Vol 38, (6) 454-458
Using meditation for less stress and better wellbeing - A seminar for GPs
Ramesh Manoch MBBS, BSc(Med), PhD, is a general practitioner and Research Fellow, Natural Therapies Unit, Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney, New South Wales.
Amy Gordon is a medical student, School of Medicine, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Deborah Black BSc, DipEd, MSTAT, PhD, is a biostatistician, Health Informatics and Statistics Faculty, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales.
Gin Malhi MBChB, BSc(Hons), FRANZCP, FRCPsych, MD, is Head, Discipline of Psychological Medicine and Executive Director, ARCHI, Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, and Director, CADE Clinic, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales.
Raymond Seidler MBBS, FAChAM, RACP, is Medical Director, Eastern Sydney Division of General Practice, and a specialist in addiction medicine.
BACKGROUND General practitioner stress is a recognised problem for which meditation is a potential intervention. The aim of this project was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of an initiative to train GPs in a set of evidence based meditation skills.
METHOD General practitioners attended a seminar comprising a 1 hour lecture on GP wellbeing, a 45 minute session on meditation, meditation skills practise in groups with an experienced instructor, a larger group review and the provision of take home kits. At the seminar's conclusion, GPs were offered the option of meditating at home twice daily. Measures were taken before and after the seminar and after 2 weeks home practise. The measures included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale – 10 (K10), personal experience rating by visual analogue scale, and diary card.
RESULTS A total of 299 GPs attended the seminar, from which 293 provided visual analogue scale on the day. Pre- and post-K10 data was provided by 111 GPs. The mean pre-K10 score for these GPs was 17.2 (SD: 5.67); the post-K10 score was 14.7 (SD: 3.92), with 25.1% of the 'at risk' participants moving to the 'low risk' category. Mean compliance with meditation was 79.5%.
DISCUSSION A meditation workshop for GP wellbeing is practical, feasible and appealing to GPs. Quantitative feedback from the workshop indicates its potential as an effective mental health promotion and prevention strategy.
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