2024 Volume 55 Issue 4 Pages 319-326
Mindfulness, a non-cognitive ability, is characterized as the awareness that arises from intentionally paying attention to the present moment without being influenced by value judgments. The importance of medical students acquiring mindfulness skills has been highlighted to encompass 1) a mindful response to patients, 2) an appropriate response to their own stress, 3) developing resilience as clinicians and faculty, and 4) cultivating better clinical decision-making skills. This paper will provide an overview of mindfulness, including its history and introduction into medical education, particularly students’ education for health care providers, and will present recent findings on the effectiveness of mindfulness and the challenges associated with it.
