PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Medical students taught meditation techniques to prevent burnout and improve care

2013-10-31
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Marguerite Beck
marbeck@wakehealth.edu
336-716-2415
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Medical students taught meditation techniques to prevent burnout and improve care WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., – Oct. 30, 2013 – Doctors commonly tell patients that stress can be harmful to their health. Yet when it comes to reducing their own stress levels, physicians don't always heed their own advice.

Part of the problem, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, is that medical schools don't include meditation and stress-reduction training in their curriculum. However, for the past three years all third-year students at Wake Forest Baptist have been provided guided relaxation and mindfulness meditation training known as Applied Relaxation and Applied Mindfulness (ARAM), thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The training is described in the fall issue of the Annals of Behavioral Science and Medical Education.

Studies estimate that 20 to 60 percent of physicians experience burnout at some time during their careers. This level of distress and strain can have a significant influence on the quality of care that doctors provide. It can also decrease empathy and compassion for patients and increase the likelihood of medical errors, said William McCann, Psy.D., associate professor of family and community medicine at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the paper.

"Research has repeatedly shown that mindfulness meditation and relaxation techniques can help moderate the influence of stress," McCann said. "In every stress-management program either mindfulness or relaxation is always included to decrease both the mental and physical wear and tear caused by stress."

The goal of the Wake Forest Baptist training was threefold: to help familiarize future doctors with techniques recommended in many medical treatment plans for patients; to reduce stress and prevent professional burnout; and to enhance performance by improving working memory and empathy and by moderating performance anxiety.

The ARAM training was composed of three sessions integrated into the third-year family medicine clerkship. According to McCann, 90 percent of the students found the class beneficial.

"The practice of medicine is a stressful challenge even for our best and brightest students," McCann said. "The rate of burnout among doctors is sobering and every medical school needs to include stress-management training in their curriculums."

Wake Forest Baptist is one of only a few medical schools in the United States to include mindfulness or relaxation training in its curriculum, McCann said.

INFORMATION:

Funding for the project was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration grant #D56HP20779.

Co-authors include Gail Marion, PA-C, Ph.D., Stephen Davis, M.A., Sonia Crandall, Ph.D., and Carol Hildebrandt, B.A., of Wake Forest Baptist.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The secret math of plants: UCLA biologists uncover rules that govern leaf design

2013-10-31
The secret math of plants: UCLA biologists uncover rules that govern leaf design Life scientists from UCLA's College of Letters and Science have discovered fundamental rules of leaf design that underlie plants' ability to produce leaves that ...

Old drug may teach new tricks in treating infectious diseases, cancer

2013-10-31
Old drug may teach new tricks in treating infectious diseases, cancer COLLEGE STATION – Meclizine, an over-the-counter drug used for decades to treat nausea and motion sickness, has the potential for new uses to treat certain infectious diseases ...

6-month data of the LEVANT 2 trial presented at TCT 2013

2013-10-31
6-month data of the LEVANT 2 trial presented at TCT 2013 New study examines safety and efficacy of drug coated baloon angioplasty for treatment of femoropopliteal artery disease SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – The first clinical trial in the United States to study ...

Procedural results from the RIBS V trial presented at TCT 2013

2013-10-31
Procedural results from the RIBS V trial presented at TCT 2013 Good outcomes with both drug-eluting stents and drug-eluting balloons in treating patients with bare metal stent restenosis SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – A clinical trial comparing the use of drug-eluting ...

Brain connectivity can predict epilepsy surgery outcomes

2013-10-31
Brain connectivity can predict epilepsy surgery outcomes Discovery from Case Western Reserve, Cleveland Clinic researchers may spare patients from disappointing results A discovery from Case Western Reserve and Cleveland Clinic researchers could provide ...

Results of the SMART-CASE trial presented at TCT 2013

2013-10-31
Results of the SMART-CASE trial presented at TCT 2013 New study compares conservative and aggressive revascularization strategies for coronary stenting based upon angiography alone SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – A new study shows that a conservative approach to ...

Too much texting can disconnect couples

2013-10-31
Too much texting can disconnect couples Couples shouldn't let their thumbs do the talking when it comes to serious conversations, disagreements or apologies. Brigham Young University researchers Lori Schade and Jonathan Sandberg studied 276 young adults around ...

Watching R-rated movies lessens importance of faith for young people, Baylor University study finds

2013-10-31
Watching R-rated movies lessens importance of faith for young people, Baylor University study finds Viewing R-rated movies leads to decreased church attendance and lessens importance of faith among young people, according to a study by a Baylor University researcher ...

Results of the ADVISE II trial presented at TCT 2013

2013-10-31
Results of the ADVISE II trial presented at TCT 2013 Trial examines benefits of using a new test to determine the severity of coronary artery disease SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 30, 2013 – A new study supports the use of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR), to simplify ...

Tagging aquatic animals can disrupt natural behavior

2013-10-31
Tagging aquatic animals can disrupt natural behavior American and Canadian researchers have for the first time quantified the energy cost to aquatic animals when they carry satellite tags, video cameras and other research instruments. Studying fibreglass ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Can Hayabusa2 touchdown? New study reveals space mission’s target asteroid is tinier and faster than thought

Millisecond windows of time may be key to how we hear, study finds

Graz University of Technology opens up new avenues in lung cancer research with digital cell twin

Exoplanets are not water worlds

Study shows increasing ‘healthy competition’ between menu options nudges patients towards greener, lower-fat hospital food choices

New insights into melanoma plasticity uncover a critical role of iron metabolism

A graphene sandwich — deposited or transferred?

New light-powered motor fits inside a strand of hair

Oil rig study reveals vital role of tiny hoverflies

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers boost widespread use of dental varnish across pediatric network

iRECODE: A new computational method that brings clarity to single-cell analysis

New NUS-MOH study: Singapore’s healthcare sector carbon emissions 18% lower than expected, a milestone in the city-state’s net zero journey

QUT scientists create material to turn waste heat into clean power

Major new report sets out how to tackle the ‘profound and lasting impact’ of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health

Cosmic crime scene: White dwarf found devouring Pluto-like icy world

Major report tackles Covid’s cardiovascular crisis head-on

A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice

ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle

Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air

GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients

Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds

Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity

Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests

Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows

Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer

SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events

Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design

New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients

Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?

Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain

[Press-News.org] Medical students taught meditation techniques to prevent burnout and improve care