2021/08/19 by Donald H Lee, Kaitlyn Reasoner, Donald H. Lee +1 · 27 citations
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Attrition #Burnout #Career Development and Diversity #Clinical psychology #Diversity (politics) #Grit #Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation #Medicine #Personality #Psychology #Resilience and Mental Health #Social psychology #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1136/postgradmedj-2021-140806
published in Postgraduate Medical Journal 99(1172), 535-541 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2021/08/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Grit refers to the combination of passion and perseverance for long-term goals. Grit has emerged as a recent topic of interest within the medical community. With ever-increasing rates of burnout and psychological distress, increasing attention has been directed towards modulatory or protective factors for these deleterious outcomes. Grit has been studied in regard to a variety of outcomes and variables in medicine. This article reviews the current literature on grit in medicine and summarises the current research on grit and performance metrics, personality characteristics, longitudinal progression, psychological well-being, diversity, equity and inclusion, burnout and residency attrition. While there is inconclusive evidence on the influence of grit on performance metrics in medicine, research consistently demonstrates a positive correlation between grit and psychological well-being and a negative correlation between grit and burnout. After discussing some of the inherent limitations of this type of research, this article suggests some possible implications and future areas for research and their potential role in cultivating psychologically healthy physicians and promoting successful careers in medicine.