Mindful Caring: A pilot study of an online mindfulness workshop for medical students to improve self-compassion
Guan Hao Chester Tan, Daniel Zhihao Hong, Isis Claire Zhen Yu Lim, Ying Pin Toh, Victor Weng Keong Loh, Virginia Lien
MedEdPublish May 26, 2022 preprint DOI: 10.12688/mep.19021.2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot pre-post intervention study Pilot study Qualitative |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 21 |
| Population | Year 3 and 4 medical students at the National University of Singapore |
| Intervention | Mindful Caring workshop |
| Duration | 16 hours over 4 days |
| Measures | Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-15 (FFMQ-15) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Participants showed significant mean improvements in self-compassion and mindfulness after the workshop, while improvements in empathy and stress levels did not reach statistical significance. The authors suggest a short online Mindful Caring workshop could improve self-compassion and mindfulness, with a possible downstream effect on burnout. |
Abstract
Background: : This study examines the effectiveness of a pilot Mindful Caring workshop in improving self-compassion, mindfulness, and empathy, while reducing stress.
Methods: : Year 3 and 4 medical students from the National University of Singapore underwent 16 hours of online workshops over 4 days with didactic and experiential learning activities on self-compassion and mindfulness. Primary outcomes of self-compassion were measured with the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). Secondary outcomes include mindfulness measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-15 (FFMQ-15), empathy and stress levels. Qualitative comments were also sought in the feedback.
Results: : Out of 21 participants, 90.5% (n =19) completed both pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Participants experienced significant mean improvements in self-compassion (p<0.05) and mindfulness (p<0.05), while improvements in empathy and stress levels did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusions: : A short online Mindful Caring workshop could be an avenue to improve self-compassion and mindfulness, which may have a downstream effect on burnout.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |