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Background: Medical students confront significant academic, psychosocial, and existential stressors throughout their training. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an educational intervention designed to improve coping skills and reduce emotional distress.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the MBSR intervention in a prospective, nonrandomized, cohort-controlled study.
Methods: Second-year students (n = 140) elected to participate in a 10-week MBSR seminar. Controls (n = 162) participated in a didactic seminar on complementary medicine. Profile of Mood States (POMS) was administered preintervention and postintervention.
Results: Baseline total mood disturbance (TMD) was greater in the MBSR group compared with controls (38.7 ±33.3 vs. 28.0 ±31.2; p <. 01). Despite this initial difference, the MBSR group scored significantly lower in TMD at the completion of the intervention period (31.8 ±33.8 vs. 38.6 ±32.8; p < . 05). Significant effects were also observed on Tension-Anxiety, Confusion-Bewilderment, Fatigue-Inertia, and Vigor-Activity subscales.
Conclusion: MBSR may be an effective stress management intervention for medical students.
BACKGROUND: Medical students confront significant academic, psychosocial, and existential stressors throughout their training. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an educational intervention designed to improve coping skills and reduce emotional distress.PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the MBSR intervention in a prospective, nonrandomized, cohort-controlled study.
METHODS: Second-year students (n = 140) elected to participate in a 10-week MBSR seminar. Controls (n = 162) participated in a didactic seminar on complementary medicine. Profile of Mood States (POMS) was administered preintervention and postintervention.
RESULTS: Baseline total mood disturbance (TMD) was greater in the MBSR group compared with controls (38.7 +/- 33.3 vs. 28.0 +/- 31.2; p < .01). Despite this initial difference, the MBSR group scored significantly lower in TMD at the completion of the intervention period (31.8 +/- 33.8 vs. 38.6 +/- 32.8; p < .05). Significant effects were also observed on Tension-Anxiety, Confusion-Bewilderment, Fatigue-Inertia, and Vigor-Activity subscales.
CONCLUSION: MBSR may be an effective stress management intervention for medical students.
The applications and use of mindfulness-based interventions in medicine, mental health care, and education have been expanding as rapidly as the empirical evidence base that is validating and recommending them. This growth has created a powerful demand for professionals who can effectively deliver these interventions, and for the training of new professionals who can enter the fold.Ironically, while the scientific literature on mindfulness has surged, little attention has been paid to the critical who and how of mindfulness pedagogy. Teaching Mindfulness is the first in-depth treatment of the person and skills of the mindfulness teacher. It is intended as a practical guide to the landscape of teaching, to help those with a new or growing interest in mindfulness-based interventions to develop both the personal authenticity and the practical know-how that can make teaching mindfulness a highly rewarding and effective way of working with others. The detail of theory and praxis it contains can also help seasoned mindfulness practitioners and teachers to articulate and understand more clearly their own pedagogical approaches.