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Scholarly Commons > HCA Healthcare Journal > Vol. 7 > Iss. 3 (2026)

 

Keywords

burnout; emotional intelligence; graduate medical education; motivation; organizational psychology; quiet quitting

Disciplines

Adult and Continuing Education | Leadership | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Abstract

Physicians and educators tend to be more versed in recognizing disease patterns and medical problems than in identifying malfunctioning patterns in the psychological aspects of their mentees and work environments. Just as hypertension and diabetes are the common soil for many acute medical problems, agency problems and organizational silos can lead to many acute managerial problems in graduate medical education (GME) settings.

Data show that most workers are lonely at work, which leads to negative emotions and undermines performance. Organizational problems seem to stem from an individual’s inability to align one’s motivation with the organization’s shared value. This can cause an individual to feel their agency is under attack. Once this happens, misalignment prevails, and organizational silos form. This is why every organization needs to create optimal conditions to align its individuals. This requires a culture of learning and positive organizational psychology that nurtures safety.

Here, we reviewed the literature on the role of emotional intelligence in the GME workplace and present science-backed approaches to solve current issues with worker disengagement, including employee loneliness, a lack of shared values, and limited autonomy. In a GME organization, everyone is continuously managing some circle of influence, whether in a patient room or a classroom. Mentorship is the most effective way to manage learners, especially in the medical field, where most stakeholders are fundamentally learners. A key requirement for effective mentorship is emotional intelligence, which requires awareness and management of both oneself and one’s relationships. Through these internal and external factors, emotional intelligence plays critical roles in cognitive biases, narrative identity, memory, patient care, job satisfaction, motivation, and performance.

Organization psychology approaches, such as job demands-resources (JDR) theory, self-determination theory (SDT), and stress management, can be used to improve worker and organizational wellbeing. The JD theory proposes the need for appropriate resources for an individual’s workplace demands, with the consequence of the imbalance being employee burnout and disengagement. The SDT operates on the principles of autonomy, relatedness, and competency, which can help mentors and mentees identify barriers to motivation. Stress management theory proposes balancing challenges and skills to avoid anxiety and boredom.

We have outlined a blueprint for stakeholders to identify factors needing improvement, so they can understand their roles and develop awareness of where, when, and how they can influence those factors positively or negatively.

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