Statement of Need 

In response to the increasing pace and complexity of medical practice, physicians and other health professionals are experiencing unprecedented levels of job dissatisfaction and burnout, which affects their sense of well-being, their family life, the health of their children and partners, and the quality of care they provide. A powerful but under-recognised approach to these challenges is to enhance the physicians capacity for mindfulness. Mindfulness in medicine refers to the ability to be aware, in the present moment, on purpose, with the intention of providing better care to patients, and of taking better care of oneself. Mindfulness is at the core of clinical competence. 

 

Research suggests that courses in mindful practice and mindful communication can result in lower burnout and greater well-being, family empathy and patient-centered care. In addition, mindful practice may result in fewer errors, a greater sense of presence, the ability to see a situation from multiple perspectives before reacting , and greater satisfaction from work.

 

Activity Description 

This program holistically addresses the external barriers in the current health care environment that makes mindful practice challenging, as well as participants' and learners own internal barriers to self-awarensss such as unexamined emotions, premature closure, over-concreteness and emotional exhaustion - which then manifest as feeling overwhelmed by suffering, ignoring the obvious, treating others like objects, withdrawing from unpleasant or anxiety-provoking situations, having difficulty tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty, and making hasty decisions.

 

Meditative Awareness and The Art of Healing will prepare course participants to develop situational awareness, interpersonal awareness, self-awareness and self-minitoring during everyday work. Holistically integrating contemporary medical and psychological knowledge with the Eastern science of mind as a method for clarifying and deepening the practitioner's listening and diagnostic acumen and applying the basic forces of healing to health and ordinary life issues. This tends to foster the capacity for healing and brings renewal to the relationship between healer and patient.