Mastering Mindfulness
By JULIA WALKER
The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine has achieved a top designation for leading the way in integrating mindfulness practices into medical education.
UMKC has been named a “Flourishing in Medicine Center of Excellence” by the Mindful Practice in Medicine (MPIM) program at the University of Rochester Medical Center — making UMKC one of only three schools internationally, and the only one in the United States, to earn the honor.
According to MPIM, mindful practice programs are “a means to enhance self-awareness, wellness and resilience” for medical professionals by addressing and improving relationships with patients and colleagues.
Mindfulness practices include meditation, focusing strategies, deep listening skills, self-awareness practices and more. For medical school students and physicians, the goal is to find joy and resilience when working with patients while addressing the potential burnout and moral distress that may occur while navigating the daily stressful and demanding situations of a healthcare setting.
UMKC earned the distinction after meeting a series of rigorous standards over the past two years, including training local faculty in mindful practice, offering ongoing workshops and launching an innovative 10-month Mindfulness in Medicine program.
The program was developed by pediatrics professor Jodi Jackson, M.D., and Christine Sullivan (B.A. ’82/M.D. ’85), associate dean for professional development.
“The big impetus for implementing this was we realized that for physicians, medical students and other healthcare workers, burnout and emotional exhaustion is epidemic,” Sullivan said. “It made good sense to us that we could provide our medical students with some of those skills to build resiliency and combat burnout.”
The group, which completed its second cohort last spring, is an extra-curricular, evidence-based program that brings faculty together with fourth- and fifth-year medical school students for bi-monthly sessions focused on building wellness, awareness and strong patient relationships.
Medical student Ella Valleroy participates in a meditative activity using a Tibetan Singing Bowl.
“One thing I noticed was that I had sort of become detached, and I wanted to delve into something that would help me be able to access those emotions again, but in a healthier way.”
— Daniel Terry (M.D. ’24)
Whether it’s a guided meditation with a singing bowl or box-breathing exercises, each session begins with a centering practice so students and faculty can start the session feeling fully present. From there, the two-and-a-half-hour session continues with literature-based lessons, group work and whole-group share outs.
“We are teaching reflective listening and appreciative inquiry,” Jackson said. “We're teaching how to be present with another human being in real time and how to reflect and listen in a way that supports and holds space for others.”
The Mindfulness in Medicine program is unique in that it is open to both students and faculty.
“One of the very novel things about this program was the fact that we created an environment where students and faculty learn together,” Sullivan said. “It helped broaden everybody's perspective as to each other's roles and struggles. By doing that, it kind of grew a sense of connection to community.”
Beyond the benefits of community-building, Sullivan and Jackson have also been tracking the effect the program has had on the participants’ burnout rates. Both student and faculty participants have seen drastic decreases in “occupational exhaustion” and “depersonalization,” while also unanimously reporting increased levels of “personal accomplishment.”
“It decreases burnout, not by a magic shield that makes us burnout proof, but to notice before we burn out that things aren't going well, that things don't feel right, and then to be able to advocate for what we need in a way that's not reactive, in a way that's engaging,” Jackson said.
Daniel Terry (M.D. ’24) was in the first cohort of the group and joined when he noticed he was struggling to navigate his reaction to some of his medical school training experiences.
Medical student Shravani Khisti presents on the intersection of personality types and mindfulness during a program session.
“You kind of shut off from a lot of emotions because you're exposed to traumatic stuff and you’re around dying people,” Terry said. “That's hard for people, and it was really hard for me. One thing I noticed was that I had sort of become detached, and I wanted to delve into something that would help me be able to access those emotions again, but in a healthier way.”
For Terry, who started his emergency medicine residency at UMKC this year, mindfulness training has been essential in helping deliver better care to all his patients, regardless of what medical conditions they face.
“It builds presence,” Terry said. “You learn how to listen deeply, and you learn how to separate everything that you have going on with your patient in room six from how you're interacting with your patient in room nine, even though room six might die and room nine has a stubbed toe. Mindfulness helps you, in a really healthy way, separate those things so you can be present for both of them at the same level.”
The School of Medicine’s commitment to weaving mindfulness into its curriculum has not only enhanced students’ ability to provide better patient care, but it has also elevated the school’s reputation globally.
“We've committed as a medical school to this teaching,” Jackson said. “We’re one of three in the world who have been given this distinction, and we're being seen as the leaders to bring it forward.”
Beyond rankings and recognition, this effort is about shaping future physicians who are not only skilled, but also self-aware, compassionate and better equipped to care for their patients — and themselves — throughout their careers.
“We are incorporating this really important part of being a human being into being a doctor,” Jackson said. “That's what's so unique, and it's the way forward of showing up as a physician.” n