Should positive psychology be an important course for business and medical students?

by Sandeep Kulshrestha



Ivy League MBA programs are designed for people to take up executive positions in corporations and for the students, the CGPAs are directly linked to lucrative campus hiring. Finance and its intricacies are hence very important for the graduates. However the literature on Emotional Intelligence suggests that a higher EQ is also linked to the leadership traits of empathy and fostering of cordial employee relations. 

This post is more of a thought that occurred into my mind. If we want future leaders to learn positive emotions of hope, joy, perseverance or are trained in finding their calling or purpose and those who run teams that foster collaboration and develop positive relations, then positive psychology ideas and interventions should definitely be taught to MBA students. I would argue that not only MBA students but even students of medical schools would do better in their careers when they imbibe some of positive psychology based health interventions. Lifestyle medicine has some initial linkages to positive psychology but we need more robust collaboration to highlight areas like stress reduction, helping patients minimize the inflammation of the body through customized diet charts and so on. The good news is that mind-body medicine is no longer hocus-pocus but a keen area to study under the umbrella of Integrated medicine.

More research in Positive Psychology is happening when I write this blog and with all the perverse political news around us, here is a sense of hope. 

What are your thoughts? You can email me through the "contact us" page.



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