Pilgrims together: leveraging community partnerships to enhance workplace resilience

• Published in: The international journal of whole person care 2015-12, Vol.3 (1)
• Main Author: Frolic, Andrea Nadine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2291-918X; 2291-918X
• DOI: 10.26443/ijwpc.v3i1.110

Many of today’s healthcare personnel find themselves in a double-bind. The question is: How to remain connected, caring and compassionate with patients, while mitigating the impact of chronic workplace stress? Mindfulness is emerging as a means for addressing this dilemma as it has the potential to both reduce workplace stress and boost employee resilience, while enhancing the patient experience. This article describes the development of a unique collaboration between local hospitals, primary care teams and a university, aimed at bringing mindfulness to life in healthcare. This is a conventional story of program development and evaluation, as well as an unconventional story of personal discovery, community-building, and organizational transformation. Each section of the paper highlights a critical success factor that we have uncovered in our journey, and poses a series of questions for contemplation.  This paper aims to fill a gap in the literature by describing the key ingredients for developing and sustaining a community-wide collaboration aimed at integrating mindfulness into the healthcare system.