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Complementary Health Practice Review
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Impact of a Medical School Elective in Cultivating Compassion Through Touch Therapies

Kathi J. Kemper, MD, MPH

Caryl J. Guth Chair for Holistic and Integrative Medicine; Pediatrics and Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27157; kkemper{at}wfubmc.edu

Deborah Larrimore, RN, LMBT, CHTI

Jean Dozier, BA

Charles Woods, MD, MSPH

Departments of Pediatrics and Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine

This study assessed the impact of an elective for second-year students on cultivating compassion through complementary and alternative medicine practices including therapeutic touch and healing touch. Course participants completed demographic questions, precourse and postcourse questions about confidence and practice in compassion, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Those who completed the elective reported significant improvements in confidence, practice, and sense of personal achievement. For example, for the statement, "I am confident in being calm, peaceful and focused (centered) before and during patient encounters," scores improved from 1.7 to 8.0 on a 10-point scale (p < .01). Optimism about future practice improved from 5.5 before to 7.9 after the course (p < .05). Scores significantly improved for confidence and practice of compassion and optimism about future practice. Such electives may improve desired skills and help reduce burnout. Additional research is needed to determine the impact of such electives on quality of care.

Key Words: education • humanism • complementary • holistic • integrative

Complementary Health Practice Review, Vol. 11, No. 1, 47-56 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1533210106288291
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