Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being
Background Poor mental health is common among medical students. In response, some medical schools have implemented wellness interventions. The University of Florida College of Medicine recently introduced a mind–body medicine elective, Promoting Resilience in Medicine (PRIMe), based on the Georgetow...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Global Advances in Health and Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956120927367 |
| _version_ | 1818840909643513856 |
|---|---|
| author | Michelle K Williams BS Irene M Estores MD Lisa J Merlo PhD, MPE |
| author_facet | Michelle K Williams BS Irene M Estores MD Lisa J Merlo PhD, MPE |
| author_sort | Michelle K Williams BS |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Poor mental health is common among medical students. In response, some medical schools have implemented wellness interventions. The University of Florida College of Medicine recently introduced a mind–body medicine elective, Promoting Resilience in Medicine (PRIMe), based on the Georgetown University School of Medicine course. PRIMe teaches meditation techniques including mindfulness, biofeedback, art, and journaling in a faculty-facilitated small group setting. Methods First- and second-year medical students (N = 24) who participated in the 11-week elective (3 cohorts over 2 years) completed anonymous surveys regarding their experiences. Measures included the Freiberg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), Perceived Stress Scale-10 item (PSS-10), and a series of multiple-choice and free-response questions developed for this study. The study was approved by the University of Florida Institutional Review Board. Results Among students with available pre- and posttest scores, the average PSS-10 score at pretest was 14.4 ( SD = 6.17, range = 3–26) and at posttest was 14.2 ( SD = 4.17, range = 8–22), suggesting no change in perceived stress. However, average scores on the FMI improved from 34.4 ( SD = 6.10, range = 24–47) at pretest to 41.8 ( SD = 4.81, range = 33–49) at posttest. The overwhelming majority of participants (95.8%) described the course as “definitely” worth it. The greatest improvements were noted in mindfulness, relationships with peers, and having a safe place in medical school to receive support. Learning mindfulness/meditation skills and increasing social support were noted as the primary factors impacting student well-being. Conclusion A mind–body medicine elective course may be a practical method to improve medical student well-being and improve ability to care for patients. Future studies should include follow-up testing to determine if benefits are sustained over time. In addition, more work is needed to understand the cost–benefit of providing instruction in mind–body medicine techniques to all medical students. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:17:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-79989409dffe431b9646e2986944e1be |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2164-9561 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:17:41Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Advances in Health and Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-79989409dffe431b9646e2986944e1be2022-12-21T20:36:15ZengSAGE PublishingGlobal Advances in Health and Medicine2164-95612020-05-01910.1177/2164956120927367Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-beingMichelle K Williams BSIrene M Estores MDLisa J Merlo PhD, MPEBackground Poor mental health is common among medical students. In response, some medical schools have implemented wellness interventions. The University of Florida College of Medicine recently introduced a mind–body medicine elective, Promoting Resilience in Medicine (PRIMe), based on the Georgetown University School of Medicine course. PRIMe teaches meditation techniques including mindfulness, biofeedback, art, and journaling in a faculty-facilitated small group setting. Methods First- and second-year medical students (N = 24) who participated in the 11-week elective (3 cohorts over 2 years) completed anonymous surveys regarding their experiences. Measures included the Freiberg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), Perceived Stress Scale-10 item (PSS-10), and a series of multiple-choice and free-response questions developed for this study. The study was approved by the University of Florida Institutional Review Board. Results Among students with available pre- and posttest scores, the average PSS-10 score at pretest was 14.4 ( SD = 6.17, range = 3–26) and at posttest was 14.2 ( SD = 4.17, range = 8–22), suggesting no change in perceived stress. However, average scores on the FMI improved from 34.4 ( SD = 6.10, range = 24–47) at pretest to 41.8 ( SD = 4.81, range = 33–49) at posttest. The overwhelming majority of participants (95.8%) described the course as “definitely” worth it. The greatest improvements were noted in mindfulness, relationships with peers, and having a safe place in medical school to receive support. Learning mindfulness/meditation skills and increasing social support were noted as the primary factors impacting student well-being. Conclusion A mind–body medicine elective course may be a practical method to improve medical student well-being and improve ability to care for patients. Future studies should include follow-up testing to determine if benefits are sustained over time. In addition, more work is needed to understand the cost–benefit of providing instruction in mind–body medicine techniques to all medical students.https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956120927367 |
| spellingShingle | Michelle K Williams BS Irene M Estores MD Lisa J Merlo PhD, MPE Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being Global Advances in Health and Medicine |
| title | Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being |
| title_full | Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being |
| title_fullStr | Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being |
| title_full_unstemmed | Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being |
| title_short | Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being |
| title_sort | promoting resilience in medicine the effects of a mind body medicine elective to improve medical student well being |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956120927367 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michellekwilliamsbs promotingresilienceinmedicinetheeffectsofamindbodymedicineelectivetoimprovemedicalstudentwellbeing AT irenemestoresmd promotingresilienceinmedicinetheeffectsofamindbodymedicineelectivetoimprovemedicalstudentwellbeing AT lisajmerlophdmpe promotingresilienceinmedicinetheeffectsofamindbodymedicineelectivetoimprovemedicalstudentwellbeing |