Promoting Resilience in Medicine: The Effects of a Mind–Body Medicine Elective to Improve Medical Student Well-being

• Main Authors: Michelle K Williams BS, Irene M Estores MD, Lisa J Merlo PhD, MPE
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-05-01
• Series: Global Advances in Health and Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956120927367

Background Poor mental health is common among medical students. In response, some medical schools have implemented wellness interventions. The University of Florida College of Medicine recently introduced a mind–body medicine elective, Promoting Resilience in Medicine (PRIMe), based on the Georgetown University School of Medicine course. PRIMe teaches meditation techniques including mindfulness, biofeedback, art, and journaling in a faculty-facilitated small group setting. Methods First- and second-year medical students (N = 24) who participated in the 11-week elective (3 cohorts over 2 years) completed anonymous surveys regarding their experiences. Measures included the Freiberg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), Perceived Stress Scale-10 item (PSS-10), and a series of multiple-choice and free-response questions developed for this study. The study was approved by the University of Florida Institutional Review Board. Results Among students with available pre- and posttest scores, the average PSS-10 score at pretest was 14.4 ( SD  =   6.17, range = 3–26) and at posttest was 14.2 ( SD  =   4.17, range = 8–22), suggesting no change in perceived stress. However, average scores on the FMI improved from 34.4 ( SD  =   6.10, range = 24–47) at pretest to 41.8 ( SD  =   4.81, range = 33–49) at posttest. The overwhelming majority of participants (95.8%) described the course as “definitely” worth it. The greatest improvements were noted in mindfulness, relationships with peers, and having a safe place in medical school to receive support. Learning mindfulness/meditation skills and increasing social support were noted as the primary factors impacting student well-being. Conclusion A mind–body medicine elective course may be a practical method to improve medical student well-being and improve ability to care for patients. Future studies should include follow-up testing to determine if benefits are sustained over time. In addition, more work is needed to understand the cost–benefit of providing instruction in mind–body medicine techniques to all medical students.