Ethics and Teaching Mindfulness to Physicians and Health Care Professionals

Abstract

For physicians, physicians-in-training, and other health professionals, turning toward the most difficult and challenging aspects of the human condition with exquisite empathy may actually prevent burnout and the associated diminution in quality of care and quality of caring. Mindful awareness and communication skills sit at the heart of cultivating ethical behavior within the health care environment. Mindfulness itself creates the "ethical space from which to see, think, speak, act, and work in ways that are not conditioned by reactivity" (Batchelor, n.d.). While working with practicing physicians and medical students in coursework designed to develop mindfulness, the sharing of their reflections about clinical narratives they are part of provides a rich source of meaning and relationship-centered connection. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)