Influence of Medical Students' Perceptions of Learning Environment on Self-Compassionate Coping With Academic Challenges

• In Event: Toward a Greater Understanding of Well-Being and Burnout in Professions Education: Uncovering Contributing and Protective Factors

Abstract

Self-compassion has been identified as a promising interventional target to protect medical students from developing burnout. Determining factors in the learning environment that foster self-compassion is critical for developing such interventions. Using two online surveys, authors collected data from medical students (n=195) at a large Canadian university and performed structural equation modeling to examine relationships between students’ psychological needs satisfaction in the learning environment and self-compassion. Significant effects were observed between students’ needs for competence and relatedness and three negative self-compassion components (isolation, overidentification, self-judgement). None of the effects involving positive components of self-compassion (common humanity, mindfulness, self-kindness) were significant. Satisfaction of medical students’ needs for competence and relatedness in the learning environment appears to reduce negative processes of self-compassion.

Authors

• Marghalara Rashid, University of Alberta

• Qi Guo, Medical Council of Canada

• Oksana Babenko, University of Alberta