WIHI: Mindfulness and Patient Safety

Date: March 8, 2018

Featuring:

• Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN, ACNP, NEA-BC, FAAN, Chief Nursing Officer, University of Vermont Medical Center
• Teri Pipe, PhD, RN, Dean, College of Nursing & Health Innovation and Chief Wellbeing Officer, Arizona State University​

Part of the appeal of mindfulness​ is the simplicity of its central tenet: bringing awareness and focused attention to the present moment. Mindfulness also offers a measure of control when everything else feels out of control.

As stress-reduction and other health benefits of mindfulness become better known, clinicians are discovering that they, too, need new ways to deal with stress…often on the fly. Practicing mindfulness can be restorative in the middle of a hectic day, create mental space to be more tuned into patients, and reduce the likelihood of medical errors.

So, what does practicing mindfulness look like, in practice? On the March 8 episode of WIHI, Mindfulness and Patient Safety, we learned from two leading experts on how mindfulness can intersect with the health care workforce, their tasks, and their interactions with patients.