Continuing Medical Education

Introduction to Mindfulness for Primary Care Providers

Program Description

With a growing public interest in and research base underlying mindfulness, clinicians are increasingly interested in learning what it is, how it works, what research is credible, and how to help their patients. This seminar series will help primary care providers understand how our brains form unhealthy habits that lead to common yet difficult to treat conditions such as obesity and anxiety, what mindfulness is (and isn’t), how mindfulness works in the brain to effect behavior change, what the current evidence base is behind it, how it can help us “hack” our brains for better health and how one might apply the learnings to patients. Several modules are included which are geared toward helping clinicians themselves decrease burnout and develop resilience (and become less addicted to their phones).

Each seminar will be delivered via pre-recorded video (+ slide) format, and be fewer than 30 minutes in length. The seminars will be delivered as a series, but (possibly) can be viewed as stand-alone topics.

Presenter

Judson Brewer MD PhD
Director of Research & Innovation, Mindfulness Center
Associate Professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences & Psychiatry
School of Public Health, Alpert Medical School at Brown

Target Audience

Primary care providers interested in what mindfulness is, how mindfulness works in the brain to effect behavior change, how it can help “hack” our brains for better health, and apply the learnings to their patients.

Using common treatment challenges that primary care providers face on daily basis as examples (e.g. overeating, anxiety, smoking), this seminar will teach you the essentials on how unhealthy habits are formed, why these outcompete willpower, and how you can use this information to work with patients who are struggling to break free from the unhealthy habits and solidify healthy ones.


Duration: 30 Minutes | 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
In order to receive credit, you must view the online video, pass the post test, and complete the survey.
Program Release Date: April 30th 2019
Program Expiration Date: April 30th 2021

Part 1

Interest in mindfulness has grown significantly over the past decade, with the hype outpacing basic our basic knowledge of what it is, how and for what conditions it works. This seminar will help you understand of what mindfulness is (and isn’t), the mechanisms underlying how it works in behavior change and in the brain, and what evidence is solid for its use in primary care clinics.

Duration: 30 Minutes | 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
In order to receive credit, you must view the online video, pass the post test, and complete the survey.
Program Release Date: April 30th 2019
Program Expiration Date: April 30th 2021

Part 2

Our brains are really good at learning, yet these days, this process can easily get hijacked by modern marvels such as refined sugar and the endless ‘to do’ list. This seminar will bring together the understanding of how our brains learn with how mindfulness works to show you how we can tap into our own minds to harness their power to make lasting and effective behavior change. Building on common clinical cases from part 1 (e.g. overeating), this seminar will lay out a 3-step process of behavior change that helps individuals move from automatic, habitual (re-)action to aware and healthy action.

Duration: 30 Minutes | 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
In order to receive credit, you must view the online video, pass the post test, and complete the survey.
Program Release Date: April 30th 2019
Program Expiration Date: April 30th 2021

Part 3

Clinicians are more burnt out now than ever, owing to a number of factors including the introduction of electronic medical records, and ever-decreasing autonomy. This seminar will show you the latest evidence on how mindfulness is helping primary care providers and other clinicians break out of that downward spiral of anxiety and burnout and instead, help you tap into your own inner resources to build resilience, compassion and connectedness.

Duration: 30 Minutes | 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
In order to receive credit, you must view the online video, pass the post test, and complete the survey.
Program Release Date: April 30th 2019
Program Expiration Date: April 30th 2021

Part 4

Clinicians are taught to be empathetic toward their patients, yet walking in our patients’ shoes can lead to the now well-known phenomenon of empathy fatigue such that we need to keep a professional distance to prevent getting burned out. How can we work with this paradox (which feels more like a catch-22)? This seminar will teach you why empathy fatigue develops, and how to step out of the cycle and into more resilient modes of being with (and being more connected to) individuals who are suffering: compassion.

Duration: 30 Minutes | 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
In order to receive credit, you must view the online video, pass the post test, and complete the survey.
Program Release Date: April 30th 2019
Program Expiration Date: April 30th 2021

Part 5

In this seminar we will explore how the self-referential brain regions play a common role in getting stuck in patterns that contribute to medical conditions like chronic pain, overeating, depression, anxiety and addiction. I will give some clinical tips at the end based on the science that you’ll learn

Duration: 30 Minutes | 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
In order to receive credit, you must view the online video, pass the post test, and complete the survey.
Program Release Date: April 30th 2019
Program Expiration Date: April 30th 2021

Part 6

The meteoric rise of companies such as Facebook is a combination of serendipity and skill. If you find that you are distracted by social media at the dinner table (or too busy checking email to sit down to eat with your family), this short seminar will teach you why this is the case, and will give you a few tips that you can put into play in your everyday life.

Duration: 30 Minutes | 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM
In order to receive credit, you must view the online video, pass the post test, and complete the survey.
Program Release Date: April 30th 2019
Program Expiration Date: April 30th 2021

Part 7

For technical issues please call: 877.297.2901 or contact CME@Brown.edu.