Practitioners who are fully present convey that they are undistracted, uncompromised, able to see familiar situations in a new light, able to respond creatively to novel situations, and act as an advocate for the patient. Mindfulness may enhance the quality of data gathering and diagnostic reasoning. Being more mindful can train practitioners to deal more effectively with uncertainty by examining their own thinking processes and making them less subject to unconscious bias and prejudice. In the book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Suzuki describes a beginner's mind as a state in which there are more possibilities and one is not limited by one's expertise. Finally, mindfulness may increase the capacity for critical curiosity about the patient as a person.
Mindfulness can enhance the therapeutic relationship.
A mindful practitioner may move beyond complacency by challenging his or her own assumptions about who the patient is and who they themselves are as practitioners. This will help patients be and feel heard. By becoming more conscious of their own feelings, physicians become freed from categories, stereotypes, theories, and expectations that might otherwise limit their view of the patient. For these reasons, we believe that mindfulness is a prerequisite for empathy and altruism. Mindfulness may allow for patient education, behavior change, and collaboration.