SUSHRUTA
Journal of Health Policy & Opinions
Mindfulness for Healthcare Professionals
Mita Mistry LicAc MBAcC MSc BA (Hons)
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapist, Acupuncturist, Columnist
Cite as: Mistry M. Mindfulness for healthcare professionals. Sushruta 2019 Nov 12(1): 33
Heavy demands on health care staff include dealing with a large number of patients, long
hours, restricted control over the working environment and ongoing organisational changes.
Such conditions have been directly associated with growing stress levels and symptoms of
burnout amongst health care professionals, and consequently, affecting the quality of care
delivered to patients. 1 The good news is that this is now increasingly recognised and is indeed
a catalyst for change in the development of awareness aimed at building self-care skills for
clinicians. In particular, there is a growing body of evidence in Mindfulness-based
interventions, which have a potential role in reducing stress and burnout.
But what is mindfulness? There are many definitions of mindfulness but perhaps the most
succinct and widely used, was coined by Professor Jon Kabat Zin of the University of
Massachusetts Medical School.2 It is the awareness that arises through ‘paying attention, on
purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.’ This essentially translates to a way of
being in the world in the ‘here and now’ by giving your full attention to what is happening in
the current experience. Mindfulness is about cultivating a greater sense of self-awareness
through building a deeper connection with our bodies and emotions, and a stronger presence
within our immediate environments. You have probably experienced it before, whether you
recognised it as such or not. Think of a time when you were fully engaged in an activity like
writing, playing sport, reading or creating art that your entire being focused on that one
activity. This heightened state of attention is mindfulness.
Isn’t it a bit touchy-feely?
Indeed, there are many myths surrounding mindfulness. Some common misconceptions are;
it is a way of blanking your mind or going into a trance or even that it is controlling your
thoughts to think positively and merely a relaxation technique rooted in ancient religious
beliefs or esoteric spirituality. Whilst the origins of mindfulness stem from Buddhist and Hindu
meditation, the practice itself is completely secular, it is essentially teaching life skills for
coping with the human experience which has gained respect and credibility in therapeutic
terms. Over the past twenty years mindfulness has been the subject of more controlled
clinical research 3 . It has been proven with scientific rigour in the treatment of a number of
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psychological and physical conditions. It can help manage a number of mental health
disorders, including anxiety and depression.
The Oxford Centre for Mindfulness has found that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
(MBCT) prevents depression relapse in recurrent depression. The National Institute for Health
and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended MBCT in their Guidelines for Management
of Depression (2004, 2009) 4 for service users who have had three or more episodes of
depression. Other research shows significant improvement in burnout scores and mental
well- being for a broad range of healthcare providers using mindfulness-based stress
reduction education. And it can help achieve a sense of calm in our overloaded daily lives. By
increasing self-awareness particularly of one’s stress levels through understanding one’s own
emotional and psychological triggers creates a pathway to be responsive to situations rather
than reactive. Greater self-awareness also helps to increase ability to reflect and subsequently
take proactive measures to improve one’s boundaries in the workplace and resolve conflicts
as well as attending to others including yourself and service users with more compassion. And
let’s face it we are often good at extending compassion for others, but not so much for
ourselves.
Where mindfulness can feel like self-care, self-compassion can often be mixed up with
feelings of self-indulgence 5 and therefore can be overlooked, yet it is crucial for clinicians.
But there is a growing interest in mindfulness for self-compassion especially in a healthcare
setting where clinicians can be vulnerable to stress overload and compassion fatigue owing
to the emotionally exhausting environment 6 . Having compassion for others requires having
compassion for oneself and a common sense of humanity. Beddoe & Murphy 7 found that
nurses who participated in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program reported that their
mindfulness practice helped them to develop more compassion and empathy for their
patients, and also helped their own self-compassion so they didn’t take on the negative
emotions of their patients. In another study, Shapiro et al 8 also found that health care
professionals who completed a mindfulness program reported an increase in feelings of self-
compassion and reduced stress. Both mindfulness and self-compassion involve promoting an
attitude of curiosity and non-judgment towards one's experiences.
Research suggests that mindfulness interventions, particularly those with a focus on
compassion has the potential to increase self-compassion among health care workers, which
in turn, shows promising results for reducing stress and increasing the effectiveness of clinical
care.9 Whilst mindfulness may not be a fix to “cure all” for everyone, it is a way of meeting
our experience with the presence of mind to respond skilfully to life's challenges, rather than
reacting based on intense emotions. And with growing stress levels and burnout amongst
health professionals, and increasing evidence that they could benefit from mindfulness
interventions what is there to lose?
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References
1. Montgomery A, Panagopoulou E, Esmail A, Richards T, Maslach C. Burnout in
healthcare: the case for organisational change BMJ 2019; 366 :l4774
3. Ospina MB, Bond K, Karkhaneh M, Tjosvold L, Vandermeer B, Liang Y, Bialy L, Hooton
N, Buscemi N, Dryden DM, Klassen TP. Meditation practices for health: state of the
research. Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep). 2007 Jun;(155):1-263.
5. Susan L. Woods, Patricia Rockman, and Evan Collins. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive
Therapy. 2016 American Mindfulness Research Association.
6. Neff KD. The Role of Self-Compassion in Development: A Healthier Way to Relate to
Oneself. Hum Dev. 2009 Jun;52(4):211-214.
8. Cohen-Katz J1, Wiley SD, Capuano T, Baker DM, Shapiro S. The effects of
mindfulness-based stress reduction on nurse stress and burnout: a quantitative and
9. Raab K1. Mindfulness, self-compassion, and empathy among health care
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