Over the past 20 years Dr. Ronald Epstein has published on the topic he terms "mindful practice." "Mindful practice," he argues, enables physicians and other clinicians to have heightened self-awareness that allows in turn for greater attentiveness or greater presentness in caring for patients. It is what makes good providers, he says, great.
During this 26-minute conversation Dr. Epstein discusses his recent work, Attending: Medicine, Mindfulness and Humanity, or moreover what mindfulness is, how it improves patient care and outcomes by, in part, better addressing patient suffering and how it improves as well physician or provider satisfaction.
Dr. Ronald M. Epstein is Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry & Oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and board-certified in Family Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He is also the Director of the Center for Communication and Disparities Research and he directs the Dean's Teaching Fellowship program to promote excellence in medical education. Among other accomplishments, he was named the first George Engel and John Romano Dean's Teaching Scholar at the University of Rochester. National honors include the Lynn Payer Award from the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare for lifetime achievement in research on communication and health and the Humanism in Medicine Award from the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Epstein has been a Fulbright scholar at the Institute for Health Studies in Barcelona, Spain and a visiting scholar at the University of Sydney. He is a frequent keynote speaker at major national and international conferences on medical education, communication, and mindfulness in health care. He has published over 200 research articles. Dr. Epstein graduated from Wesleyan University and Harvard Medical School.
For information on Attending go to: http://www.ronaldepstein.com/.
For a complete list of related literature go to: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/family-medicine/mindful-practice/publications-research.aspx.
Dr. Ronald Epstein Discusses His Recent Work, "Attending: Medicine, Mindfulness and Humanity" (November 9th)