Course Syllabus & Requirements

First Year

• Orientation to Aware Medicine Training (AMT) and an introduction to mindfulness practice
• Mindfulness experiential sessions, including one after the in-service examination in November
• Seminars held on Mondays or Thursdays over lunch or at other designated times. Topics will include:
  • Writing personal and patient health plans
  • Ethical issues in patient care
  • How to conduct a family meeting
  • Defining health
  • "Unorthodox" patient beliefs (epistemology and health care)
  • Taking a spiritual history
  • Cultivating a mindfulness practice
  • Health beliefs of members of different cultural and religious groups
  • Mindfulness and evidence-based medicine
• As part of the community medicine rotation, a survey of community and hospital resources catering to specific spiritual or cultural needs of patients will be completed.

Second and Third Years

• Additional orientation to the mindfulness component of the Aware Medicine Training Program
• Wednesday seminars featuring speakers representing various belief systems or cultures will be offered
• Mindfulness experiences, tailored to each resident's individual preferences, will be made available, with funding assistance
• Optional half-day rotation with the chaplain services at one of the local hospitals can be arranged

All Three Years

• One patient case will be logged online each year, to be archived on this site for general access
• Resident-patient interactions will be videotaped. Faculty will evaluate interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, and skills in collecting a spiritual history
• Residents will meet at least yearly with mentors of their choice in the healthcare professions who can offer them guidance in the areas of spirituality, self-care, and mindfulness training
• Participants will complete questionnaires regarding their own health and be allowed to review how their answers have changed over time
• Residents will discuss self-care with faculty mentors
• All residents will have ongoing access to online links and resources focusing on spirituality, mindfulness, self care, and other topics
• Residents will be evaluated formally in terms of meeting the Aware Medicine course objectives during twice yearly clinic resident evaluations
• Residents will complete course evaluation forms at end of each year of training