In order to combat increased rates of student stress and anxiety related to fear of failure, many colleges have begun offering resources designed to help students realize the necessity of failure and how to cope with it, according to the New York Times.
Though the idea of failure as an important step on the way to success has long been embraced by many in the business world, popularized by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, that same attitude has not been embraced by today’s students. Many go through the rigorous college application process so focused on achievement that researchers have found they come into school ill-prepared for failure.
Universities such as Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., and Stanford (Calif.) have introduced initiatives that show students that it is not only OK to fail, but that failure is inevitable for everyone. Mental health support resources as well as introductory seminars that emphasize coping techniques are common in many colleges.
With medical students coming up through a failure-phobic academic pipeline, one wonders what responsibility medial schools and hospitals have toward understanding how stress related to failure can affect students and resident physicians. Further, resources that show medical students how to cope with stress of failure and work through it in health ways could help curb the physician burnout epidemic.
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