Health Professions Education Grand Rounds: How do emotions and other psychological constructs impact learning in medical education? A doctoral research report presented by Lynnea Mills.

Emotions infrequently receive attention in HPE, with most of the work focused on wellbeing. But there is a very robust set of literature in fields such as psychology and neurosciences about how emotions affect and can be leveraged to improve the learning process. In this presentation, Lynnea will outline how she used her doctoral work to begin exploring the ways that emotion and other psychological entities can affect the learning process in high-stakes settings in HPE, specifically feedback and remediation. She'll also talk about next steps for considering further translation of the literature from other disciplines to improve learning in HPE vis-a-vis emotions.

Lynnea Mills, MD, joined the faculty at UCSF in 2014 in the Division of Hospital Medicine. Since then, she has continued her clinical work taking care of hospitalized patients while undertaking various education experiences, opportunities, and roles. She completed the UCSF-Utrecht doctoral program in HPE in 2025, and her ongoing work most relevant to this research is in the coaching space; she directs coaching programs and provides direct coaching for learners who are struggling to meet competencies at both UME and GME levels.

About Health Professions Education Grand Rounds (HPEGR):

At these hour-long sessions, participants hear about recent research in health professions education. Presenters may include advanced learners studying in CFE’s master’s and doctoral programs, UCSF faculty who conduct education research, and invited speakers who contribute outside perspectives to advance the scholarly study of health professions education.

The Master's Program in Education is a collaboration between UCSF and the University of California, Berkeley School of Education. The program prepares individuals in the research methodologies needed to undertake research studies in health professions education. Students receive mentoring from faculty in the UC Berkeley, Berkeley School of Education and faculty in the UCSF Center for Faculty Educators.

UCSF collaborates with University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) to offer the Doctoral Program in Health Professions Education. This collaboration makes possible a rigorous program for scholarly advancement for medical education researchers. Successful candidates graduate with a PhD in Health Professions Education from UMC Utrecht.