Available online 10 November 2023

Methodology: We employed a mixed-methods approach, utilizing both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, to capture a comprehensive understanding of the participants' experiences and outcomes.

Results: Our findings indicated a statistically significant reduction in measures of burnout and an improvement in overall well-being among the participants. The qualitative data revealed insights into the mechanisms underlying these positive changes, shedding light on the potential of contemplative medicine practices in addressing physician burnout.

Implications: Our study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting the effectiveness of contemplative practices in healthcare settings, and is the first study for this type of training program across broad specialties. The results suggest that integrating contemplative medicine into medical training and practice could have profound implications for the well-being of healthcare professionals and, consequently, the quality of patient care.

Future Studies: The program studied is extensive, at 12 months long and approximately 500 hours. Further research is needed to assess if abbreviated training in contemplative practices can positively affect clinician well-being over time. We are particularly interested in the potential implications for this training in residency programs, as several of the ACGME objectives in the well-being and professionalism domains are fulfilled with contemplative-type practices and training.

Objective, Patients and Methods, Results, and Conclusion

to examine the relationship between Contemplative Medicine training and clinician burnout.

Clinicians underwent a 12 month training program in Contemplative Medicine, which addresses several of the “Well-being 2.0” framework elements. An uncontrolled pre and post test study design was used with the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) as the study tool to evaluate efficacy of the program.

Participants demonstrated improvement in burnout levels after the intervention. There were significant differences at the .05 significance level or better on all three scales of the MBI instrument when comparing baseline to follow-up responses, including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and sense of personal accomplishment. Particular improvement was noted in the “personal accomplishment” domain, with p < 0.01 when comparing baseline and follow-up responses.

The results of this study suggest that Contemplative Medicine training is a viable approach for improving clinician burnout and concretely implementing the “Well-Being 2.0” framework.

Published by Elsevier Inc.