Although this may sound bleak, TMT has powerful implications for professional identity. Our choice to become rheumatologists, our drive to teach, research and care for others may, in part, reflect a deep-seated desire to matter and to contribute to something larger and more lasting than ourselves.
In this light, the drive toward a lasting legacy is an essential aspect of identity formation. TMT may help elucidate how we unconsciously shape the field through mentoring, modeling and everyday actions. After all, each decision, no matter how small, makes lasting contributions to the cultural fabric of rheumatology. Through the diligence of our work, we create a sense of permanence and meaning.
At face value, TMT seems entirely irreconcilable with the looking glass self, but that’s not necessarily so. Admittedly, at age 40, I am thinking about my own sense of impermanence. It absolutely does spur me to make the most of each day, whether at work or at home. Yet it also makes me think more carefully about the people that I surround myself with and how I contribute to their identity and self-concept.
Growth Mindset & PIF
No discussion about identity formation would be complete without talking about growth mindset. It’s become popular in recent years due to the work of psychologist Carol Dweck. Her theory of growth mindset emphasizes the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and effort.5 This contrasts with a fixed mindset, which assumes these traits are static. Confusing things further is the false growth mindset, which gives lip service to growth but avoids the discomfort that real learning entails.
For rheumatologists and all clinicians for that fact, a true growth mindset is essential. We are constantly learning, not only from the literature, but from our patients, our mistakes and our evolving roles. A growth-oriented identity acknowledges that mastery is a journey, not a destination.
This mindset also upholds our well-being. When we believe our identity and self-concept can change and grow, setbacks seem more temporary blips than fatal failures. This aligns well with the ideals of professional identity formation being less about arriving at competence and more about carefully cultivation of virtue. This orientation is particularly important in a field like rheumatology where the unknown is unescapable; having certainty that we can grow makes all the difference.
Collective Identity of Rheumatology
However you choose to characterize professional identity formation, it is inescapable that our identities are inexorably tied to the identities of others, and so it follows that there is also a sort of collective identity formation. This may seem more ethereal, but it is self-evident that the rheumatology community is akin to a living organism. Like cells, we rheumatologists routinely enter and exit, through training, retirement or other career transitions, but regardless of the exact cellular composition, the field’s identity remains intact.
