A new TM study and two related articles on Transcendental Meditation came out in the third week of October 2023. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (OJIN) published a study showing TM reduced burnout and enhanced well-being in nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the OJIN TM study, and KFF Health News Morning Briefing highlighted both the AJC article and OJIN study. Separately, Vogue Magazine published a very good article on TM, which also ran in the UK.
First, congratulations to Bob Roth, Kelly Malloy, and DLF on this great TM article in Vogue magazine, Transcendental Meditation Is a Superpower—And It’s as Easy as Two Syllables (and 20 Minutes)! (10/20) I liked the introduction where Corey Seymour describes how he had tried everything, was finally open to learning TM, and shared his surprise at how easy it was. A friend of Corey had learned TM from DLF CEO Bob Roth and she told him about it. Kelly Malloy taught him and Bob said that Corey “was the right guy at the right time…very smart and pure-hearted.” In his article, Corey makes understanding and appreciating TM very accessible. Impressed, I tweeted the article. The following day British Vogue (10/21) also ran the same article.
It came out the same week that KFF Health News had highlighted in their Morning Briefing this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Transcendental meditation can reduce nurse burnout, study says, reporting on the new TM study published in OJIN, The Impact of Transcendental Meditation: Reducing Burnout and Enhancing Well-Being in Frontline Healthcare Clinicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
KFF Health News, a respected national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues, publishes daily summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Here is what appeared at the top of their Wed Oct 18, 2023 Morning Briefing, which I also tweeted. Their second paragraph is about the AJC TM article.
Warnings That Doctors’ Mental Health Crisis Is Impacting Patients
A story in Vox highlights how resistant doctors are to receiving mental health care or medication. Also: Iowa plans to remove mental health questions from medical license paperwork. Separately, a recent study shows that transcendental meditation can help combat nurse burnout.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Transcendental Meditation Can Reduce Nurse Burnout, Study Says
According to a recent study published in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, transcendental meditation is effective at reducing burnout and enhancing the overall well-being of nurses. The study is a response to increasing levels of burnout within the healthcare industry, largely exacerbated by the pandemic. According to another recent study, by market research and consulting company PRC, 15.6% of U.S. nurses surveyed reported feeling burnout. (Boyce, 10/17)
The fact that KFF highlighted and positioned the AJC report showing TM as a solution to burnout for nurses juxtaposing it with problems doctors are having with burnout speaks volumes for TM!
As far as I know, the AJC and KFF news reports on this latest important TM study happened naturally without any official publicity efforts!
Nurse Amy Ruff, RN BSN, National Director of Transcendental Meditation for Nurses, told me that Tom and Linda were two of the TM Teachers from the Ann Arbor TM Center who were involved in teaching TM to the nurses in this study through the David Lynch Foundation’s Heal the Healers Now campaign. I asked Tom for some comments about the study and he wrote back with these experiences from the side of the teachers and two of the nurses.
TM Teachers: It was a great experience sharing this knowledge with healthcare workers during the height of Covid and hearing of the benefit they were having. Witnessing the work load and cultural expectations demanded of these workers in a profession of giving, would turn anyone into an advocate for the improvement of healthcare worker conditions. They all expressed gratitude for the benefits of their regular TM practice and opportunity to learn TM through the DLF HtHN initiative. Here are emails from two of the nurse involved in the study.
First Nurse: Dear Margaret, Kelcey and Tom,
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the U of M TM RN research study. It was a great honor to be selected and participation has greatly impacted my life and the lives of people around me. These past few months have been very challenging and TM helped me remain balanced, gain clarity and keep a positive attitude. I find myself being able to let go of frustrations more easily, not engage in disruptive situations such as road rage and be able to relax more easily following difficult shifts at work. I have improved relations with the people around me and have been able to improve communication skills in difficult situations. Daily TM practice has been very beneficial to my well-being and positively affected my work as a nurse on a demanding unit.
My long term goal and hope is to get more training and bring what I have learned to my patients.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to extend a sincere thank you to you and behind the scenes team members.
Sincerely,
Gerti Schrattenthaler
Second Nurse: Good day,
I completed the survey, sorry for the delay in my responses. Our email system just changed so I no longer had access through my phone to check email. I wanted to let you know how beneficial the TM practice has been for me. It has allowed me to fully relax and recharge. It has helped me cope during the last couple of months which have been extremely stressful with the increase in COVID patients. The practice has been extremely helpful for my mental and emotional well-being. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I hope you get the opportunity to expand the study and allow other healthcare workers to benefit from this wonderful practice. I will continue the TM practice as part of my daily routine.
— Written and compiled (citing sources) by Ken Chawkin for The Uncarved Blog.
New Study published December 11, 2023 in Journal of Nursing Administration: New study shows Transcendental Meditation significantly reduced PTSD and anxiety in frontline nurses during COVID-19 pandemic by more than half over a 3-month period.
Tags: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David Lynch Foundation, DLF, heal the healers now, KFF Health News Morning Briefing, OJIN, Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, TM, TM for Nurses, Transcendental Meditation, Vogue Magazine
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