Heal the Healers Now

Heal the Healers Now

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“HEAL THE HEALERS NOWSM

Initiative to Provide Meditation to Frontline US Medical Healthcare Workers

To Reduce Anxiety, Boost Resilience, Heal Trauma

“Heal the Healers Now,” an initiative to bring the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation® technique to frontline US healthcare workers, was launched nationally on Monday, April 6, 2020 by the two nonprofit groups: the Center for Resilience of the David Lynch Foundation and the US TM® organization.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a Harvard report called physician burnout “a public health crisis that urgently demands action” with several surveys putting the rate of provider burnout as high as 70 percent. The American Academy of Family Physicians has linked burnout to higher rates of medical errors, substance abuse and addiction, and suicide among physicians.

Today, the situation is far worse, and demands well-documented, innovative approaches to address this crisis, which threatens the integrity of the healthcare system. “Transcendental Meditation is an evidence-based, non-pharmacological intervention for this devastating crisis of healthcare worker burnout,” said Stuart Rothenberg, MD, Medical Director of the Center for Resilience.

“The Center for Resilience has a long track record of providing TM instruction to first responders, including police, firefighters, and military personnel. Today, our doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers are true first responders on the frontlines in every community in a battle to protect the health and well-being of society,” Dr. Rothenberg said.

Deep relaxation and stress reduction

Transcendental Meditation is an easy-to-learn, enjoyable-to-practice mental technique for deep relaxation and stress-reduction that has been successfully offered in hospitals and clinics as well as medical schools, academic and VA medical centers, military academies, substance abuse centers, prisons, and other settings, according to the TM.org website.

The TM-based “Healthcare Provider Wellness Program” is offered to healthcare providers as a stand-alone approach or as an adjuvant therapy to make existing programs for managing stress more effective. TM instructions are carried out in partnership with affiliated institutions. The Wellness Program has been offered in hospitals and clinics nationally, including at such centers as Weill Cornell Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School), and Duke University Medical Center with significant reductions in healthcare worker burnout, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and improvements in resilience and mental well-being over a three-month period in those practicing the TM technique.

A practical approach during this challenging time

“Our heartfelt appreciation goes to all those who have given their time, resources, and expertise to support our heroic healthcare providers,” Dr. Rothenberg said. “We are honored to offer these inspiring healers a practical approach to strengthen their resilience and support their well-being during these challenging times.”

See below for further details about the “Healthcare Provider Wellness Program.”

COMMENTS FROM PHYSICIANS AND NURSES

Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the
Friedman Brain Institute; Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs;
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY

“I found TM easy to learn and practice, and it provides a wonderful sense of well-being. TM has tremendous potential for healthcare providers to reduce burnout and increase job satisfaction and productivity.”

Erica Cargill Jones, MD Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine;
Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY

“Nothing can erase the stress and anxiety in our lives, but meditation has taught me how to handle them better. It is important for my patients to know how much it has helped me. I recommend it to everyone to help lower blood pressure and heart rate, help with sleep, and think more clearly.”

Suzanne Steinbaum, MD CEO & Founder, Heart-Tech Health;
cardiologist; author; women's wellness advocate;
member of the David Lynch Foundation's Medical Advisory Board

“As a cardiologist, I am aware of the effects of stress on the development of heart disease. Without managing stress and other issues that drive up inflammation and plaque formation, I would not be adequately caring for my patients. TM is a tool which addresses the root of many of these issues, including stress, anxiety, depression, and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, that lead to cardiovascular disease. I believe TM should be offered to all patients who are seeing a cardiologist, or even to those who are trying to prevent ever developing heart disease or strokes.”

Hassan A. Tetteh, MD, MBA Command Surgeon, National Defense University;
Chief Medical Informatics Officer, United States Navy;
Associate Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences; adjunct faculty at
Howard University College of Medicine; Washington, DC

“TM is proven to lower stress, high blood pressure, and depression and this can lead to improved health. With improved health, you become more effective in your relationships, at work, and in life. When you are healthy and effective in all the things you are meant to do, you move closer to realizing your real purpose in life, and this ultimately leads to happiness.”

Julie Yanitor, RN, BSN, CEN Emergency Room Nurse
Scripps Memorial Hospital, San Diego

“Transcendental Meditation is the single best thing I have ever done to improve my quality of life. Especially now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, I am not experiencing the angst that I see others experiencing around me.”

Dina Kenyon, RN, BSN Emergency Department
Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro, NJ

“I am a very grateful nurse for taking the TM course. Before TM, I had really bad insomnia, especially after working a 12-hour shift in the ED. I barely slept four hours a night. Now after practicing TM for eight months, I have no problems with insomnia, and I am now getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night. I have become more centered, energetic and calm at the same time. I am forever thankful for this opportunity.”

Tanya Malcolm, RN ER Clinical Nurse
Adventist White Oak Medical Center, Silver Spring, MD

“I love nursing, but there are so many layers of stress in taking care of the COVID-19 patients, as well as with worrying about whether I will personally catch the virus or bring it home to my family. TM has always been an anchor and a great support to me—even more so during this challenge. I am convinced that TM has made me into ‘the best me,’ and it has given me great strength and resilience in these times of despair.”

Gloria LaFollette, DNP, ARNP, FNP-C Jefferson County Health Center, Fairfield, Iowa

“As a family nurse practitioner, I have to switch gears every 15 to 30 minutes when I go in to see a new patient. TM has helped me to be more engaged with each patient, while not internalizing their problems. It has improved my ability to make quick decisions, without dwelling on it for a long time. And it has given me more energy—I am able to come home from work and still have enough patience and energy to be present with my family.”

Burnout is a Public Health Crisis

Healthcare Provider Wellness Program through Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation: An Introduction

TM is an easy-to-learn, enjoyable-to-practice mental technique for deep relaxation and stress-reduction that has been successfully offered in medical schools, academic and VA medical centers, hospitals, military academies, substance abuse centers, prisons, and other settings. The TM technique is practiced for 15-20 minutes twice a day. To date, more than ten million people of all ages, nationalities, and religions have learned the technique.

TM practice produces a unique neurophysiological state that combines deep metabolic rest with heightened mental alertness. This state of deep relaxation, which researchers have termed “restful alertness,” is a potent antidote to stress. Over 400 peer-reviewed published studies on TM have documented improvements in a wide variety of stress-related disorders, as well as significant improvements in cognitive function and overall health and well-being. The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense have awarded over $30 million in grant support for research on TM. (See below: SELECTED STUDIES — Annotated Overview of Research on TM, Stress, Burnout, and Resilience.)

Reducing Professional Burnout and Promoting Resilience

The TM technique is an effective tool for addressing professional burnout. It has been adopted in numerous healthcare provider wellness programs as a stand-alone approach or as an adjuvant therapy to make existing programs more effective. These programs include:

  • Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago Medical students are offered a for-credit elective program entitled “Physician Wellness through Transcendental Meditation.” To date, more than 350 medical students have learned TM, with more students learning all the time based on positive reports. A randomized controlled trial of 42 academic faculty physicians at Loyola Stritch performed over a four-month period found significant improvements in overall burnout, depression, and insomnia in the TM group compared to controls.
  • Weill Cornell Medical Center—New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City A pilot study of physicians in the Emergency Medicine Department found significant reductions in physician burnout, insomnia, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress over a three-month period in those practicing TM.
  • Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont A six-year study on cadets at America’s oldest military college (and the home of ROTC) found significant reductions in perceived stress, hypervigilance, and depression, and increases in psychological resilience in TM participants.
  • Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Harvard Medical School) A pilot study of emergency medicine clinicians (physicians, nurses, and physician assistants) at the height of the Covid pandemic showed significant reductions in burnout, depression, anxiety, and perceived stress, with significantly improved quality of sleep. Compliance with at-home TM practice was high. These findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open, Dec. 2021.
  • Duke University School of Medicine A randomized controlled trial with 80 frontline healthcare workers over a 3-month period during the pandemic found significant improvements in the TM group compared to controls in burnout, anxiety, and insomnia. These findings were published in JAMA Network Open, Sept. 2022.

Three-Phase Program of TM Instruction and Follow-Up

The program is offered in partnership with affiliated institutions.

  • PHASE 1: Introduction to the TM Technique (Group, on-site or remote; 60 minutes) — This session provides an introduction to the evidence-based Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique and an overview of the structure and content of the Healthcare Provider Wellness Program.
  • PHASE 2: Instruction in the TM technique Four instructional sessions held over four consecutive days. (60 to 90 minutes each) — The participant is instructed by a certified TM teacher in how to meditate correctly for maximum benefit in daily life. The first session is on-site, one-on-one personal instruction. The remaining three sessions are on-site group sessions and may also be provided remotely through a digital option.
  • PHASE 3: Follow-up seminars Four seminars held at intervals over a 3-month period following the course of instruction. (Group, on-site or remote; 45 minutes each) — These seminars help stabilize correct practice of the TM technique and deepen participants’ intellectual understanding of its mechanics and effects.

Alignment with NIOSH’s Total Worker Health initiative The Heal the Healers Now initiative is aligned with the Total Worker Health® initiative of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a component of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which promotes institutional policies and strategies to support workers’ wellbeing. In addition to providing the TM program, Heal the Healers Now advocates with its hospital partners for institutional policies to facilitate the adoption and success of worker wellbeing interventions, including Transcendental Meditation. Such policies would include improving the design of work, management practices, and the physical and psychosocial work environment. This may include, wherever feasible, increased flexibility in employee work schedules and protected break time on the job for wellbeing activities, including TM practice, and providing dedicated spaces for such practices. The goal is to improve how work is organized to foster and expand a culture of staff wellbeing. For further information on NIOSH and Total Worker Health strategies, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/twh/programs/index.html.

Selected Studies

Annotated Overview of Research on TM, Stress, Burnout, and Resilience

Summary

Peer-reviewed published studies have documented that TM practice ameliorates the symptoms of burnout as well as the following effects:

  • Reduction in stress and anxiety
  • Reduced depression
  • Improvement in sleep disorders
  • Reduced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Increased psychological and emotional resilience
  • Reduction in substance abuse
  • Reduced high blood pressure

Meta-analyses have shown that TM reduces anxiety and PTSD to a significantly greater degree than other forms of meditation or relaxation. Studies have also shown that TM produces clinically meaningful results often within a few days to two weeks.

Improvement in Clinician Burnout:
Reduction in Emotional Exhaustion

A 3-Month Randomized Controlled Trial
at Duke University Medical Center

Reduction in Emotional Exhaustion

Joshi SP, et al. Efficacy of Transcendental Meditation to Reduce Stress Among Health Care Workers: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2022;5(9):e2231917. JACEP Open 2021;2(6):e12619. 2

Improved Psychological Well-being in
Emergency Medicine Clinicians

A 3-Month Trial at Brigham & Women’s Hospital,
Harvard Medical School

Depression

Effects of TM on Depression

Anxiety

Effects of TM on Trait Anxiety

Azizoddin D, et al. Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. JACEP Open 2021;2(6):e12619. 2

ANNOTATED RESEARCH OVERVIEW

REDUCED STRESS, ANXIETY, AND BURNOUT

  • A three-month randomized controlled study of secondary school teachers in Vermont found that TM practice significantly reduced perceived stress, depression and overall teacher burnout. Charles Elder MD, MPH, FACP et al, Effect of Transcendental Meditation on Employee Burnout: A randomized controlled study. The Permanente Journal, 2014 Winter; 18(1):19-23.
  • Two months of regular TM practice significantly reduced perceived stress and mood disturbance in family caregivers, including reductions in anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, and fatigue, and increase in spiritual well-being. Nidich S et al. Stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation program in caregivers: A pilot study. International Archives of Nursing and Health Care Perspectives (2015): 1(11): 1-4.
  • A randomized controlled study of 42 attending physician faculty at Loyola Stritch Medical School in Chicago over a four-month period found that TM practice was associated with significantly reduced levels of physician burnout, depression and insomnia. Loiselle M, et al. Effect of Transcendental Meditation on Physician Burnout, Depression, and Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Study. In preparation for publication, Academic Medicine 2019.
  • A meta-analysis of 16 randomized controlled trials found TM to be especially effective in reducing anxiety in people with elevated anxiety, including prisoners, war veterans and war refugees, with rapid reductions in anxiety within the first two weeks of practice. Orme-Johnson DW, Barnes V. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Technique on Trait Anxiety: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 20 (2013): 330-341.
  • A meta-analysis of 30 studies found that TM was more effective in reducing trait anxiety than mindfulness or other meditation techniques. Sedlmeier P, et al. The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 2012; 138, 1139–1171.
  • Cadets at Norwich University who learned TM showed significant increases in psychological resilience and decreases in perceived stress, hypervigilance, and depression relative to controls after two to six months of TM practice. Bandy, C., Fleming, K., Meyer, M., Dulmage, J. & Grosswald, S. (2013) Unpublished data.
  • A meta-analysis of 32 physiological studies found that the TM technique produced over twice the effect size as ordinary rest (sitting with eyes closed) on objective markers of relaxation, including respiratory rate, plasma lactate, and basal skin resistance. Dillbeck M and Orme-Johnson D (1987). American Psychologist, 42, 879–881.
  • TM practice has been associated with significant reductions in stress hormones, including cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, both during and after the practice. Jevning R, Wilson AF, Davidson JM. Adrenocortical activity during meditation. Hormones and Behavior 1978 10(1):54-60. Infante JR, et al. ACTH and b-endorphin in transcendental meditation. Physiology & Behavior 1998;64:311-5. Infante JR, et al. Catecholamine levels in practitioners of the transcendental meditation technique. Physiology & Behavior. 2001;72(1-2):141-6. Werner OR, et al. Long-term endocrinologic changes in subjects practicising the transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Psychosomatic Medicine 1986;48:59–66.

DESCRIPTION

Healthcare Provider Wellness Program
through Transcendental Meditation A Three-Phase Program

PHASE ONE Introduction to the TM Technique

This session provides an introduction to the evidence-based Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique and an overview of the structure and content of the Healthcare Provider Wellness Program.

Session 1 (Group, on-site or remote; 60 minutes)
Topics include:

  • The urgent need for an evidence-based meditation technique to support healthcare providers’ mental and physical well-being in today’s highly stressful work environment
  • Meditation defined: Understanding the mechanics and scientific research on the three main approaches to meditation: (1) focused attention, (2) open monitoring, and (3) self-transcending
  • Understanding the mechanics of TM practice: How it works, what it does, and how it is taught
  • Highlights of the published research on the benefits of TM for improving mental and physical health, creativity and cognitive function, productivity and performance
  • Questions and answers

PHASE TWO Instruction in the TM Technique

Four instructional sessions held over four consecutive days. (60 to 90 minutes each) — The participant is instructed by a certified TM teacher in how to meditate correctly for maximum benefit in daily life. The first session is on-site, one-on-one personal instruction. The remaining three sessions are on-site group sessions and may also be provided remotely through a digital option.

  • Session 1: Personal instruction in the TM technique (Individual, on-site)
  • Session 2: Ensuring you are meditating correctly and gaining the benefits (Group, on-site or remote)
  • Session 3: Understanding the mechanics of how TM restores balance and reduces stress in the nervous system (Group, on-site or remote)
  • Session 4: Exploring the long-term benefits of regular TM practice for optimizing mental and physical health (Group, on-site or remote)

PHASE THREE Follow-up seminars

These seminars help stabilize correct practice of the TM technique and deepen participants’ intellectual understanding of its mechanics and effects.

Four seminars held at intervals over a 3-month period following the course of instruction (Group, on-site or remote; 45 minutes each).
Each seminar includes:

  • More in-depth information on a range of topics, including:
    • Effects of TM on neuroplasticity: the capacity of the brain to heal stress and trauma and forge new neural pathways for healthier behaviors and lifestyle
    • Enhancing resilience as the key to reducing the impact of stress and promoting wellness
    • Impact of TM on improving cardiovascular health, strengthening immunity, and slowing the aging process
    • Growth of happiness, self-actualization, and development of consciousness through regular TM practice
  • A review of key points for correct TM practice
  • Questions and answers
  • Group meditation
Nurses can earn 18 continuing education (CE) contact hours. Please contact heroes@healthehealersnow.org for more information.*

Nurses can earn 18 continuing education (CE) contact hours for the course, through a joint affiliation with TM for Women, with the addition of homework following TM instruction (Home study, TM meditation log equaling 600 minutes).
Please contact heroes@healthehealersnow.org for more information.

This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by the American Holistic Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission of Accreditation. #1676

LIFETIME SUPPORT AND FOLLOW-UP

Following the three phases of the Healthcare Provider Wellness Program, a lifetime of individual and group refresher courses is available for free, remotely or in-person, through more than 200 TM Teaching Centers within the United States.

SUGGESTED READING

Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation by Norman Rosenthal, M.D. (Tarcher-Penguin 2011)

Super Mind: How to Boost Performance and Live a Richer and Happier Life through Transcendental Meditation by Norman Rosenthal, M.D. (Tarcher-Penguin 2016)

Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation by Bob Roth (Simon and Schuster 2018)

CENTER FOR
RESILIENCE

David Lynch Foundation

NEW YORK

228 E. 45th Street, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10017

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Capitol Hill

120 3rd Street NE 
Washington, D.C. 20002

Southeast D.C.

The Meditation Center @ THEARC
1801 Mississippi Avenue SE
Washington, D.C. 20020

LOS ANGELES

621 S. Highland Avenue 
Los Angeles, CA 90036

DavidLynchFoundation.org 
Heroes@healthehealersnow.org