Medicine and Mindfulness: Theories and Practices

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2024-2025

Topic

Medical profession involves an almost continuous exposure to stress, not only from the perspective of challenging diagnostic and treatment decisions but also from the existence of a culture of perfectionism. Such pressures exist also for the medical students. Therefore, to improve their practice and to also prevent burn-out, these communities need tools to achieve a better balance between work and life.

Mindfulness is a process of intentional paying attention to experiencing the present moment with curiosity, openness and acceptance of each experience without judgment. A variety of studies have shown that mindfulness training leads to a better mood perception, lower stress perception, and a capacity to respond to stimuli more effectively. All these features can have a potentially positive effect on healthcare service. Mindfulness meditation has a beneficial effect on stress, depression, burnout, well-being and empathy among doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.

This course will be a mixture of lectures reviewing the evidence for the medical effects of mindfulness and practical classes providing the students with the means to start and develop their practice. In the process the students will have the opportunity to explore their own attitudes, mental habits and behaviors.

WHAT WILL THEY LEARN:

- Neuroscience and clinical evidence showing the effects of mindfulness practice;

- Key mindfulness concepts and practices that support the ability to use attention in an enhanced way.

- Concepts and practices that deepen the understanding of the mind/body connection, and highlights ways that the body is a direct portal to presence.

- Guidance for enhancing resilience, with specific regard to opening to and accepting a wide range of emotion.

- How to take the benefits that come from regular meditation and integrate them into daily life, as well as establishing a regular meditation routine.

Lectures

• 1. Flight or Fight responses and stress 1 - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 2. Flight or Fight responses and stress 2 - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 3. Imaging the mindful changes (brain imaging) 1 - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 4. Imaging the mindful changes (brain imaging) 2 - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 5. Mindfulness in Clinical Practice - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 6. Mechanics of Breathing - Toescu Emil Crisan

Practices

• 1. Practical: The raisin - he breath as an anchor - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 2. Practical: Keeping the body in mind - Perceptions – generating meaning - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 3. Now, not past, not future - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 4. Compassion - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 5. Turning towards difficulties - Toescu Emil Crisan
• 6. How did it go? - Toescu Emil Crisan

Seminars

Reading material

Obligatory literature

- Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment – and Your Life by Jon KABAT-ZINN;

- Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Mark WILLIAMS & Danny PENMAN

- Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by SHUNRYU Suzuki

Literature developed by the Department

Notes

none

Recommended literature

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

-

Mid-term exams

No mid-semester testing

Making up for missed classes

After 4 missed classes, the semester signature will be automatically denied

Exam topics/questions

The exam will consist of a submitted 2000-2500 words on one of the following topics, as the student will choose:

1) a reflective essay on their experience during the term, with specific reference to development of awareness of self, and engagement with living in the present.

2) an essay on the effects of mindfulness as reflected by neuroscience research;

3) an essay on the clinical effects of mindfulness interventions in one disease context (of student's choice).

The essay will be written in English, over a period of 3 weeks, and will be marked by the course leader.

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars

• Toescu Emil Crisan