Mindfulness Training Benefits for Physicians
- One of the only interventions shown to decrease physician burnout
- Sharpens focus and concentration; improves memory
- Reduces symptoms of perceived stress, anxiety and depression
- Improves the ability to respond rather than react in difficult situations
- Enhances physician-patient communication and rapport
- Promotes non-judgmental acceptance of self and others
Research
- The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Tang YY, Hölzel BK, Posner MI. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2015 Apr;16(4):213-25. PMID: 25783612
- Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Hölzel BK, Carmody J, Vangel M, et. al. Psychiatry Res. 2011 Jan 30;191(1):36-43. PMID: 21071182
- The impact of a program in mindful communication on primary care physicians. Beckman HB, Wendland M, Mooney C, et. al. Acad Med. 2012 Jun;87(6):815-9. PMID: 22534599
- Association of an educational program in mindful communication with burnout, empathy, and attitudes among primary care physicians. Krasner MS, Epstein RM, Beckman H, et. al. JAMA. 2009 Sep 23;302(12):1284-93. PMID: 19773563
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: A meta-analysis. Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C. J Psychosom Res. 2015 Jun;78(6):519-28. PMID: 25818837
- A multicenter study of physician mindfulness and health care quality. Beach MC, Roter D, Korthuis PT, et. al. Ann Fam Med. 2013 Sep-Oct;11(5):421-8. PMID: 24019273