Prashant Kaushik, MD: My Personal Transformation from Burnout to Homeostasis

AVERILL PARK, NY – April 18, 2017

To inspire other physicians who are experiencing the painful effects of stress, Dr. Prashant Kaushik will chronicle his own journey from burnout to homeostasis at the 9th annual CME Conference on Meditation and Yoga as Mind/Body Medicine, October 24-28, 2017 at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts. Hosted by the American Meditation Institute and entitled “The Heart and Science of Yoga,” this comprehensive 30 credit-hour mind/body training on meditation, gentle yoga and diaphragmatic breathing, accredited through the Albany Medical College Office of Continuing Medical Education, is designed to help physicians and other healthcare professionals prevent and relieve burnout.

Board-certified Rheumatologist Prashant Kaushik, MD knows all too well how the demands and stress of the medical profession can have a profound effect on the personal and professional lives of physicians and their patients. As a healthcare professional dedicated to expanding the current medical paradigm to include “selfcare,” Dr. Kaushik will reveal how stress negatively affected his physical and mental wellbeing, and how he was able to transform his life with powerful AMI Meditation practices that reduce stress and enhance resilience and effectiveness.

According to Dr. Kaushik, “Simple techniques like AMI mantra meditation, one-pointed attention, diaphragmatic breathing and easy-gentle yoga have been used for millennia to transform the debilitating nature of stress. When the practical tools of Yoga Science as mind/body medicine are incorporated into everyday life, physician burnout can be reversed dramatically and eliminated in many circumstances.”

AMI faculty member Prashant Kaushik, MD received a Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery degree from the All India Institute of Medical Services, New Delhi. As a board-certified Rheumatologist, Dr. Kaushik serves as Lead Rheumatologist at the Albany VA Medical Center, Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine Albany Medical College, and is a member of the AMI Department of Medical Education. Dr. Kaushik is the 2015 recipient of the Albany Medical College’s Residency Teacher of the Year award.

Defined as a “state of vital exhaustion” by the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition, burnout in the medical profession has become a serious public health problem over the past decade. According to a March 2017 paper published on the National Academy of Medicine website, 54 percent of all physicians experience burnout (30–40 percent of employed physicians and 55–60 percent of self-employed physicians). Students, interns, and residents are close behind them, experiencing burnout at a rate of 20–40 percent.

Recognizing this alarming trend, The American Meditation Institute is offering this unique mind/body medicine conference to help physicians alleviate their pain and enrich their health and wellbeing. Now in its ninth year of providing continuing medical education credits, the five-day retreat is carefully structured to optimize the experience of attendees. Each lecture is designed to reduce their allostatic load––the physiological consequences of chronic exposure to fluctuating or heightened neural or neuroendocrine responses resulting from chronic stress.

The 30-hour CME comprehensive curriculum includes an in-depth study of the historical, philosophical and scientific nature of Yoga Science. Practical yogic skills will be taught to all attendees to expand their knowledge of and experience with health-affirming, yogic practices. Topics will include mantra-based AMI meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, Yoga Psychology, the chakra system as a diagnostic tool, mind function optimization, neuroplasticity, trauma, PTSD, Functional Medicine, Epigenomics, Ayurveda, nutrition, easygentle yoga and lymph system detoxification.

An outstanding team of dedicated, enthusiastic, skilled health and wellness professionals, who draw on many years of experience in their respective fields, the AMI faculty will create a dynamic and interactive program for all attending medical professionals. In addition to Dr. Kaushik, this year’s presenters will include Leonard Perlmutter, AMI founder, philosopher, meditational therapist and award-winning author of “The Heart and Science of Yoga”; Mark Pettus MD, Director of Medical Education and Population Health at Berkshire Health Systems; Anthony Santilli MD, board-certified in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Sara Lazar PhD, neuroscientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and instructor at Harvard Medical School; Susan Lord MD, a private practice holistic physician focusing on prevention and treatment, and former course director for the The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s “Food As Medicine” program in Washington, DC; Jesse Ritvo MD, Assistant Medical Director, Inpatient Psychiatry, University of Vermont Health Center; Beth Netter MD MT, holistic physician and acupuncturist, Albany, NY; Jyothi Bhatt BAMS, Ayurvedic practitioner and faculty member of Kripalu School of Ayurveda and Physician’s Assistant at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center; and Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, senior faculty member of The American Meditation Institute. According to Pamela Shervanick MD, who is a board certified psychiatrist in Barrington, Rhode Island and a recent AMI conference participant, “This conference has been life changing! Everyone in every facet of life should experience this. I’m so grateful for you and your institution and all involved for bringing truth to doctors with love and compassion. This is a light the world needs to see.”

In addition to Dr. Shervanick, numerous medical pioneers and healthcare professionals such as Mehmet Oz MD , Dean Ornish MD and Bernie Siegel MD have also endorsed AMI’s core curriculum. Previous conference attendees have also noted that the material presented has made a beneficial impact toward their personal and professional efforts at self-care.