Resources
Below is a list of resources including books and websites on many topics such as mindfulness, meditation and compassion in the health profession.
PODCAST: The Other Human in the Room!
A Deeper Well with Dr. Alysha Mackenzie-Feder
In this podcast conversation with Joan Chan, Dr. Alysha Mackenzie-Feder, a pediatrician from Kelowna, BC, explores the important difference between empathy and compassion in healthcare. Drawing from her experience with Zen Buddhism and contemplative practices, Dr. Alysha shares how these teachings have shaped her understanding of physician wellbeing and patient care.
The conversation looks at why “compassion fatigue” may be better understood as empathetic distress, how emotions are experienced in the body, and how the hidden curriculum of medical training can affect healthcare providers. Dr. Alysha also reflects on the importance of community as a way to move through the challenges of modern healthcare.
This episode offers thoughtful language and practical tools for shifting from being overwhelmed by patients’ emotions to standing alongside them with an open heart and a strong back.
SPRUCe CME
Our Wellbeing Matters:
Tools for Rural Pediatricians
In this SPRUCe CME session, we explore why wellbeing matters for rural pediatricians, with a focus on burnout, moral adversity, and resilience. We look at where burnout and moral adversity differ, where they overlap, and why those distinctions matter in clinical practice. The session re-imagines resilience through a more sustainable and meaningful model, and highlights resources that support wellbeing, engagement, and learning. It is offered as a shared learning experience that encourages reflection, connection, and community.
Websites:
Upaya Zen Centre
Roshi Joan Halifax is the abbot of this monastery in Santa Fe New Mexico- offering courses, virtual and in person, for front line workers on Grief, Compassion, Being with Dying, Moral Injury and much more.
New York Zen Centre
New York Zen Centre Contemplative Medicine Fellowship: An Evidence based training program supporting physicians in sustaining their practice of Compassionate medicine
Living this Moment
Dr. Mark Sherman is a family physician and mindfulness meditation teacher based on Vancouver island. Offering retreats, workshops and a monthly newsletter for Health professionals.
The Centre for Compassion and Altruism research and education
The Centre for Compassion and Altruism research and education- Stanford University: Founded by Neurosurgeon Dr. James Doty, offering courses on Compassion in the health profession.
Books:
Standing on the Edge
By Roshi Joan Halifax
Being with Dying
By Roshi Joan Halifax
We Are All Perfectly Fine
A Memoir of Love Medicine and Health By Dr. Jillan Horton
Inner Practice of Medicine
By Dr. Wendy Lau
Into the Magic Shop
A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart By Dr. James Doty
Moral Resilience
Transforming Moral Suffering in Healthcare By Dr. Cynda Rushton
