Importance of Mind-Body Medicine and Human Flourishing in the Training of Physicians

In the Spring of 2002, I did something that I never imagined I would do as a member of the faculty at my school: I led a group of 10 first-year medical students in mindfulness meditation as part of a new course called Mind-Body Medicine.As a renal physiologist and, at the time, director of the Human Physiology course, I was focused on teaching medical science.Moreover, I did not meditate regularly in my daily life.So, why was I keen on participating in this course?A year earlier, I had begun to think differently about how we train physicians.Our curriculum was welldesigned to address knowledge acquisition and application of scientific facts.It provided excellent training in clinical skills, but much less time, if any, was allotted to the other aspects of the development of a health professional, such as self-awareness, understanding one's character strengths, and personal growth.Also, students and staff had little opportunity or inclination to engage in self-care.