Integrating Compassion and Theoretical Premises of Caring Science into Undergraduate Health Professions Education.

MINDFULNESS; EMPATHY; SELF-perception; HEALTH occupations students; CURRICULUM; HUMANITY; UNDERGRADUATES; EXPERIENCE; HOLISTIC medicine; STUDENTS; EXPERIENTIAL learning; COMMITMENT (Psychology); STUDENT attitudes; MEDICAL education; HEALTH self-care; REFLECTION (Philosophy)

Compassion and caring are critical foundational concepts for the education of health professions students. Yet many curricula emphasize skill-based learning and test-taking preparation, which often limits the opportunities for students to practice compassionately caring for themselves and others. In 2019, an elective wellness course was introduced into a School of Nursing and Health Professions curriculum to provide students with the knowledge, understanding, and practice of self-compassion and caring as the foundation for holistically caring for others. The goal of the course is to use ethics, values, and ontological competencies of self-compassion and Caritas literacy to awaken students to their being, not just doing, and how it evolves throughout their professional careers. Narrative feedback from students demonstrated a deeper understanding of the necessity for compassion and caring for self to provide compassionate care to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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