Finding Joy in the Journey of Medicine series this week by looking at your well-being investment and why language matters.

I’ll break self-maintenance or your investment in your own well-being into - physical care, mental fitness, and emotional health  (including healthy coping strategies and boundaries) to name a few components. Neglecting self-care leads to poorer physical, mental, and emotional health. Putting time and attention toward it,...

We are in a series on finding and cultivating joy in the journey of medicine and avoiding the arrival fallacy. This week are on to the next approach: Perspective. I lump several strategies under this category - gratefulness, practical positive cognitive psychology, growth mindset, and self-compassion. 

I, along with many others, have written, taught, and coached on all these topics, so I suspect they are not new to you. However, let’s harness these approaches to find...

We are continuing to unpack ways in which to begin enjoying the joy in the journey of medicine as we work toward our goals. We have already discussed awareness and expectations & acceptance  -  this week we are focusing on intentionality - scheduling, mindful presence, and alignment. I implore you to look through a self-compassionate lens on this week's topic. Don't allow your inner critic to beat you up. Look for one or two small tweaks you can make and build consistency...

We are on the quest to uncover your personalized way to best enjoy the journey of medicine. Last week, I introduced the concept of a multi-pronged approach and covered the initial step – awareness. Today, we start with expectations (and acceptance). 

Expectations can be tricky.

I used to joke as my husband completely renovated two houses over 8-11 years each: "low expectations equals high satisfaction.” In reality, what worked for me as I cooked on a butane...

We are on a blog journey about finding and creating joy along our paths in medicine. Last week, we defined joy for the purposes of this blog - at two levels - a broader affective state and a momentary emotion. This week, I want to turn our attention to awareness - where wonderful things start to find their way under our agency. Awareness of the Trap, the Current Joys, the Gap, and Possibility of finding joy in the journey. 

The Trap. Let's recap and take a deeper dive into...