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EDUCATION |
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| Year : 2002 | Volume
: 19
| Issue : 1 | Page : 101-102 |
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How to improve performance and achieve clinical and academic excellence
Santosh Kumar
Department of Urology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry, India
Correspondence Address:
Santosh Kumar
Department of Urology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
Keywords: Improving Performance; Clinical Excellence; Academic Excellence
How to cite this article:
Kumar S. How to improve performance and achieve clinical and academic excellence. Indian J Urol 2002;19:101-2 |
 Introduction | |  |
Professional excellence involves performing high quality work and it consists of clinical (patient care) and academic (teaching and research) excellence. Professional excellence can be achieved and maintained in the competitive world only by continuous improvement of performance.
| How to Improve Performance | | |
"We are all functioning at a small fraction of our capacity to live fully in its total meaning of loving, caring, creating and adventuring. Consequently, the actualizing of our potential can become the most exciting adventure in our lifetime. "
Herbert Otto
1. Understand the Factors of Performance
Performance is the act of doing a piece of work and also how well one does it. [1] Performance of a task is determined by following factors. [2]
Performance = Ability x Motivation (Effort)
Ability = Aptitude x Training x Resources
Motivation = Desire x Commitment
Aptitude is the natural ability and interest in learning. [1] Commitment is the hard work and loyalty that someone gives to an organisation or activity. [1] Performance can be improved by increasing motivation to fully use the existing ability and by increasing the ability.
2. Understand Achievement Motivation
Motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. [3] It depends on attitude or the opinions and feelings that one has about something. [1] The process of motivation comprises a physiological or psychological deficiency (need) that activates a behaviour (drive, motive) that is aimed at something that will alleviate the need (incentive, goal). [4]
Self-actualization needs (A.H. Maslow) involve realizing our full potential and becoming all that we can be. [3] The need for achievement (D. McClelland) is the desire to accomplish a task or goal more effectively than in the past. [3] High achievers make moderately risky decisions, set moderately difficult goals, want immediate specific feedback, become preoccupied with their task and assume personal responsibility. [3] They gain intrinsic satisfaction by accomplishing the task and look at material rewards as a measurement of their performance. [4] Moderately difficult goals develop mental power as moderately difficult exercise develops muscle power (overload principle). [5]
3. Develop Achievement Motivation
Achievement motivation can be developed by learning to think like high achievers, receiving personal feedback and creating a group esprit de corps that supports high effort and success. [3] Fears of failure and success and perfectionism are to be avoided.
4. Develop Self-awareness
An accurate self-assessment of one's strengths and weaknesses can be made by self-introspection and feedback of others because some are known to self and to others (public), some are known to self but not to others (hidden), some are known to others but not to self (blind) and some are not known to both self and others (Johari Window).
| How to Achieve Clinical Excellence | | |
One should choose an area of interest such as a disease (eg., BPH) or a surgical procedure (eg., PCNL) (after careful consideration of the resources) in which one can have strong life-long commitment [Figure - 1],[Figure - 2],[Figure - 3]. Regional, national and international levels of excellence can be achieved in about 10, 15 and 20 years.
| How to Achieve Academic Excellence | | |
Academics evolve naturally with strong long-term commitment [Figure - 4].
| References | | |
| 1. | Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Essex: Longman Group Ltd, 1995.  |
| 2. | Lawler EE. III. Motivation in work organizations. Belmont, Calif: Brooks/Cole. 1973. |
| 3. | Moorhead G. Griffin RW. Basic concepts of motivation. In: Organizational Behaviour, 3rd ed, Mumbai: Jaico. 2000: 125. |
| 4. | Luthans F. Motivational needs and processes. In : Organizational Behaviour, 9th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill. 2002: 246. |
| 5. | Hersey P, Blanchard KH, Johnson DE. Motivation and behaviour. In : Management of Organizational Behaviour, 7th ed, New Delhi Prentice Hall of India. 2000: 24. |
[Figure - 1], [Figure - 2], [Figure - 3], [Figure - 4]
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