Traditionally, human factors and performance psychology are low down the priority list (or non-existent) in medical training. Students graduate from medical school with ‘academic-style’ mindsets, arguably ill-prepared for the practical, performance-dependent branches of medicine. In short, our training predisposes us to the yips. But change is afoot. On 24th June, I attended the London Performance Psychology Symposium at the Blizard Institute, close […]
‘My Mental Toughness Manifesto’ Part 4: PROCESS
Everything in aviation we know because someone somewhere died… We have purchased, at great cost, lessons literally bought with blood… We cannot have the moral failure of forgetting these lessons and have to relearn them.” Sully Sullenberger Pilot of Flight 1549, ‘The Miracle on the Hudson’ All frontline healthcare warriors will bear scars from emotionally […]
‘My Mental Toughness Manifesto’ Part 2: PRACTICE
In MMTM Part 1, two-step cognitive appraisals were explained. This process dictates whether one enters a challenged or threatened mindset in the event where an immediate performance is required under acute stress. Feeling challenged, of course, is one of the two chief components of a mentally tough individual. “I am 100% committed” “I feel challenged” In this post, we […]
The ‘Deliberate Practice Mindset’
Performance improvement is an interest of mine. I have previously blogged and podcasted about the strategies I employed to lift my game (from rock-bottom) when working in an extreme environment – a South African township ED. I first became aware of ‘deliberate practice’ after reading an excellent St. Emlyn’s post last year. I had never encountered […]
EMJ Blog – What do Emergency Medicine and Donald J. Trump have in common?
In the aftermath of Donald J. Trump’s US Presidential election victory, I expressed outrage via my keyboard. That led to the creation of a blog post that’s now published on the EMJ Blog. In the post, I use the Trump phenomenon as a vehicle for discussing the alarming lack of basic human decency that I witness on an almost […]
EMJ Blog – Nuances of Neurogenic Shock
In my latest EMJ blog, I’ve reviewed an interesting recent paper from Taylor et al that explores some of the finer details of neurogenic shock – a rare, but potentially lethal complication of spinal trauma. Click here for the post. Here is the original paper: Presentation of neurogenic shock within the emergency department. Matthew Pritam Taylor, Paul […]
EMJ Blog – How Junior Doctors Think: A Guide for Reflective Practice
A very interesting paper has been published in the EMJ recently (June 2016), qualitatively exploring the subject of metacognition in UK-based junior doctors. It’s a must-read. I’ve blogged about it. I’d love to hear reader’s thoughts via the comments section (either on here or the EMJ blog site). The original paper: Clinical reasoning of junior doctors in […]
