Flexible or Concrete: Goal-Setting Behaviours in Canadian Medical Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cognitive Psychology
• Self-Regulated Learning

Background:

• Active goal setting and metacognition are crucial for self-regulated learning in medical students.
• Understanding these processes is vital for supporting student well-being in demanding academic settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the development of goal-setting behaviors and abilities in medical students.
• To characterize students' metacognitive awareness regarding goal setting.
• To investigate the perceived impact of goal-setting behaviors on student well-being.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.
• Involved 19 medical students across all academic years.
• Conducted across 6 Canadian medical schools.

Main Results:

• Students demonstrated limited awareness of their goal-setting processes, preferences, and consequences.
• Goal-setting tendencies were categorized into flexible or concrete "scripts."
• External factors sometimes led to goal-setting approaches incongruent with students' preferred styles.

Conclusions:

• The study provides insights into medical students' goal-setting behaviors, introducing the concept of goal-setting scripts.
• Educators and learners can utilize the flexible and concrete script framework to analyze goal-setting strategies.
• Addressing the impact of external drivers on goal-setting is essential for supporting medical learners, given their limited awareness and purposefulness.