September 30, 2026
3 min read
Key takeaways:
- Defining a goal requires assessing readiness and using the transtheoretical model of change.
- Having an effective formula for goal setting can provide calmness, structure and clarity.
CHICAGO — SMART goals — an approach centered on making objectives specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound — provide a useful framework for personal growth, a speaker at the Women in Medicine Summit said.
However, before setting a SMART goal, physicians should first assess their readiness, confidence and the importance of the goal to improve their chances of success, according to Robyn Tiger, MD, DipABLM, FACLM, founder of StressFreeMD.
Defining a goal requires assessing readiness and using the transtheoretical model of change. Image: Adobe Stock
“It’s wonderful that we have this model of SMART goals, but when I was coaching other physicians on those, there were lots of times they weren’t effective, and that only made us feel worse,” Tiger told Healio. “If we jump right into SMART goals and don’t take the smaller steps to identify if we’re even ready, how confident we are and how important this is, then we will most likely not succeed in our goal.”
Tiger spoke further about her five-step formula for goal setting that can help users better understand the thoughts behind their efforts, what barriers may hinder successful goal setting and more.
Healio: Why is effective goal setting and implementation especially important for women in medicine? Are there any barriers that affect it?
Tiger: The biggest barrier is our lack of education in how to successfully implement a goal that we desire, and that goal could be something related to work, health, wellness or anything that we see as something that we’d like to achieve.
There’s something called the intention-action gap, where we have the best intentions ever and we can visualize this wonderful outcome, but there’s a gap between us getting there. We have over 60,000 thoughts per day and many on repeat, and we have two key components that really are creating this gap. The first is thoughts that do not serve us. These can be, “I don’t know how to do that. It’s too hard. I tried and I failed before. Others are better than me at doing this thing. Maybe it doesn’t even matter anymore.” The other component is figuring out, “Where do I even begin?” which is because the lack of structure.
Healio: Could you go over your five steps?
Tiger: The first step is defining the goal. Ask yourself, “Where’s my readiness? Am I even ready to do this thing?” Defining a goal also begins with the transtheoretical model of change, which includes:
- precontemplation, where you are either not believing this applies to you, or you have lack of awareness that you need to change a particular problem, and you’re not planning on making a change in the next 6 months;
- contemplation, where you’re thinking about making a change in the next 6 months;
- preparation, where you’re aware you need to make a change and you will make that change in the next month;
- action, where you’ve started to make changes for less than 6 months but haven’t hit your goal yet; and
- maintenance, where you’ve made changes for more than 6 months.
The second step is where you are in the transtheoretical model of change, and the third step is determining how confident you are on a scale of zero to 10. Research tells us that you need to be at least seven out of 10 in your confidence level to be successful, and if you’re not, that’s where life coaching comes in.
The fourth step is determining how important this change is to you, again on a scale of zero to 10. And again, it needs to be at least a seven out of 10 in importance to you to be successful. If not, you need to understand where those thoughts that this isn’t that important to you are coming from. How can we make it important enough so that you will be successful? The fifth step is SMART goals.
Healio: How does the formula help users account for the unpredictability of healthcare?
Tiger: The only thing constant is change, and just like anything else, healthcare is constantly changing. The biggest change in healthcare right now, I would say, is AI. There’s a lot of AI utilization happening in different realms, and we as physicians are very structured and organized in our thinking. It’s not that things are too hard: it’s that we don’t know how to do them. But when we have structure and an organized way of addressing a situation, including any change that may be coming up in the healthcare world, we are calmer, grounded, clear and have clarity of how to approach it and how to make that change.
Healio: If there is one message you want physicians to take away, what is it?
Tiger: That there’s nothing wrong with you if you’ve tried and failed at successfully achieving your goals. People get discouraged and it’s so self-deprecating, but what I always like to say is, you don’t know what you don’t know, that today is the new day, and that we’re lifelong learners. Once you have the knowledge, structure and formula, you will succeed at what you’re trying to achieve.
For more information:
Robyn Tiger, MD, DipABLM, FACLM, can be reached at robyntiger@stressfreemd.net.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Tiger R. Make it happen! 5 step formula for effective goal setting and implementation. Presented at Women in Medicine Summit; Sept. 24-26, 2026; Chicago.
Disclosures:
Tiger reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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