Mindful Communication – Bringing Intention, Attention and Reflection to Healthcare and Building Professional Resilience and Relational Capacity

Date: 4 – 5 December 2011
Time: 10:00am – 5:30pm
Venue: 2/F., The Hong Kong Jockey Club Building for Interdisciplinary Research, 5 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam

Overview

In response to the increasing pace and complexity of medical practice, physicians and other health professionals are experiencing unprecedented levels of job dissatisfaction and burnout, affecting their sense of well-being and the quality of care they provide. A powerful but under recognized approach to these challenges is to enhance the practitioners’ capacity for mindfulness.

Mindfulness in medicine refers to the ability to be aware, in the present moment, on purpose, with the intention of providing better care to patients and of taking better care of oneself. Mindfulness is at the core of clinical competence, and includes the capacities for critical curiosity, attentive observation, beginner’s mind, and presence. The proposed program will give participants the skills and tools necessary to bring mindful communications into daily clinical practice and continuing education.

Research suggests that courses in mindful practice and mindful communication can result in lower burnout and greater well-being, empathy and patient-centered care. In addition, mindful practice may result in fewer errors, a greater sense of presence, the ability to see a situation from multiple perspectives before reacting, and greater satisfaction from work. Our current health care environment makes mindful practice very challenging.

Accordingly, this workshop will address these external barriers as well as participants’ and learners own internal barriers to self-awareness such as unexamined emotions, premature closure, over concreteness and emotional exhaustion – which then manifest as feeling overwhelmed by suffering, ignoring the obvious, treating others like objects, withdrawing from unpleasant or anxiety-provoking situations, having difficulty tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty, and making hasty decisions.

Learning Objectives

– Describe the problem of healthcare professionals burnout and its implications for health care delivery
– Describe the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on physician well-being and relational capacity
– Illustrate the application of narrative medicine and appreciative dialogue in the setting of contemplative and medical practice
– Discuss ways in which this approach may be applicable to the work environment

Intended Audience

All healthcare practitioners, including physicians, medical school faculty, nurses, social workers, and therapists, are welcome.

Workshop Outline

DAY 1 (4 December 2011)
This first day will be devoted to establishing an experiential understanding of mindfulness meditation, narrative medicine, and the application of appreciative inquiry in interpersonal dialogue. Participants will work together in large and small groups, with didactic elements built into the experiential exercises. The practice will center on themes of 1) the Present Moment; 2) Perception and Surprise; and 3) Teamwork. Participants are encouraged to use clinical experience as the source material for the narrative development and appreciative dialogues.

9:30 AM to 10:00 AMRegistration
10:00 AM to 12:30 PMIntroductions
Mindfulness Practices
What is Narrative Medicine and Appreciative Inquiry?
The Present Moment: Narrative and Appreciative Dialogue
12:30 PM to 1:30 PMLight Lunch
1:30 PM to 5:30 PMMindfulness Practice
Perception and Surprise Narrative and Appreciative Dialogues
Teamwork
Review, debrief, and wrap-up

DAY 2 (5 December 2011)
This second day will be devoted to deepening the meditative practice and working with challenging clinical themes in the development of narratives and the sharing in appreciative dialogues. These themes include 1) Stressful Communication; 2) Health Professional Burnout; and 3) Mindful Practice and its Relationship to the Suffering Dimension in Clinical Practice. As the practice of mindfulness deepens, participants will bring a greater degree of nonjudgmental moment-to-moment awareness to their reflections relating to these themes, and will begin to experience the presence of meditative awareness in the midst of interpersonal dialogue. A final period will be devoted to exploring the personal, clinical, and other professional applications of Mindful Communication.

10:00 AM to 12:30 PMMindfulness Practices
Stressful Communication Discussion, Narrative and Appreciative Dialogue
12:30 PM to 1:30 PMLight Lunch
1:30 PM to 5:30 PMMindfulness Practices
Health Professional Burnout Discussion, Narrative and Appreciative Dialogues
Mindful Practice and its Relationship to the Suffering Dimension in Clinical Practice Discussion, Narrative and Appreciative Dialogues
Mindful Communication Applications

Programme Fees

On or before 15 October, 2011 (early bird rate)HK$1250
After 15 October, 2011  HK$1500

Deadline for registration and payment: 15 November, 2011

*The programme fees include all course materials, lunch and snacks for two days, facilities and venue.  All programme fees are non-refundable.

We accept cheques only. Once you have registered, a registration number will be assigned to you. An email will also be sent to you to acknowledge the receipt of the registration. Please send your cheque (with your name and registration number on the back), payable to The University of Hong Kong, to:

Centre for the Humanities and Medicine, The University of Hong Kong,
Room 148, Main Building, Pokfulam Road.

An email confirmation will be sent to you once we have received your cheque.

*Payment must be settled within two weeks after you have completed the registration.
* Participants are strongly recommended to dress comfortably and bring a towel or mat to lie on.

Deadline for registration and payment: 15 November, 2011

Enquiries: chm1@hku.hk or (852) 2859 2867.

CHM Accreditation

CME Programme for practising doctors who are not taking CME programme for specialists – 7 points each for Day1 and 2

OrganizationPoints awarded
Dec 4Dec 5Whole Function
Hong Kong College of AnaesthesiologistsNilNilNil
Hong Kong College of Community Medicine6610
College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong6.5 (Cat. B)6.5(Cat. B)13(Cat. B)
Hong Kong College of Emergency MedicineNilNilNil
Hong Kong College of Family Physicians5 (Cat. 5.2)5 (Cat. 5.2)10 (Cat. 5.2)
Hong Kong College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists5(Non O&G)5 (Non O&G)10(Non O&G)
College of Ophthalmologists of Hong Kong3 (passive)3 (passive) 4 (passive)
Hong Kong College of Orthopaedic Surgeons5 (Cat. B)5 (Cat. B) 10(Cat. B)
Hong Kong College of Otorhinolaryngologists 3.5 3.57 (Cat. 2.2)
Hong Kong College of Paediatricians6 (Cat. E)6 (Cat. E)10 (Cat. E)
Hong Kong College of Pathologists3 (passive)3 (passive)6 (passive)
Hong Kong College of Physicians66 12
Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists5 (OT/IP)5 (OT/IP)10 (OT/IP)
Hong Kong College of Radiologists4 (Cat. B)4 (Cat. B)8 (Cat. B)
The College of Surgeons of Hong Kong6 (passive)6 (passive)12(passive)
MCHK CME Programme –

Organized by:
Centre for the Humanities and Medicine, HKU

Presented by:
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, HKU
Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, HKU