HEALTH CARE
MINDFULNESS
in medical practice
By Maria Ryhorski
O
n a particularly challenging day in the operating room
over five years ago, Dr. Anita Chakravarti realized it was
time to make a change. For the previous eight years, the
chronic pain she struggled with following a riding accident
had taken a back seat to her responsibilities as a physician.
That day, with a full slate, two medical learners on hand and
a severe familiar pain in her neck, she realized it was time to
look after herself – she knew that if she didn’t focus on her
own health and well-being it would affect her work and the
quality of her patients’ care. It took her another three years
to realize how much damage she had incurred in her own
health.
The tendency among physicians to over