Vidal EIO, Ribeiro LFA, Carvalho-Filho MA, Fukushima FB. Mindfulness training in medical education as a means to improve resilience, empathy, and mental health in the medical profession. World J Psychiatry 2024; 14(4): 489-493 [PMID: 38659597 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i4.489]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine Department, Botucatu Medical School, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Av. Prof. Mario Rubens Guimaraes Montenegro, S/N, Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil. edison.vidal@unesp.br
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. Apr 19, 2024; 14(4): 489-493 Published online Apr 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i4.489
Mindfulness training in medical education as a means to improve resilience, empathy, and mental health in the medical profession
Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, Luiz Fernando Alvarenga Ribeiro, Marco Antonio de Carvalho-Filho, Fernanda Bono Fukushima
Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, Internal Medicine Department, Botucatu Medical School, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil
Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, Marco Antonio de Carvalho-Filho, Fernanda Bono Fukushima, Wenckebach Institute for Education and Training, LEARN - Lifelong Learning, Education and Assessment Research Network, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen 9713AV, Groningen, Netherlands
Luiz Fernando Alvarenga Ribeiro, Assertiva Mindfulness, Botucatu 18603-970, SP, Brazil
Fernanda Bono Fukushima, Surgical Specialties and Anesthesiology Department, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil
Author contributions: Vidal EIO and Ribeiro LFA drafted the first version of the manuscript; Fukushima FB and Carvalho-Filho MA revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported bythe Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), No. 312499/2022-1; and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), No. 2023/00823-9, and No. 2023/01251-9.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine Department, Botucatu Medical School, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Av. Prof. Mario Rubens Guimaraes Montenegro, S/N, Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil. edison.vidal@unesp.br
Received: December 19, 2023 Peer-review started: December 19, 2023 First decision: January 11, 2024 Revised: January 17, 2024 Accepted: March 13, 2024 Article in press: March 13, 2024 Published online: April 19, 2024
Abstract
The high rates of depression, burnout, and increased risk of suicide among medical students, residents, and physicians in comparison with other careers signal a mental health crisis within our profession. We contend that this crisis coupled with the inadequate acquisition of interpersonal skills during medical education results from the interaction between a challenging environment and the mental capital of individuals. Additionally, we posit that mindfulness-based practices are instrumental for the development of major components of mental capital, such as resilience, flexibility of mind, and learning skills, while also serving as a pathway to enhance empathy, compassion, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and relational abilities. Importantly, the evidence base supporting the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions has been increasing over the years, and a growing number of medical schools have already integrated mindfulness into their curricula. While we acknowledge that mindfulness is not a panacea for all educational and mental health problems in this field, we argue that there is currently an unprecedented opportunity to gather momentum, spread and study mindfulness-based programs in medical schools around the world as a way to address some longstanding shortcomings of the medical profession and the health and educational systems upon which it is rooted.
Core Tip: High rates of depression, burnout, and suicide risk among medical professionals highlight a mental health crisis. We proposed that mindfulness-based practices can enhance mental capital, fostering resilience, flexibility, and learning skills. Mindfulness also promotes empathy, compassion, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and relational abilities. Increasing evidence supports the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions, prompting many medical schools to integrate them into curricula. While not a panacea, mindfulness offers a promising opportunity to address longstanding issues in the medical profession and associated health and educational systems.
