Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Apr 19, 2024; 14(4): 489-493
Published online Apr 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i4.489
Mindfulness training in medical education as a means to improve resilience, empathy, and mental health in the medical profession
Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, Luiz Fernando Alvarenga Ribeiro, Marco Antonio de Carvalho-Filho, Fernanda Bono Fukushima
Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, Internal Medicine Department, Botucatu Medical School, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil
Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, Marco Antonio de Carvalho-Filho, Fernanda Bono Fukushima, Wenckebach Institute for Education and Training, LEARN - Lifelong Learning, Education and Assessment Research Network, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen 9713AV, Groningen, Netherlands
Luiz Fernando Alvarenga Ribeiro, Assertiva Mindfulness, Botucatu 18603-970, SP, Brazil
Fernanda Bono Fukushima, Surgical Specialties and Anesthesiology Department, Botucatu Medical School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil
Author contributions: Vidal EIO and Ribeiro LFA drafted the first version of the manuscript; Fukushima FB and Carvalho-Filho MA revised the manuscript for important intellectual content; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), No. 312499/2022-1; and São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), No. 2023/00823-9, and No. 2023/01251-9.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Edison Iglesias de Oliveira Vidal, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine Department, Botucatu Medical School, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), Av. Prof. Mario Rubens Guimaraes Montenegro, S/N, Botucatu 18618-687, SP, Brazil. edison.vidal@unesp.br
Received: December 19, 2023
Peer-review started: December 19, 2023
First decision: January 11, 2024
Revised: January 17, 2024
Accepted: March 13, 2024
Article in press: March 13, 2024
Published online: April 19, 2024
Processing time: 119 Days and 5.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: High rates of depression, burnout, and suicide risk among medical professionals highlight a mental health crisis. We proposed that mindfulness-based practices can enhance mental capital, fostering resilience, flexibility, and learning skills. Mindfulness also promotes empathy, compassion, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and relational abilities. Increasing evidence supports the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions, prompting many medical schools to integrate them into curricula. While not a panacea, mindfulness offers a promising opportunity to address longstanding issues in the medical profession and associated health and educational systems.