The Core curriculum offers students:

• An opportunity to learn about mindfulness and compassion in healthcare, the science of mindfulness, and implementation best practices from expert faculty.

• An opportunity to join a social network of mindful healthcare leaders (one in-person network activity).

• An opportunity for learning mindfulness and compassion personally or deepening/expanding knowledge of MBIs and personal practice.

Programmatic Course Outcomes‍

Upon successful completion a student will be able to:

• Critically evaluate the scientific foundations and clinical applications of mindfulness and compassion in healthcare.

• Apply evidence-based mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to clinical and organizational contexts.

• Explore one's own motivations, strengths and challenges around maintaining a mindfulness and/or compassion practice

• Establish a mindful healthcare community through structured networking and collaborative activities.

Learning Objectives

Students will learn:

• Define mindfulness and compassion: articulate a clear and evidence-based definition of mindfulness and compassion

• Discuss the theoretical and clinical evidence for the benefits of mindfulness and compassion in medicine

• Be able to articulate the value of mindfulness and compassion programming to colleagues and leadership, and advocate for its integration into health care

• Name 3 types of MBIs and their effects on patient outcomes and system outcomes

• Establish one’s own mindfulness and compassion practice through one's own cultural lens

Advanced Track 1: Implementation and Quality Improvement Science for Mindfulness and Compassion in Healthcare

At the end of this program, scholars will be qualified to provide leadership on implementation of MBIs into a healthcare setting using insurance coverage and other innovative payment models. Scholars will also receive a Mindful Healthcare Implementation Certificate. This program focuses on the pragmatic integration of mindfulness and compassion interventions into complex healthcare systems through the lens of implementation science and quality improvement. This track is for those who want to apply the scientific foundation of implementation frameworks and quality improvement methods (e.g., PDSA cycles). The program emphasizes practical application, leadership development, and strategies for overcoming barriers to adoption and scaling.  

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Mindful Healthcare Implementation Certificate, students will:

• Develop a comprehensive implementation plan for mindfulness or compassion-based intervention in a healthcare context.

• Produce a project proposal that includes measurable outcomes and sustainability strategies. 

Foundational Knowledge of the Definition of Implementation Science and Quality Improvement 

• Define Implementation Science as the scientific study of methods to promote the uptake of evidence-based practices into routine healthcare.

• Define Quality Improvement as the scientific study of methods to promote site specific changes into routine healthcare.

• Define the difference between quality improvement and implementation science

Assessing the Landscape of the Health Care Scholars Medical Site and Developing a Basic Quality Improvement or Implementation Plan

• Create an Assessment Inventory Tool to explore the location’s existing mindfulness and compassion programming in the medical setting 

• Recognize the needs of the community, clinicians, administration and patients to implement Mindful and Compassion programs within their organization.

• List what are the drivers and barriers of mindfulness and compassion in one’s health care setting and who are the champions and potential partners in your health system

• Identify 3 reasons why mindfulness and compassion evidence-based practices often fail to be adopted in clinical settings by identifying common barriers and facilitators.

Choose the Implementation Science and Quality Improvement Outcome Measures

• Identify key outcomes to measure during the QI or implementation project: Determine the best type of outcomes: clinical outcomes, implementation outcomes, cost outcomes.

• Get the buy-in from clinicians, administrators, patients, etc—in the implementation process and outcomes.

Addressing factors and barriers involved in implementing mindfulness  and compassion programs into medical settings and how to overcome them.

Track 1 Additional Registration Pricing 

More information to come.

This is for an individual  who is currently implementing a project and needs mentoring assistance. We will offer individual and/or group mentoring office hours for people to sign up for and this can be selected by participants based on budget.  

Some examples of successful implementations that our team has already provided for other healthcare settings, include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Primary Care, the Marino Center for Integrative Health; Mount Sinai (NYC); Boston Medical Center; Cambridge Health Alliance; and The Mandela Yoga Project.

Please email pgardiner@challiance.org for more information.

Scholars will have the opportunity to gain personal experience in an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention of their choice at CMC during the year. Scholars can choose a pathway for attaining MBI certification based on their personal preference and professional goals. Intensive training at CMC in MBCT or MBC are offered at an all-included discounted price. Pathways with collaborating partner institutions can also be considered.

First hand training in:

-Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

-Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) 

-Mindful Behavior Change (MBC)

• In order for MBC groups to be led as an insurance-reimbursable modality, at least one group leader should be a licensed clinician in the state where the group is offered.

Training of the next generation

• Advanced Clinical Mindfulness Fellowship
  

Track 3 Additional Registration Pricing 

More information to come

This track is for Scholars who would also like to pursue mindfulness or contemplative intervention research in healthcare settings, and it is currently under development with more information expected in March or April 2026.

• Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Healthcare Settings

• Developing Your Personal Mindfulness Practice

• Identifying Payment Models for Financial Stability

• Types of MBIs

• Communicating MBI Proposal to Upper Leadership

• Trauma-Informed Mindfulness and Adaptations for Diverse Populations

• Overview of MBI Clinic Procedure and Clinic Workflows

• Evaluating Your Groups

• Improving Leadership Skills: team building, change management, and interprofessional

• Building Your Support Network: peer scholars, alumni, and faculty

A Mindful Healthcare Scholar is a professional who is interested in learning about how mindfulness and compassion practices can be used in healthcare settings for the care of patients and supporting providers. This program provides scholars the opportunity for skill building and applying what is learned to implement projects in healthcare settings or through scholarly work. A Scholar does not need to have any prior personal experience with techniques related to mindfulness or other mind/body practices, and does not need to be a healthcare clinician.

There are numerous clinical trials showing how evidence-based MBIs can reduce depression, anxiety, stress, blood pressure, cardiovascular risk, and chronic pain. Mindfulness training in healthcare also helps reduce clinicians’ stress and burnout, improve communication, and increase the overall well-being of healthcare providers.

Examples include: 

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC)

Mindful Behavior Change, a program studied and created by CMC’s research team.

Integrated Group Medical Visits (IGMV)

Note: Some Scholars may also want to consider implementation of other Mind Body approaches, such as Yoga, Qigong, Tai Chi, which engage mindfulness as one of their mechanisms of action. These and other integrative approaches may be welcome if the Scholar already has knowledge about the use of these interventions, or has access to qualified teachers at their healthcare site.

The Center for Mindfulness and Compassion (CMC), established in 2014, is part of the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) healthcare system, affiliated with Harvard Medical School (HMS). CMC is a research, training, and clinical center, working to integrate evidence-based mindfulness and compassion practices into primary care, mental health, and outpatient healthcare settings. Examples include:

CMC’s MINDFUL-Primary Care (PC) project, which integrated mindfulness into primary care across the CHA healthcare system, has been studied in several clinical trials and has been disseminated to several other healthcare systems. 

The Mindful Mental Health Service, which was founded 8 years ago and has had more than 5,000 healthcare system referrals, now offers a core set of referral-based, insurance reimbursable MBI services for hundreds of patients every year. 

Our team has already provided implementation consultation for other healthcare settings such as Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care, the Marino Center for Integrative Health; Boston Medical Center; and The Mandela Yoga Project.

CMC specifically designed Mindful Behavior Change with patient groups that are insurance reimbursable and integrated into the healthcare system. In order for MBC* groups to be led as an insurance-reimbursable modality, at least one group leader should be a licensed clinician in the state where the group is offered.

*If your identified group leader is not trained in an MBI and is interested in becoming trained in MBC, which is specifically designed to be led in clinical settings, please learn more about the MBC Group Leader Training pathway. See below for discounts on Professional Training Packages.

The Mindful Healthcare Scholars program is co-directed by Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH and Zev Schuman-Olivier, MD.

Dr. Gardiner is a family physician, Director of Implementation in Primary care, and an Associate Professor at University of Massachusetts. She is a national leader in the implementation of integrative group medical visits.

Dr. Schuman-Olivier is a psychiatrist and an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He was the Founding Center Director for the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at CHA and is the Director for the CHA Mindful Mental Health Service

Core Curriculum -

More information to come.

$100 off Regular or Late Registration for CHA physicians, $250 off Regular or Late Registration for CHA non-physician clinicians or trainees.

A full refund will be issued, minus a $100 processing fee, for cancellations made up to two weeks before the start date of the training. A 50% refund will be issued for cancellation in the period between two weeks and two working days before the start of the training. No refund is available if cancellation is within 2 working days before the start of the training or once program training materials are received.

• Mindful Healthcare Scholars who have teams at the healthcare site will be given additional preference during admission consideration. Healthcare systems will receive a 50% discount on the 2nd and 3rd additional team members. Organizational pricing for groups larger than 3 individuals is available upon request.

• Each Mindful Healthcare Scholar can identify others in their healthcare system to participate in lecture days. Common team members include billing experts, practice managers, nursing team members, potential group co-leaders [including licensed clinicians and community mindfulness teachers], front desk registration staff, etc.