Mindful Caring: A pilot study of an online mindfulness workshop for medical students to improve self-compassion

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.