J. Gair

Mindfulness-based stress reduction for medical students: a narrative review

Canadian Medical Education Journal March 31, 2021 E. Polle, J. Gair

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training for medical students is associated with increased psychological well-being and self-compassion, and with improvements in stress, psychological distress, and mood. Evidence for an effect on empathy is mixed, and the single paper measuring burnout found no effect. Two studies provided qualitative themes that contextualized the quantitative results. MBSR benefits medical student well-being and decreases psychological distress and depression.