Training Your Subconscious Mind in Residency

By Dr. Anupama Singh

This is a special edition blog post presented in partnership with the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Training my subconscious mind and building mental fortitude is a vital skill I learned at the start of my surgical residency. It molded me into a calmer person capable of adapting to any challenging situation and instilled in me a growth mindset that benefits me in all areas of my life, not just in residency.

I wasn’t always like this. In high school, my friends and family labeled me as a “high-functioning anxious person.” I remember being unbothered by it. I still got the good grades and it didn’t matter if these achievements were the result of sleepless nights and spiraling, anxious thoughts that were trying to predict every outcome.

That mentality was challenged when I started surgical residency, especially when I became a PGY-2. I had to find ways to ground myself during stressful moments and transform self-doubt into self-confidence as I grew into a senior role. Reading is an important hobby of mine, and I fortunately came across The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and Atomic Habits by James Clear. That’s when I started to learn about how our mind operates and the science behind positivity and visualization.

See, we don’t usually have a hard time grasping things that we can assess using our five senses. We are limited by our conscious mind. The subconscious mind, however, operates in the background and influences all aspects of who we are and the decisions we make. For many of us, it’s an enigma. Although they might seem like two separate entities, both the conscious and the subconscious mind work in harmony. Our conscious daily habits contribute to how our subconscious starts to operate, which in turn influences our future decisions. This synergy is also why the top performers of the world emphasize the importance of positive self-talk. How you speak to yourself greatly influences your background operating system and becomes ingrained into your psyche.

Visualization, self-reflection, mindfulness, and meditation are all powerful, effective tools that work together and have been used for generations to train the mind and reduce stress. They apply to all of us and transcend religion, job occupation, socioeconomic status, etc. There are a myriad of ways I engage in these practices in residency. For instance, I visualize each step of a procedure starting from patient positioning to undraping. This is like athletes visualizing their winning moment or like speakers rehearsing a talk. This technique is incredibly effective because the same regions of our brain are activated and the same neural connections are formed when we visualize versus when we actually perform a task, thus boosting self-confidence and decreasing the stress that is often incited by the “unknown.”

At the end of my rotations, I self-reflect via journaling to identify areas of weaknesses, which ensures my continued growth and provides a framework for obtaining specific feedback. I also keep track of how I have improved upon each weakness. Residency can be very overwhelming, and at times it can make us feel like our performance is constantly suboptimal. So, keeping a list and reflecting on those small successes can be very motivating!

I view mindfulness and meditation as the encompassing umbrella tools that can strengthen visualization and self-reflection practices. Meditation improves my focus and awareness, which in turn allows me to be more present on a daily basis (a.k.a. mindfulness). Even five minutes of daily practice is enough to reap the benefits. Since residency started, I have spent every morning before work enjoying my coffee in silence. This small moment of peace tempers any negative emotions that arise throughout the day.

These are simply some tools that have contributed significantly to my growth as a doctor and person overall and I encourage everyone to try these practices at least once. When incorporated into our lives as habits rather than occasional practices, these tools have the power to transform our minds and strengthen our potential.

About the Author: Dr. Anupama Singh

I am a third-year general surgery resident at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, MA and will be applying for a thoracic surgery fellowship this upcoming year. My interests in medicine include mentorship, clinical outcomes research (particularly regarding optimizing outcomes for elderly patients) and improving care for vulnerable populations.

Outside of medicine, I enjoy reading books of all genres, creating artwork, volunteering via Boston Cares, hiking with my dog and spending time with my loved ones.

Twitter: @anupama_singh1