Virtual Medical-Spirituality Conference to examine transformation and growth during COVID-19 pandemic

Health care professionals are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, making many of them feel vulnerable and uncertain about the future as well as suffering a deep sense of lost in their professional and personal lives.

Yet in their roles as health professionals, team members and leaders within health care organizations, there is an opportunity to help themselves and others face these challenges feeling robust, connected and effective.

The 13th annual Wright State University Medical-Spirituality Conference will explore common reactions to pandemic stressors and focus on how to develop habits of attentiveness and curiosity that will enable participants to become more connected to patients, more compassionate to themselves and others, and more effective as clinicians and leaders.

Titled “Living with Losses: Transformation and Growth within the COVID-19 Pandemic,” the virtual conference will be held Thursday, April 15, from 7:45 a.m. to noon on Zoom.

The conference is for practicing physicians, nurses, health care providers and members of the public. The Zoom link will be sent to all participants the week of the conference.

Participants should register on the Wright State Boonshoft School of Medicine website.

The participatory, interactive and experiential conference and workshop will feature presenters Michael Krasner, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and Ronald Epstein, a family physician and palliative care physician, writer, researcher, and teacher of communication and mindful practice in medicine.

The conference will feature a session titled “The Power of Presence Amidst Chaos and Challenges” and a session titled “Flourishing in Medicine: Building Inner Resources.”

Conference participants will learn simple practices that can be used during the workday to promote presence, curiosity and attentiveness to help them thrive amid chaos, fear, uncertainty and loss. Epstein and Krasner will discuss evidence-based best practices based on their mindful practice programs to enhance well-being, effectiveness, job engagement and teamwork in health care settings.

The cost of the conference is $50 for physicians, $25 for members of the public and free for Wright State Boonshoft School of Medicine students and nursing students. The conference is limited to 175 participants.

For groups wishing to attend or those needing financial assistance should contact Nicki Crellin at nicki.crellin@wright.edu.

Proceeds from the event will support the Healer’s Art Fund at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. The Healer’s Art Fund was created to help address an emerging crisis in health care: the growing loss of meaning and commitment experienced by physicians nationwide under the stresses of today’s health care system.

Through the Healer’s Art Fund, the Boonshoft School of Medicine helps both students and practicing physicians develop the capacity to find lifelong meaning in the medical profession. The School of Medicine educates tomorrow’s physicians through its Healer’s Art Course and sustains today’s physicians through its annual Medical-Spirituality Conference.