The Impact of Mind–Body Medicine Facilitation on Affirming and Enhancing Professional Identity in Health Care Professions Faculty
Published in Academic Medicine, this study sought to explore whether MBM facilitation is associated with changes in professional identity, self-awareness, and/or perceived stress. Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) offers medical students a course in mind–body medicine (MBM) that introduces them to tools that reduce stress and foster self-awareness. 62 facilitators, trained by the GUSOM MBM program, were invited to complete two validated surveys: the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and participants also completed a six-item open-ended questionnaire addressing their experience in the context of their professional identity. The study found that facilitators’ scores were significantly lower on PSS and higher on FMI compared with normative controls. The results from this pilot study suggest that MBM facilitators within such an experiential teaching paradigm also experience benefits in terms of affirmed and enhanced professional identity, self-care, and mindful awareness.
Topics:
Learning Environment, Organizational Strategies
Tags:
Educator, Student/Trainee