Mindfulness in a sister profession: Mending and deepening the encounter between doctor and patient

Is there a profession that would not benefit from a higher level of mindfulness? I can't think of one. That's why I am always happy to hear about the popularity of the mindfulness programs designed and offered by physicians Mick Krasner and Ron Epstein. (Previous posts about them here and here.) Their efforts came to my attention again in the blog of the UCSD Center for Mindfulness. From "Mending and Deepening the Encounter Between Doctor and Patient Through Mindfulness":

This effort to powerfully change the nature of the healing encounter through the mindful practice of the clinician arises out of exploring what has traditionally been referred to as the “boundary” between patient and doctor. Saki Santorelli, the Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, writes eloquently in his book Heal Thy Self of the pitfalls and opportunities of boundary-making. He says, “The usual meaning of boundary is “dividing line” – a separation between two things. But isn’t a boundary also a place of meeting and coming together?” He goes on to write “These intertwining movements are similar for us as patients and practitioners. Yet all too often the hard, impenetrable borders of this relationship are carved out of a process of identification that divides self and not-self into mutually exclusive entities. Unconsciously, this process winds up shaping the entire interaction. I am not suggesting that these roles are the same. They are not. But they are just that – roles. And behind these roles lies a much larger field, our shared humanness.”

Two 4-day retreat-style courses have been developed by Krasner and Ron Epstein, Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Oncology and Nursing at the University of Rochester, and are offered through University of Rochester Medical Center’s Center for Experiential Learning. ...

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