Our mission is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate educational programs to enhance empathy and compassion throughout medical training. Utilizing evidence-based practices and learnings from the research that the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion is conducting, the Center will comprehensively incorporate empathy and compassion training into medical education. In the preclinical years, the training focus will be on building a strong foundation of self-awareness and self-compassion in medical students. To prevent the usual decreases in empathy and increases in burnout after the preclinical years, the Center will focus on trainings that are targeted on development of a “doctor’s bag” of wellness-boosting skills to promote resilience and a humanistic approach, even in the face of stressful demands. The Center will also apply compassion-forward approaches to increase inclusive excellence and ensure that students are equipped to deliver structurally-competent, equitable health care. Training programs will be rooted in a framework that questions and disrupts individual and structural biases in healthcare.
Working collaboratively with the other Sanford Institute Centers, the School of Medicine, current students and faculty, and community members, we will design and implement a comprehensive approach that engages trainees, clinician-educators, and administrative leaders toward the shared goal of elevating an empathic and compassionate approach to learning and clinical care.
Explore our course offerings at UC San Diego School of Medicine, learn about our flagship Compassionatomy program, and more.
Learn about our past seed grant awardees and their medical education projects, as well as our active research studies.
See how we provide compassion-related research opportunities under the guidance of a faculty mentor via the Sanford Scholar Award Program.
Learn more about the team members that make our empathy and compassion-based medical education programs possible.
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All programs and initiatives coordinated by the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion's Center for Empathy and Compassion Training in Medical Education are designed and implemented in full compliance with Proposition 209 and the University of California Anti-Discrimination Policy.
In accordance with applicable Federal and State law and University policy, the University of California does not discriminate, or grant preferences, on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and/or other protected categories.
More information about Proposition 209 can be found here. More information about the University of California Anti-Discrimination Policy can be found here.
