The General Medical Council (GMC) guidance on student support in the UK says

“medical schools should promote wellbeing among all their students such as providing sessions on techniques such as mindfulness and meditation…which some people find useful to help them manage their stress levels”

(Supporting Medical Students, GMC 2013, p.22)

The learning environment can be a stressful experience for students of medicine. Research in the UK has shown that stress and burnout are endemic during medical training. Stress affects performance by reducing concentration and impinging on decision-making skills. New types of training are needed to improve students’ resilience to the stress inherent in their course and professional lives as well as improve the learning environment in medicine.

The University of Bristol Working Group was established in 2014 to implement the GMC guidance (2013). As part of this Bristol is offering ‘wellbeing days’ with a range of workshops, talks, advice signposting and activities organised for over 500 students. As part of the Wellbeing Day, workshops on mindfulness are offered. The GMC report, ‘Supporting Medical Students’ (2013) recommends mindfulness based approaches as one strategy to increase resilience in the workplace.