BMJ Articles published

I’m pleased to report that the first in a series of four articles I wrote for the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Exam Technique was published today. The following articles will be published over the next three weeks.

In this series, I wanted to lay out a basic overview for young (and not so young!) doctors taking professional exams, based on published research and my own experience as examinee and examiner.

Today’s article is all about setting the right tone or attitude for applying the advice to follow. Without a positive and engaged attitude and a belief your own ability to achieve goals (called self-efficacy),  no amount of tactics and technique will help. Now when it comes to self-belief, I always distinguish between well-founded and delusional belief. 

The downside of self-belief was brilliantly portrayed by Chris Barrie in the 1990’s BBC comedy “The Brittas Empire” , in which he played Gordon Brittas, an obnoxious, utterly incompetent leisure centre manager, with an unshakable belief in his own (non-existent) abilities. This is not what I mean by self-belief! 

Anyone who is undertaking a serious professional exam will have some level of abilities. And leaving aside the Mr Brittas’s of this world for a moment, the commonest problem is that people underestimate themselves. So begin by looking back at what you have achieved, where you have succeeded, and balance these realistically against any weaknesses. With a sense of your own abilities rooted in reality, you have taken the first step to exam success. 

Oh, and happy Halloween!

Conscientiousness – the secret of a long life?

Isn’t it funny how co-incidences happen – serendipity it’s called! I write a blog on conscientiousness one day and a couple of days later see an article on it in the New Scientist ( quoting Kern & Friedman, Health Psychology. Vol 27(5), Sep 2008, 505-512).

Apparently scientists at University of California looked at the effects of personality traits on longevity and found that those who scored high on measures of conscientiousness had on average a 50% less chance of dying, at a given age, than those with low conscientiousness scores. The effect of this trait was higher than other characteristics known to affect longevity – intelligence and socioeconomic status.

So, if you want to live a longer life, be more conscientiousness? Well maybe. Remember that this is a correlation study - it shows that one thing is related to another, not that one thing causes another (the price of bread has increased as I’ve got older, but that’s not because the bakers of world put their prices up whenever I have a birthday!)

Conscientiousness is largely a temperamental, rather than character trait, in other words for most people it’s largely hard-wired rather then learnt. Now I know that this whole area of nature/nurture is controversial, but I’m going to stick my neck out here, and say that for most people there are basic traits which are difficult to change, like sensation seeking or introversion/extroversion. I suspect that conscientiousness may be like this – some people are just naturally more comfortable ‘getting their heads down and doing the right thing’ than others. 

I do believe that people can change and adapt, but we all start from different points. So a person who was not naturally predisposed to be conscientiousness (persistent, diligent, organised etc) probably could be more so, but it would be a stretch for them. And maybe trying too hard to be something you’re not isn’t the best way to live a long healthy life?

Learning Styles 4 - Conscientiousness: Fitting in or Losing the Plot?

This forth short article is about the third of the five elements of the LSP model - conscientiousness. This is another possible channel for the basic learning drive - to learn within a social context, understanding and adapting to the needs and complex rules of those around you.

The roots of the word conscientious  "con" (together) + "science" (knowledge) tell you that this attribute is about being part of a group, a society, perhaps even a team. Using your learning drive in a way that fits in, and provides for the common good can be a great boon. We are all part of a society, and our work affects other people, whether for good or bad, it has effects. As John Donne put it:

"No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Our relations to others, especially in the context of exam preparation, must also be thought of as a two-way street. The way you relate to others affects how they relate to you. Having peace and space to study, delegating work so that you can study, giving and receiving help, or working together can all be positive benefits of having other people in your life. Indeed too many candidates try to do it all themselves, without asking for help or recognising that other people are in the same boat - study groups can be a great resource, providing practical help, common motivation and a sense of 'us against the world'. 

However, like each of the learning attributes, conscienciousness has it's hazards, which need to be recognised and managed. In the exam, it's just you and the exam paper (or examiner/s). Like it or not, exams are a solo event. And as a unique individual you will have needs which may not fit in with what others want. So, yes it is important to have awareness of the people around you, and to make the most of their help, but sometimes just a little selfishness is necessary too! 

Learning Styles 3 – Goal Orientation. Is targeting always good?

In this third short article on the Learning Styles Profile (LSP), a new system for understanding and improving your ability to learn, I will discuss the second of the five elements of this model – goal orientation.

If you read the previous articles, you’ll remember that the basic drive to learn (sensation seeking) can be misdirected into socially negative outlets, or channelled using a number of behavioural styles. The first of these is goal orientation – the use of clear challenging goals to provide a focus for energy and activity. Being goal orientated has many strengths (like all the behavioural channels I will tell you about), but it also has potential downsides.

So what are the useful aspects of being goal orientated? Well, these are quite straightforward – knowing what you want gives you great clarity, and if done with confidence in one’s ability to succeed (so-called self-efficacy), then it brings a great sense of confidence which provides great motivation. So what’s wrong with that? Nothing is wrong with it, but there is a ‘dark side’ to all learning behaviours, and goal orientation is no exception.

The negatives of goal orientation are really to do with narrowing of one’s focus. What if you strive to achieve your goal no matter what? What if you are willing to cut corners? What if you’re willing to walk over other people’s feelings? What if you devote all your time and energy to one goal at the expense of others? Goal orientation without a sense of perspective can lead to an unhealthy obsession. So aim for goal orientation by all means, but keep a sense of proportion.

Next time, I will tell you about conscientiousness – how to use it, and how to avoid its negative side.