Mount St. Mary’s University’s Center for Clinician Well-Being is an innovative approach to integrating evidence-based well-being practices into pre-professional training.
Through active involvement in the Center’s initiatives, graduates will be prepared to thrive long-term in healthcare careers.
For more information on the Center for Clinician Well-Being please call 301-447-5121 or email paprogram@msmary.edu.
The Center for Clinician Well-Being helps clinicians build lifelong habits that lead to contentment, resilience, wellness and persistence in a meaningful career of service.
The Center helps students build mindsets and practices that lead to well-being by focusing on wellness, resilience and contentment. These three components of well-being are adapted from the Mayo Clinic's Strategies to Reduce Burnout.
The Center teaches Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practices, a scientifically supported form of mindfulness and meditation. Originally developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979, MBSR has been extensively studied and documented.
The Center will adapt research-based resiliency training practices to effectively address the specific needs of healthcare professionals. Resilience, once believed to be an innate trait, is now acknowledged as a quality that can be cultivated and enhanced.
At the Center, students will have the chance to learn and engage in various practices, such as Yoga, Qi-Gong, Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Gratitude Journaling. Students learn the science behind each practice, while discovering well-being practices that resonate individually.
The Center will facilitate discussions with practicing clinicians, providing students a platform to learn from other’s personal well-being journeys. Drawing insights from these role models in the field is crucial. While the Center's primary focus lies on individual well-being, the discussions will also encompass organizational well-being strategies.
The Center offers individualized coaching to every student with the goal of fostering habits that will endure throughout their careers as clinicians. This coaching will continue throughout the clinical year and beyond, ensuring ongoing growth and development.
The Center for Clinician Well-Being is an inviting physical space, incorporated within the School of Health Professions. Unlike a conventional classroom, the Center's ambiance resembles that of a tranquil yoga studio. Students are encouraged to make use of this space for their coursework, extracurricular activities, and moments of quiet respite throughout the day.
To best care for others, clinicians also need to tend to their own self-care and well-being. This requires intentional training that is not traditionally a part of medical education.
