An ER Doctor’s 10 Best Visualization Techniques to Prepare for a Challenge
Use these strategies to supercharge your mental training
Visualization — picturing ourselves going through routines to improve our chances of success — is a tool used by Olympians, skilled negotiators, musicians, astronauts, and many others. That’s because it works: In one Harvard Medical School study, researchers found that the brain activity of people who just thought through a piano exercise was similar to the brain activity of those who actually played. Plenty of other research has demonstrated that visualization can act as a rehearsal for a real-life activity, helping people develop new skills faster and stay calm under pressure.
In the world of emergency medicine, we routinely use visualization to practice for critical events and identify possible gaps in knowledge or resources. As an emergency doctor, I appreciate the fact that I can do it anytime or anywhere — I’ll often mentally rehearse various procedures while drinking my morning coffee before my shift.
No matter what you are trying to accomplish, visualization can and should be a part of your preparation. Here are 10 of my favorite visualization techniques to supercharge your mental training.
