Prof L Anderson, Dr N Robertson
No more applications being accepted
About the Project
The evaluation study seeks to ask questions about the introduction of the Health Enhancement Programme (HEP) within the early years of the undergraduate medical curriculum at the University of Leicester. The study will explore the integration of teaching on personal wellbeing into a core medical curriculum. It will explore the relationship between mindfulness and the rest of the curriculum. The theoretical approach for the evaluation will follow that of the Logic Model which seeks to consider the sequence of activities and the outcomes anticipated (Frechtling, 2007).
As such the evaluation will ask questions concerning:
• The inputs - resources used by the programme including tutors and facilities
• Activities - directly related to the curriculum teaching and what is done to achieve the intended learning
• The outputs - what the course does with the inputs to achieve its aims and objectives, clinical training and student support etc.
• Outcomes - the benefits of the course for the students. This can consider the short term and medium term impacts as students are followed into years three, four and five (clinical years) looking for longitudinal impact.
The study will use mixed methods. The strength of the work will come from combining both quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative research methods will feature highly in this project to reach the felt experiences of all stake holders, students, tutors and wider faculty. Early focus groups with students will help to shape the content for later one-to-one interviews to capture an in-depth understanding of student and staff perceptions. Some students progressing into clinical learning will be interviewed to consider how their prior learning in HEP impacts on their ability to manage the every-day stresses of working and learning in clinical environments.
Background
Mindfulness, in its simplest form is the ability to focus, non-judgementally on the present, whilst acknowledging but letting go of distracting influences (Williams & Penman, 2011). It has increasingly been taught in a readily approachable secular way in a surge in public interest in its health promoting qualities. Mindfulness is nothing new in the sense that it has been a theme of the world’s major wisdom traditions since antiquity, but a very large scientific evidence base now supports the physical and psychological benefits that arise through its practice. The discovery of telomerase has shown that mindfulness practitioners have longer telomeres than control subjects thereby lowering the likelihood of the onset of age-related morbidities (Blackburn, Greider & Szostak, 2009). Further research has shown that the genetic expression of beneficial families of genes, including a health promoting set of immunological genes are switched on after even short periods of mindful practice by beginners (Benson & Proctor, 2010). Other work has found that clinicians who practice mindfulness, conduct more patient centred consultations and elicit higher satisfaction scores from their patients (Beach et al., 2011). Mindfulness has been shown to be associated with lower medical student and doctor burnout and to reduce medical errors.
Only two UK universities teach mindfulness as core curriculum, Leicester and Warwick. The course adopted at Leicester is named the Health Enhancement Programme, or HEP, and was created by Dr Craig Hassed of Monash University Australia, who has donated lectures and manuals and given masterclasses to prospective Leicester mindfulness tutors. The HEP combines didactic teaching and experiential tutorials to explore the major ’pillars of health’ necessary for wellbeing (stress release - through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, connectedness, spirituality and environment). It devotes over 50% of its time and content to mindfulness, this being seen as central to the maintenance of the others. There is an emphasis on experiential learning, and while there is no compulsion or requirement to practice mindfulness, students are encouraged to experiment with it in their own lives.
Student evaluation based on pre and post course questionnaires has significant improvements in several measures of self-perceived psychological wellbeing, this being directly related to the degree to which the students adopted mindfulness practice. Self-reported student interest and perception of the programme’s relevance were unexpectedly high. There is scope to follow students as their MBChB course progresses to understand the degree to which mindfulness continues, or ceases to be a part of their daily practice, and to better understand what they gain from any continued practice. There is also scope to assess the views of tutors and wider faculty members.
For further information about this work contact the Lead for Mindfulness training and additional project supervisor Dr Chris Sanders [Email Address Removed]
How to apply
Apply to Health Sciences at: https://www2.le.ac.uk/research-degrees/phd/applyphd?uol_r=78572a95
Funding Notes
The funding provides a tuition fee waiver at UK/EU rates and stipend at UK Research Council rates for 3 years.
In the Funding Section of the online application form select STUDENTSHIP and in the drop down menu select CLS studentship
Application information at
https://www2.le.ac.uk/research-degrees/funding/life-sciences/MedicalSchool_CLS_2018.pdf
References
Beach, MC., Roter, D., Korthuis, PT., Epstein, RM., Sharp, V et al., (2013). A multicentre study of physician mindfulness and health care quality. Annals of Family Medicine, 11(5), 421-428 doi: 10.1370/afm.1507
Benson, H. & Proctor, W. (2010). Relaxation revolution. Enhancing your personal health through the science and genetics of mind body healing. Scriber: New York
Biggs, J. (1993). From theory to practice: A cognitive systems approach. Higher Education Research and Development, 12, 73-85
Blackburn, EH., Greider, CW., Szostak, JW (2009). The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2009/press.html
Frechtling, J. (2007). Logic Modelling in programme evaluation, San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
Williams, M. & Penman, D. (2011). Mindfulness a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world. Piatkus: London