Impact of a contemplative end-of-life training program: being with dying.

A professional training program in contemplative end-of-life care, based on mindfulness and receptive attention, helped clinicians cultivate presence, balanced compassion, recognition of grief, and self-care. In a survey of 95 participants and interviews with 40, the program's contemplative practices were reported as meaningful and valuable, providing skills and attitudes that changed how clinicians worked with dying and bereaved people. The quality of presence was seen as potentially transforming care for dying people and caregivers, offering alternatives to purely intellectual and task-oriented approaches.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Health care professionals report a lack of skills in the psychosocial and spiritual aspects of caring for dying people and high levels of moral distress, grief, and burnout. To address these concerns, the "Being with Dying: Professional Training Program in Contemplative End-of-Life Care" (BWD) was created. The premise of BWD, which is based on the development of mindfulness and receptive attention through contemplative practice, is that cultivating stability of mind and emotions enables clinicians to respond to others and themselves with compassion. This article describes the impact of BWD on the participants. Ninety-five BWD participants completed an anonymous online survey; 40 completed a confidential open-ended telephone interview. Four main themes-the power of presence, cultivating balanced compassion, recognizing grief, and the importance of self-care-emerged in the interviews and were supported in the survey data. The interviewees considered BWD's contemplative and reflective practices meaningful, useful, and valuable and reported that BWD provided skills, attitudes, behaviors, and tools to change how they worked with the dying and bereaved. The quality of presence has the potential to transform the care of dying people and the caregivers themselves. Cultivating this quality within themselves and others allows clinicians to explore alternatives to exclusively intellectual, procedural, and task-oriented approaches when caring for dying people. BWD provides a rare opportunity to engage in practices and methods that cultivate the stability of mind and emotions that may facilitate compassionate care of dying patients, families, and caregivers.