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...

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...