Learning Mindsets and Well-Being and Ill-Being Among Osteopathic Medical Students
Yoi Tibbetts1,2, Zachary M Himmelberger1, Kenneth E Barron1,3
1Motivate Lab, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
JAMA Network Open
|June 14, 2024
Summary
Medical students’ learning mindsets, including growth mindset, purpose, and belonging, are linked to better well-being and reduced burnout. These mindsets are especially beneficial for students from marginalized backgrounds, offering a strategy to improve mental health in future physicians.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- High rates of burnout and negative mental health outcomes are prevalent among medical students and physicians.
- Identifying supportive strategies is crucial for the future health workforce, especially with projected physician shortages.
- Understanding learning mindsets' association with well-being and ill-being can inform interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between medical students' learning mindsets and their well-being and ill-being.
- To investigate how factors like growth mindset, purpose, and sense of belonging influence student health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A nationally representative survey of first-year osteopathic medical students in the US was conducted in fall 2022.
- Data from 6622 students were analyzed, assessing learning mindsets (growth mindset, purpose/relevance, belonging uncertainty) and health outcomes (flourishing, resilience, burnout, psychological symptoms).
- Regression analyses and interaction assessments were performed, controlling for demographic variables.
Main Results:
- All three learning mindsets (growth, purpose/relevance, belonging) were significantly associated with increased well-being (flourishing, resilience) and decreased ill-being (burnout, psychological symptoms).
- These associations remained significant after controlling for demographics.
- A significant interaction indicated that a growth mindset was particularly associated with higher flourishing among students from marginalized racial and ethnic groups.
Conclusions:
- Supporting medical students' learning mindsets is a promising strategy to enhance well-being and mitigate ill-being.
- Interventions targeting learning mindsets may be particularly effective for students from historically marginalized backgrounds.
- These findings can guide the development of targeted support systems to improve mental health in medical education.
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