6: Doctors, are you held back by a Fixed Mindset?

Most of us would say we are the type of person with a growth mindset. We're doctors, right? We signed up for a career of ongong learning skill development. But, if you know the growth mindset well, you know that it's not something that you 'are' or 'aren't'. It's not a personality trait. It is, by definition, a mindset. A mindset that we can shift in and out of. And it's not uncommon for ourselves and our colleagues to be in a fixed mindset rather than a growth mindset when it comes to medicine. When we're in a fixed mindset, it means that we interpret our performance or current capabilities as measures that reveal our intrinsic capacity. Our capabilities are 'fixed' if you like, and you can see where they're fixed reflected in exactly where you are right now. In a growth mindset, on the other hand, we understand that our current performance or level of achievement isn't telling of we're capable of. In this episode, we share examples of places in our lives in the past and present where we're in a fixed mindset as opposed to a growth mindset. We reflect and recognise the consequences we face of being in the fixed mindset including, importantly, the opportunities we miss out on. We discuss how it can be challenging to be in a growth mindset in our work as clinicians where the stakes are high when it comes to getting things wrong and making mistakes. We also discuss how we see the fixed mindset widely in medcial culture from medical students to consults with our unwillingness to openly express our knowledge and skill gaps. Being in a fix mindset creates self-imposed and self-fulfilling limitations in our performance and our opportunities. A growth mindset is also a self-fulfiling prophecy - it promotes learning and creates opportunites. To stop and reflect on where we're in a fixed mindset gives us an opportunity to authentically switch to a growth mindset - or to engage in the work we need to do to make that available to us. Ready? Join our conversation!

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