Concurrent Session 1 – G.R.A.C.E.: Cultivating Compassion in Interactions with Patients

Compassion is at the heart of medical care for people living with a serious, life-threatening illness. Yet no evidence-based interventions exist to cultivate compassion in nurses, physicians, and other clinicians. The Halifax model of compassion represents a novel approach based on established practices for mind training that targets attention, empathy, and self-regulation based in contemplative practices taught in a secular frame. We have adapted this model for clinicians involved in end-of-life care, and have developed and piloted a two-and-a-half day residential workshop entitled “G.R.A.C.E.: Cultivating Compassion in Interactions with Patients.” This presentation will describe the adaptation of the Halifax model for compassionate clinical care, the pedagogical approach for the workshop, the contemplative practices utilized, and preliminary evaluation data. Further evaluation studies are in progress and will be included.