Abstract
Perfectionism is common and even encouraged in medicine. Acceptance to medical school is predicated on academic excellence; those who commence being schooled in medicine and their perfectionistic tendencies may be rewarded. Residency and fellowship years are a time where teamwork, appropriate social behavior and flexibility may be as important as academic knowledge. This can be threatening to the physician who has succeeded through perfectionistic academic self-induced pressure. Committing a mistake, although expected by all in this field, can feel overwhelming and unacceptable to a perfectionist: it can lead to symptoms of stress, depression and even suicide. Solutions to maladaptive perfectionism include cognitive-behavior therapy and coaching. This review contains 14 references. Key words: perfectionism, adaptive, maladaptive, physician burnout, suicide, CBT, coaching
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