Burnout Prevention in Healthcare

This course is offered directly to healthcare institutions for organizational training of staff.

Burnout Prevention in Healthcare is an 8-week personal and professional development course based on a compassion training curriculum designed at the Stanford School of Medicine (Compassion Cultivation Training ©) and now housed at the Compassion Institute. This program is specifically customized for nurses, physicians, therapists, and other healthcare professionals, and may be available for 12 CE’s upon successful course completion. Participants will be introduced to practical tools and techniques that can be integrated into their personal and work life, providing protection against an inherently stressful work environment while promoting a reconnection with professional meaning.

This is a Live and Interactive Experiential Class

Here is what to expect:

  • Explore how the science of compassion informs burnout prevention

  • Practice evidence-based techniques to counter burnout symptoms

  • Experience guided meditations geared towards building core resilience

  • Participate in exercises to support interpersonal connection

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Utilize compassion science to identify symptom specific burnout interventions

  • Describe current research on the effectiveness of compassion practices

  • Explain the differences between empathy and compassion

  • Describe how empathetic distress and compassion collapse lead to burnout

  • Apply mindfulness skills including meditation to stay present to self and others

  • Apply compassion skills as a response to typical work and personal stressors

  • Use compassion practice with self and others for emotional regulation

  • Use cognitive re-framing with self and others on the basis of common humanity

  • Use self-compassion meditation practices to improve interpersonal functioning

  • List three (3) sources of resistance to the development of self-compassion

  • Explain typical resistances to compassion for and from others


Research suggests compassion training for healthcare professionals may:

  • Reduce physiological markers of stress

  • Decrease self-critical inner dialogue

  • Prevent empathic distress and energize you as you care for others

  • Improve emotional resilience and ability to recover from challenges

  • Strengthen meaningful relationships and decrease loneliness


Course Overview

  • Eight weeks of live, online interactive participation led by certified Compassion Cultivation Training© Instructor Bornali Basu

  • Small breakout groups with peers for deeper exploration and connection

  • Focus on experiential learning through practices and exercises

  • Resources to explore and learn more between sessions

  • Lifetime access to short, guided meditations created specifically for this course

Live sessions meet weekly for 90 minutes. All course materials and additional resources will be posted online for ongoing reference.

The course has been delivered to healthcare professionals at NYU Langone, New York County Medical Society, Columbia University Medical Center, and the NYU Silver School of Social Work’s Office of Global & Lifelong Learning.


Lead Faculty

Bornali Basu is a licensed psychologist on the clinical faculty at the Department of Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She maintains a private psychotherapy practice in New York focused on compassion and mindfulness-based approaches to cultivating joy. She completed her internship and a post-doctoral fellowship in cardiac psychology at the NYU School of Medicine, and previously was a senior staff psychologist at Bellevue Hospital where she founded and was the Director of the Mind-Body Program. She is dually certified to teach CCT™ through the Center for Compassion & Altruism Research & Education at the Stanford School of Medicine, and the Compassion Institute.

Bornali is particularly interested in addressing burnout among healthcare professionals and has presented at national conferences on the topic including at the American Psychological Association’s Annual Convention (2022). She has facilitated compassion-based burnout prevention programs at multiple healthcare systems including NYU Langone, Columbia University Medical Center, and the NYU Silver School of Social Work’s Office of Global & Lifelong Learning. She is a founding board member of the Compassion Education Alliance.



Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the format of the online training?
Each live session meets weekly for 90 minutes over the 8-week course duration.

Each class will include live discussion and training facilitated by Bornali Basu, Certified Compassion Cultivation Training© Instructor, with a focus on experiential learning through practices and exercises, as well as small group breakouts with your peers.

All course materials and additional resources will be posted online and available for reference.

How many hours of work are required to complete the training? Is there homework?
There are eight weekly live class sessions, 90 minutes each, for a total of 12 hours of group class time. There is no formal homework, however, participants will have access to short, guided meditations and suggested micro-moment practices to further deepen their learning, if they wish.

What technology is required to access the course?
Live sessions will be conducted on the Zoom platform. Participants will require a free subscription to Zoom to connect to the course. Zoom may be accessed through computers, tablets, or any mobile phone.

Will participants receive a certificate upon completing this training?
Yes, participants are eligible to receive a certificate of completion from the Center for Compassionate Leadership upon successful completion of the training. Certificates will be delivered electronically, and may also include the name of the sponsoring healthcare institution, if desired.

Will participants have life-long access to the course material?
Yes, participants will be able to access the materials at any time in the future.

What are the fees for the program?
The program fee is customized for each institution based on number of participants, whether the course is delivered online, or if the course is delivered in-person. Please contact cfclprograms@gmail.com to discuss fees and dates.

When is the program available?
The program is currently available online to healthcare institutions around the globe. The program may be available for in-person delivery within the metropolitan New York area. To explore scheduling options, please email cfclprograms@gmail.com to discuss upcoming date availability.

How will contracting and billing work with my institution?
Contracting and billing are to be provided by The Center for Compassionate Leadership. The Center is happy to use your institution’s standard institutional contract form as the beginning framework for a final contract. Terms for payment are typically 50% upon contract signing, and 50% after completed delivery of the program.