Upcoming Events › Mindfulness in Medicine

September 2022

Foundations of Theory and Practice for Health Care Professionals and Their Partners

Physician Heal Thyself

Health Care Professional Meditation Retreats

Burnout and the Road Back to Resilience workshops

Mindfulness in Medicine — Foundations of Theory and Practice for Physicians and Their Partners

Heal Thyself — A Meditation Retreat for Health Professionals

The culture and practice of medicine offers unique challenges to physicians in terms of self care and wellness. This can lead to unhealthy stress, mood disorders, relationship challenges, and burnout. The Mindfulness in Medicine series of workshops and retreats are an opportunity to better understand the unique nature of our suffering and challenge. They provide an opportunity to rediscover, as a community, the tools, skills, and resources that can allow us to nurture our own healing and resilience for ourselves, our relationships and our patients.

This 16 hours experiential workshop is offered 2-3 times a year, in Tofino, BC (and elsewhere if there is demand), and serves as an introduction to the theory, skills and research on mindfulness and meditation. In this workshop we explore meditation and mindfulness from the perspective of our work and lives as physicians. Slides, small group work, and the introduction of formal and informal mindfulness practices create a container of experiential learning in community. Workshops are half days (08:30am-12:30pm) to allow participants to bring these newfound skills into their days as they play, rest and heal.

Offered as an 8 week course (1.5 hour a week), or a 16 hour workshop, Physician Heal Thyself explores the practice of mindfulness and meditation as it relates to our own wellness as physicians. Offered through Zoom, or in person, this in-depth course allows participants to cultivate a meditation practice and to build connection and trust through the narratives and experiences that arise in our practice and conversation around presence and compassion. This is a great course to organize through your Division, Primary Care Network, or other clinical team.

Retreat is a precious opportunity to cultivate stillness and quiet in order to pause and heal deeply. These 5 day residential retreats, held 3 times yearly, create a powerful sense of community whilst exploring our own sense of self. Many practitioners emerge from these retreats with a renewed sense of energy and joy, a clarity of direction, and a real sense of belonging and connection.

According to the recent CMA Physician Health survey, the rate of burnout in Canadian physicians has nearly doubled during the pandemic to a rate of 53%. The repercussions of burnout have significant personal and professional consequences. These include depression, suicidality, addiction, poor patient care, increased medical errors and a higher physician turnover. In the same CMA report, 46% of physicians were considering decreasing their practice hours in the subsequent 24 months.

Healing from a place of physical and emotional exhaustion requires that we first acknowledge, and accept, our suffering, and begin to cultivate a deep compassion for ourselves. Only then can we begin to find solace in the common humanity of this epidemic of suffering, and to have courageous and vulnerable conversations with each other and with those we love. In mindfulness, we say ‘you need to name it.. to tame it’ .

In this two part workshop, we learn about burnout — its origins and effects — and will introduce a framework of self compassion, mindfulness and a science of happiness in order to transform our challenge into growth, meaning and connection. After a brief, theoretical framework, we will use small group discussion and experiential practices of mindfulness, meditation and compassion cultivation to begin to foster joy and resilience, again, in our lives.

Please consider organizing for this workshop to take place in your community and with your team.

For more information, please reach out to Mark through our Contact page.

Contact

September 23 @ 8:30 am - September 26 @ 12:30 pm

Long Beach Lodge Resort, 1441 Pacific Rim Highway
Tofino, British Columbia V0R 2Z0 Canada + Google Map

$695.00 – $1.10

Foundations of Theory and Practice Learn mindfulness skills for yourself and your patients, just steps from the stunning wild beaches of Vancouver Island’s West Coast…. Join us in beautiful Tofino, BC for this biannual Foundations workshop which explores the theory and practice of mindfulness and meditation for physicians and for their partners. We will explore the unique challenges of medicine and learn tools of stress management, self compassion, resilience and self care to bring into our personal and professional…

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« June 2022 »

September 28 @ 2:00 pm - October 3 @ 2:00 pm

Salt Spring Centre of Yoga, 355 Blackburn Rd
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia + Google Map

$1.15 – $1.60

***THIS RETREAT IS FULL. YOU ARE WELCOME TO CONTACT ME TO BE PLACED ON THE WAITLIST. A NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 5 DAY RETREAT IN NANAIMO WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON, AS WELL AS A 10 DAY RETREAT IN JANUARY 2023.*** Deepen your experience and practice of mindfulness and meditation amidst the beauty and quietude of Salt Spring Island Join Dr. Mark Sherman and your community on beautiful Salt Spring Island, BC for this 5 day meditation retreat experience. This immersive retreat…

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