Compassion Meditation Training for Hospital Chaplain Residents: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of incorporating compassion meditation training into a clinical pastoral education (CPE) curriculum to enhance compassion satisfaction and reduce burnout among hospital chaplain residents. Specifically, a longitudinal, quasi-experimental design was used to examine the impact of Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT), a group-delivered compassion meditation intervention. Hospital chaplain residents (n = 15) were assigned to participate in a CBCT intervention or a waitlist comparison group. Chaplains assigned to CBCT reported significant decreases in burnout and anxiety compared to the waitlist group; effects were not maintained at 4-month follow-up. Other outcomes, including compassion satisfaction, did not differ significantly but were trending in the expected direction. Findings suggest that compassion meditation training incorporated into CPE promotes chaplain wellbeing, although it may be necessary to extend CBCT throughout residency to sustain effects.

Keywords:

• Burnout
• compassion satisfaction
• meditation
• pastoral education
• secondary trauma stress

Acknowledgements

This project represents a collaboration between Spiritual Health at Emory Healthcare and the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics. The authors acknowledge and are deeply thankful to Maureen Shelton and Timothy Harrison for their invaluable contributions in teaching CBCT. The authors are also grateful for the time and effort of the chaplain residents who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

Dr. Negi reports that he is the developer of CBCT, but neither he nor any of the other authors hold a financial stake in the intellectual property rights of CBCT. Dr. Raison reports that in the prior 12 months he has served as a consultant to Shire, Alkermes, Usona Institute, National Center for Continuing Medical Education, and Emory Healthcare. No other disclosures were reported.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings are available from the corresponding author, MJA, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially funded by a PEACE grant from the Mind and Life Institute.