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Advancing Breast Surgery for Women
M. Lisa Attebery, DO, FACOS General Surgeon
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Awarded Top Doctor, Philadelphia, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Cancer Liaison Physician Committee Member, Commission on Cancer
Fellowship, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Bryn Mawr, PA
Residency, Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Medical Degree, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences,
Kansas City, MO
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22 302Health issue 2.2017-18
fulness as an effective solution to the con- flicts and stresses that face our youngest in the school setting, one that can resem- ble the workplace in terms of interperson- al challenges and deadline-oriented tasks.
“It gives them that opportunity to be aware in the moment, so they can choose what to do, rather than go right into re- action mode,” says Infante, whose com- pany has held training at local YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and even exclusive St. Andrew’s School.
In the Brandywine School District, children as young as 5 are now getting a daily dose of mindfulness thanks to Mark Overly, principal of Carrcroft Elementary. Inspired by a friend who is pioneering mindfulness in Texas schools, Overly has implemented “mindful moments” into the daily routine—from the chaotic arriv- al of buses in the morning to those dread- ed moments when a student is called to the principal’s office.
“The huge difference I’ve noticed is when kids come to my office really up- set, they’ve now been taught some coping skills: What does it feel like to be calm? How do you make yourself calm? Now they have skills where they can get calm and I can talk to them about what happened,” says Overly, who is now helping introduce the practice to other elementary schools inside and outside of the district.
Since starting the effort, Carrcroft has seen discipline referrals drop sharply. Overly is convinced that today’s schools simply must reach beyond academics and teach young people the skills needed to cope with life as well.
“We’re finding a bigger need for social and emotional learning to also happen in school,” he says, especially in a system that seeks to be inclusive of at-risk children from unstable homes and neighborhoods.
And the lessons of mindfulness are be- ing embraced by the teachers as well. “We find that teachers can get burned out. Every day, we just take in other people’s problems. We have to be aware of that, and the need to treat ourselves, self-reg- ulate ourselves,” Overly says.
The stresses can be no less gripping on UD’s seemingly idyllic campus, where the mindfulness movement is getting a solid push from administration and staffers. The university’s “Be Well Udel” employee wellness program now incorporates mind- fulness training, and even the youngsters who attend UD’s children’s programs are