| ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER |
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| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 26
| Issue : 1 | Page : 9-14 |
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Mindfulness-based stress reduction training is associated with greater empathy and reduced anxiety for graduate healthcare students
Peter Barbosa1, Gaye Raymond2, Cheryl Zlotnick3, James Wilk2, Robert Toomey III4, James Mitchell III5
1 New York College of Podiatric Medicine, New York, New York, USA
2 Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, California, USA
3 Children's Hospital and Research Center, Oakland, California, USA
4 Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown Hospital, Washington, D.C., USA
5 University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
Correspondence Address:
Peter Barbosa
New York College of Podiatric Medicine, New York
USA
 Source of Support: Supported in part by the Faculty Research Grant Program from the Offi ce of Academic Affairs at Samuel Merritt University., Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1357-6283.112794
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Introduction: Graduate healthcare students experience significant stressors during professional training. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a behavioural intervention designed to teach self-regulatory skills for stress reduction and emotion management. This study examines the impact of MBSR training on students from five healthcare graduate programs in a quasi-experimental trial. Methods : A total of 13 students completed the MBSR program and were compared with 15 controls. Both groups answered validated questionnaires measuring anxiety, burnout and empathy at baseline, at conclusion of the course (week 8) and 3 weeks post-course completion (week 11). Results : Significant decrease in anxiety at weeks 8 and 11 compared with baseline (P<0.001 and P<0.01, respectively) was observed using the Burns Anxiety Inventory. Significant increase in empathy at week 8 (P<0.0096) was observed using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy. Week 11 demonstrated a decrease in empathy from baseline (not statistically significant) across all subjects. No significant differences in burnout scores at weeks 8 and 11 were observed between those in the intervention and control groups. Conclusions : These results provide supportive evidence of MBSR as a behavioural intervention to reduce anxiety and increase empathy among graduate healthcare students. |
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