Becoming a caregiver: attachment theory and poorly performing doctors

Medical Education
Gwen Adshead

Abstract

In this paper, I review a theoretical paradigm (attachment theory) which facilitates an understanding of how human care-giving and care-eliciting behaviours develop and are maintained over the lifespan. I argue that this paradigm has particular utility in: (i) the training of doctors; (ii) understanding why some doctors and medical students experience high levels of stress, and (iii) developing interventions to help those who struggle to manage high levels of work-related stress. I carried out a review of key texts and previously published studies of attachment styles in caregivers. Large-scale epidemiological studies, using valid and reliable measures, show that insecure attachment styles are found in a proportion of normal populations of both males and females. Insecure attachment is associated with impaired stress management and subtle deficits in care-giving sensitivity. It is reasonable to assume that a proportion of students entering medical training and doctors with performance problems may have insecure attachment styles which influence how they approach their training experience and how they manage occupational stress. Attachment theory is a useful paradigm for thinking about training as a professional caregiver. Insec...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 27, 2015·International Emergency Nursing·S R Clompus, J W Albarran
Sep 10, 2014·Medical Education·M Gemma CherryHelen O'Sullivan
Mar 8, 2011·Patient Education and Counseling·Sarah PetersCherie McCracken
Oct 19, 2016·Patient Education and Counseling·Ian FletcherSarah Peters
Sep 3, 2016·Frontiers in Psychology·Monica PedrazzaFranco Bressan
Aug 21, 2014·The Nurse Practitioner·Giovana G SilvaSheila L Molony
Sep 7, 2018·Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology·Zoë A PoucherGretchen Kerr
May 29, 2020·European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience·M MessiaenG Fond
Apr 1, 2020·Journal of Social Work in End-of-life & Palliative Care·Stephanie P WladkowskiAllison Gibson
Jan 14, 2021·Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie·Bernhard Strauß, Katja Brenk-Franz

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