Tune in to Focus Carolina during morning, noon and evening drive times and on the weekends to hear stories from faculty members at UNC and find out what ignites their passion for their work. Focus Carolina is an exclusive program on 97.9 The Hill WCHL, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Cheryl L. Woods Giscombé has been a Tar Heel her entire life — she was born at Carolina while her father, one of the first African American dental students at the school, was studying. Now, Giscombé is a distinguished professor trained in nursing and psychology. In this special edition of Focus Carolina, she talks about how mindfulness can play a role in reducing anxiety.

“Self-care is important for everyone right now — be it healthcare professionals on the front lines, other staff in hospitals and clinics, people who work in grocery stores, delivery people, but also just regular human beings who were trying one way or another to cope with COVID-19,” said Giscombé. “… Caregivers tend to put themselves last — they’ve often been called to help others and they wake up every day with a mindset of ‘how can I help other people?’ — and so when they put themselves on the back burner, they can be at risk for burnout.”

Self-care is important for everyone right now, she says, whether it is health care professionals on the front lines, other staff in hospitals and clinics, people who work in grocery stores, delivery people — anyone trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-care may include taking time to exercise, going outside if possible, or practicing meditation.



In her work, Giscombé has begun to specifically target and teach nursing and medical students meditation techniques and mindfulness practices that will — hopefully — lead to higher-quality care for both patient and practitioner.

“One other great thing that I get to do in [my] role is to teach mindfulness to our nursing students and medical students,” said Giscombé. “… So, now we have a mindfulness class that nursing and medical school students can take for credit in the school of nursing and in the school of medicine, andthat has been very gratifying because we know that it’s helping healthcare providers provide better high quality care.”

According to Giscombé, putting these practices and techniques in place leads to an overall increase in well-being that translates well in the medical profession.

“So, it’s another way that we can improve the well-being of those around the world,” said Giscombé. “It’s a multi-pronged approach. We teach the students how to practice mindfulness meditation. We teach them about research in mindfulness meditation, and we talk about how mindfulness can be used in their patient care.”

Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill



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