Autonomy-Supportive Teaching in Medicine: From Motivational Theory to Educational Practice

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction: Promoting intrinsic motivation in medical learners is key for maximizing their engagement, performance, and well-being. Accordingly, methods of teaching and giving feedback focused on enhancing intrinsic motivation (i.e. autonomy-supportive approaches) are becoming increasingly recognized in medical education. However, these methods seem to be limited by a lack of understanding around what autonomy-support means and how to put it into practice. Approach: Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this article defines autonomy-supportive versus controlling teaching, provides a rationale for its importance in medical education, addresses common misconceptions and potential challenges surrounding autonomy-supportive teaching in medicine, and outlines specific examples of ways to engage in it, in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Conclusion: Overall, this paper highlights how simple, flexible, and beneficial it can be to utilize an autonomy-supportive style in one's day-to-day interactions with medical learners, to stimulate their intrinsic motivation.These strategies can be applied in practically any setting and at all levels in medical education, through regular practice and reflection.