Health Care Workers Are Working in the Trench of Human Suffering

Over the past few years, the pressures placed on healthcare workers have mounted steadily, and rates of burnout and exhaustion are on the rise. According to Jan Chozen Bays, a pediatrician and Zen priest, mindfulness practices can provide an antidote to burnout and support those who are working on the frontlines of human suffering. In her new book, "Mindful Medicine: 40 Simple Practices to Help Healthcare Professionals Heal Burnout and Reconnect to Purpose," Bays presents short, simple practices to help healthcare workers reconnect with themselves and their patients in the midst of demanding workdays. In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and co-host Sharon Salzberg sit down with Bays to discuss her own experience of burnout, her work in creating supportive communities for physicians, and how we can experience a greater sense of presence and flow in our daily lives.