Introducing Mindfulness Practices to the Healer’s Art Course for Medical Students: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

Introduction: Burnout is common among medical students in the United States and can be debilitating. Mindfulness practices can reduce stress levels and burnout. Integrating mindfulness practices into pre-existing medical courses such as the Healer’s Art can potentially reduce burnout. Methods: We evaluated the impact of introducing meditation and yoga into the Healer’s Art course at a midwestern medical school. Half of the students were randomized into a meditation class (n=11) and the other half were randomized into a yoga class (n=12). Students were given pre- and post- session surveys to assess measures of mindfulness, burnout, and energy levels, adapted from validated survey instruments. Paired two-sample t tests were used to assess the relationship between each intervention and each pre-specified outcome. Results: Twenty-three medical students participated in a one-time yoga or meditation session. The yoga intervention resulted in a statistically significant increase in energy and breath awareness outcomes. The meditation intervention resulted in a significant increase in mindfulness. Both yoga and meditation were found to decrease burnout among participants in the immediate aftermath. Ninety-six percent of participants (22 of 23) expressed that mindfulness practices should be incorporated into future the Healer’s Art courses, with a mean recommendation score of 4.5 out of 5. Conclusion: Yoga and meditation classes might reduce medical student burnout. Randomized control trials are needed to assess longevity and generalizability of findings.