Delivering Compassionate Care A Mindfulness Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Healthcare Professionals

Sarah Ellen Braun, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychology fellow completing her fellowship training at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Division of Neuro-Oncology. She completed her PhD in clinical psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University where she co-developed the intervention Mindfulness for Interdisciplinary Healthcare Professionals (MIHP). At VCU, she taught the course to more than 100 faculty, staff, residents, and students across disciplines. Much of Dr. Braun’s research has focused on mindfulness training for healthcare professionals. She is the author of several peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, including a recent paper demonstrating the effectiveness of MIHP in reducing burnout, stress, and daily activity impairment. She received the 2019 Elizabeth Fries Scholarship in Cancer Prevention and Control, the 2018 Young Investigator Award for her research at the International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health, and the 2017 Emerging Leaderin Interprofessionalism Award at the Emswiller Interprofessional Symposium. Her research has been funded by the American Psychological Association.

Patricia Anne Kinser, PhD, WHNP-BC, RN, FAAN, is a tenured professor, nurse scientist, and nurse practitioner at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing. Dr. Kinser’s program of research is focused on two areas: first, she studies mindfulness interventions to enhance resilience-building in interdisciplinary healthcare professionals, with the long-term goal to improve patient care quality and safety; second, she explores biobehavioral mechanisms underlying depression and she develops and tests innovative non-pharmacologic symptom management strategies. Her interdisciplinary research studies have been funded by sources such as the National Institutes of Health, the American Nurses Foundation, and Sigma Theta Tau International. Dr. Kinser is a Governor-Appointee to the Virginia Board of Health, a practicing board-certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.