Students’ response to a Massage & Meditation medical school course elective

Abstract

Objectives: Due to high incidence of medical student and physician burnout, medical education needs to include skills for life-work balance. Patients complain that clinicians depend on technology during clinic visits, and use less touch. To address this educational need, we designed an 18-hour curriculum that combines massage (to reduce anxiety and teach skillful touch) and meditation (for burnout prevention). We explored whether learning basics of massage and meditation could give medical students tools for self-care and skillful touch. Methods: The curriculum was implemented as an elective at the Medical School since 14 years. We collected 181 anonymous student evaluations and conducted pre-post surveys to evaluate the curriculum. We assess mindful bodily awareness (by Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness questionnaire) and conducted thematic analysis of students' comments. Results: Students appeared highly satisfied with the class (4.94 [Range 1-5]) and reported confidence in being able to apply massage and meditation in their personal and professional life. They commented on the importance of skillful touch and gained more confidence in using touch in clinical care. The pre-post survey showed improvements in interoceptive bodily awareness. Students felt that they developed new skills for self-care and stress management, experienced a sense of community among peers, and stated that the class provided necessary teaching complementary to the mandatory medical school curriculum. Conclusions: A course of Meditation and Massage may be a valuable complementary elective to medical school education, supporting self-care and stress management in preparation for a demanding profession, and may improve palpatory examination skills.