CONTEMPLATIVE MEDICINE RESEARCH

Award-winning, Peer-Reviewed Research Shows Our Evidence-based Contemplative Medicine Fellowship Reduces Burnout and Cultivates Well-Being and Joy in the Medical Profession

Our original research published in 2023 was the first study on the effectiveness of contemplative practices in healthcare settings across broad specialties. Employing a mixed-methods quantitative and qualitative analysis, the research captured a comprehensive understanding of Fellows’ experiences of our Contemplative Medicine Fellowship. The research used the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) as the study tool to evaluate efficacy of the training.

Follow-on research published in 2025 employed expanded measures beyond burnout, including measures of well-being, capacity for compassion, work-life integration, value alignment, peer community and connection, and leadership readiness, all of which were shown to improve for Fellows. The research also confirmed that MBI results were not limited to the first cohort.

Benefits for Physicians, APRNs, and Physician Assistants

Research demonstrated that integrating contemplative practices into medicine has profound implications for the well-being of healthcare professionals.

2023 Research Highlights:

Statistically significant improvement in all three dimensions of leading measure for burnout:
- decreased emotional exhaustion
- decreased depersonalization
- increased personal accomplishment
Fellows reported a sense of resiliency and joy, despite difficult and ongoing working circumstances
Development of community, connection, and support for sustaining the practice of compassionate medicine

2025 Research Highlights:

Increased Well-Being as measured by the Physician Well-Being Index (ePWBI)
Increased compassion capacity as measured by DPES Compassion subscale.
Improved work-life integration
Increased agency and ability to practice medicine aligned with personal and professional values.
92% reported increased readiness for leadership roles that may influence the organizational culture of healthcare systems and improve patient care
96% reported a strong sense of connection and community among Fellowship peers, supporting sustaining the practice of compassionate medicine

Academic Excellence Award

In 2024, our initial research on the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship won CommonSpirit Health’s Academic Excellence Award in the Medical Humanities category. One of a handful of annual Physician Enterprise Awards, the Academic Excellence Award recognizes leading research advancing the practice of medicine. Selection criteria focuses on the potential for the publication to have a direct, relevant, and high-impact effect on clinical care delivery.

ACCESS THE 2023 RESEARCH ACCESS THE 2025 RESEARCH Learn More About the Fellowship

Behind the Numbers

Fellowship Research Participant Qualitative Survey Responses

“The most useful part of the training was the fostering and creation of community, which I know will always be a part of my life. I feel so fortunate to have professional colleagues that share my values. I don’t know how I have ever worked in Medicine without this Fellowship.”

“The Fellowship has given me space to really deeply think about my life through the framework of the training and has led to a dramatic reorganization of my professional life with robust implications for my personal life.”

“The knowledge that there are doctors who feel like me has given me the confidence to practice medicine from my heart. Where it should always come from.”

“Being in community with others and meeting people on an intimate level across the globe that otherwise I would not have encountered. I will carry that experience forever.”

The most helpful aspect were the monthly sessions with various break up groups. I felt that my time was valued and I could make my voice heard during these times.”

“What is most meaningful for me is knowing that there are clinicians like me wishing to heal the wounds of medical training and wanting to have the tools to create a more meaningful personal and professional life.”

CONTEMPLATIVE CARE RESEARCH

A first of its kind, community-based care research effort found that our approach to contemplative care yielded pivotal benefits for caregivers and recipients of care

In 2018, the LTSS Center at UMass Boston was commissioned to conduct third-party research to measure the impact of our contemplative approach to care for both staff and residents at a geriatric residential facility in Upper Manhattan. “This type of research is valuable to caregivers because it demonstrates that participation in the program leads to demonstrable positive results.” ~ Natasha Bryant, Managing Director of the Washington, DC, Office of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston

Benefits for Nurses & Staff

Staff who participated in the research included certified nursing assistants, nurses, dietitians, therapeutic recreational therapists, social workers, and environmental services professionals.

Benefits to staff included:

Positive perceptions of the supervisor.
Feeling part of the team.
Enhanced relationship with co-workers.
New capacity to resolve issues among co-workers.
A greater sense of meaning for the work staff was doing, a stronger sense of community, and the perception that staff can make a difference.
Higher level of resilience.

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Benefits for Patients

Researchers interviewed all residents of the intervention and control floors to assess whether the contemplative care intervention improved resident quality of care. These surveys and MDS data suggested several positive changes in 4 quality indicators for residents of the intervention floors:

Greater odds of pain-management improvement.
Lower odds of worsening behavior.
Greater odds of having lower pain levels affecting a resident’s ability to function.
Greater odds of having a lower pain-intensity score.

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Read the Full Report TRAIN IN CONTEMPLATIVE CARE

Research Transforming the Practice of Healthcare