About RMiM

Program Background

In August 2021, HRSA announced $103M in American Rescue Plan funding over 3 years to reduce burnout and promote mental health in the health workforce, with particular consideration for the needs of rural and medically underserved communities. The awards are designed to help healthcare organizations establish a culture of wellness among the health workforce and support training efforts that build resiliency for those at the beginning of their health careers.

AACOM was awarded a 3-year federal grant in January 2022 to develop a training program that promotes wellness and resiliency in future physicians, with an emphasis on supporting physicians to serve in rural and underserved areas. As a result, AACOM expanded their partnership with motivation science experts at Motivate Lab who have a demonstrated history of collaborating with organizations to create more motivationally supportive climates, particularly for students from historically marginalized backgrounds in STEM disciplines. This partnership is determined to identify the best strategies for supporting physician well-being and diversifying the physician pipeline to include more members from historically underserved communities. To accomplish these goals, AACOM and Motivate Lab have created a course, Resilient Mindsets in Medicine (RMiM), that is dedicated to working with administrators, faculty, and students in a collaborative effort to improve medical education and learning mindsets.

Key Findings

After implementing the largest well-being survey in medical education, our team has identified significant correlations between Mindset GPS with indicators of poor well-being (see below).

Of entering students report moderate to severe burnout (emotional exhaustion)

29%

Of graduating students report moderate to severe burnout (emotional exhaustion)

64%

Our Impact

Through Resilient Mindsets in Medicine program, our team achieved the following impact:

11

Colleges of osteopathic medicine participated in the RMiM course

Students served by the 87 faculty who participated in RMiM course

9744

Key Learnings

About the Course

Resilient Mindsets in Medicine (RMiM) is a course designed to equip administrators, course designers, and faculty to create more motivationally-supportive learning environments. Participants learn how to leverage the power of learning mindsets in ways that can support students to be more resilient and less likely to burnout.

Learning Mindsets

Motivate Lab defines learning mindsets as students’ beliefs about themselves as learners and their learning environment. We organize three learning mindsets into an acronym: Mindset GPS. Just like the GPS in your phone that helps you navigate new places physically, your Mindset GPS can help you navigate psychological uncertainty, especially during transitions. Mindset GPS stands for:

Course Objectives

Upon completing the course, participants (e.g., teaching faculty, course designers, etc.) will have achieved the following objectives:

Course Overview

Resilient Mindsets in Medicine focuses on developing knowledge and skill around learning mindsets, while also allowing participants to apply what they’ve learned into a learning mindset-supportive project that can be used in their classroom. The course is composed of 5 sections:

  • Section 1 - Introduction to Learning Mindsets*

  • Section 2 - What You Say and Do Matters to Create Learning Mindsets*

  • Section 3 - Learning Mindset Strategies to Apply in Your Classroom*

  • Section 4 - Takeaways and Next Steps*

  • Section 5 - Implementing and Measuring Your Impact (Optional)

Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 are components (*required) of the course curriculum, while Section 5 offers additional support for those interested in testing and evaluating a learning mindset strategy in their classroom. 

Project Rollout

Resilient Mindsets in Medicine is planning to launch in July 2023 across the following 10 COMs:

  • Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (PNWU-COM)

  • Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM Colorado and RVUCOM Southern Utah)

  • Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OSU-COM and OSU-COM at Cherokee Nation)

  • University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM)

  • West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM)

  • Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM, PCOM Georgia, PCOM South Georgia)

  • Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (AZCOM)

  • Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM)

  • Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-COM)

Scaling Plans

We are eager to expand the Resilient Mindsets in Medicine program and integrate it across various health professions. Our vision is to adapt and implement this program in a multitude of contexts, enhancing its reach and impact. To achieve this, we are actively inviting partnerships with colleges of osteopathic medicine and other esteemed institutions across the country. If you are interested in exploring collaboration opportunities with us and learning more about our program, we encourage you to get in touch. Your involvement could play a pivotal role in shaping the future of health education, and patient care.