This week, we conclude our series of the three foundational ingredients that support physicians’ psychological health. We camped out on Autonomy for five weeks, then covered Relatedness last week. This week we focus on Competence.

I will be focusing on the individual’s proficiency in medicine. (I hope no one is disappointed that I will NOT be taking on the demonstration of competencies to specialty boards, governmental stakeholders, hospital organizations, patients, and other external ent...

This week, we are finally moving on in our series to the second key component for physicians' psychological health. Relatedness - a sense of belonging and connection - is critical, not only in team relations but in your personal mental fitness. Brené Brown has described belonging as the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity. It is connected to positive, lasting, and significant interpersonal relationships.

Relatedness involves feeling re...

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 optimizing well-being by embracing ...