Experiencing joy in the practice of medicine is by no means guaranteed. For many physicians, the unique bond with patients, the deep satisfaction of saving a life, and a profound sense of calling make the sacrifice and heartache worthwhile. In contrast, the growing prevalence of burnout, and mental distress is being linked to diminished physician performance, patient outcomes, and hospital economics. This suggests that demands are outstripping resources, thereby threatening the physician-patient bond and the societal pillar this represents.
Overwhelming stress without adequate coping skills has been posited to promote burnout and distress, and may promote performance deficits (from surgical errors to poor professionalism) by impairing cognition and self-regulation. In other high-stress/high-performance groups formal mindfulness training has been shown to enhance stress resilience, subjective well-being and performance. Nevertheless, quality research involving physicians, the effects of chronic stress on performance and the impact of mindfulness training in this context remains scarce, contributing to the slow adoption of mindfulness training into medical practice and residency.
To address these gaps, we first laid the groundwork: we conducted a national survey which showed high dispositional mindfulness in surgery residents reduced the risk of burnout and distress by 75% or more. We conducted a RCT of MBSR in surgery interns, demonstrating feasibility and acceptability of formal mindfulness training. Finally, we have developed an MBSR-based, streamlined curriculum tailored for physicians and trainees, Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT), which has been beta-tested in surgery faculty and mixed-level residents and refined in terms of logistics, dose and delivery. We have since disseminated our promising results, thereby allowing us access to a larger study population for our proposed RCT of ESRT in mixed-specialty interns as a means to improve well-being, cognition and performance.
While this study will likely not reach statistical power, it will absolutely allow for broader vetting of the curriculum, our current data acquisition and management methods, and the appropriateness of our outcome measures, paving the way for a high-quality, fully-powered MCT in the near future.
The significance of studying mindfulness mental training in medical and surgical trainees is two-fold. One, as a process-centered skill with demonstrated effects on psychological well-being, perceived stress, cognitive performance and physiologic health mindfulness presents a potential gateway mechanism for providing individuals with a 'universal tool' for challenges across all stages of medical training and practice. This includes burnout and errors which are looming issues, largely immutable for the last decade. Two, if feasibility and efficacy among medical and surgical trainees can be shown, the social clout of impacting such a high stress and high performance field is uniquely powerful and could further the dissemination of evidence-based mindfulness interventions to a remarkable degree. Finally, the resultant tendency for enhanced self-awareness and equipoise has been contagious in other settings, providing fuel for a greater culture change in medicine that is much-needed and holds great promise for patients and providers.
The innovation of this work is in bringing a mind-body intervention to bear not only on well-being but also on the fundamental cognitive processes believed to sub-serve performance, such as the impact of attention and working memory capacity on medical decision-making, and the impact of emotional regulation and self-awareness on professionalism and team work. The potential to improve both the operative and clinical environments as well as medical errors is unprecedented. Finally, a vetted, manualized curriculum specifically crafted for physicians could accelerate dissemination nationally.
