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Michael Atkinson

Michael Atkinson

Senior Lecturer in Medical Education

Email:

michael.atkinson@sunderland.ac.uk

Pronouns:

he/him

About Michael Atkinson

Senior Lecturer in Medical Education

I am a Senior Lecturer in Medical Education, currently leading and teaching across the Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, and Master of Medical Education programs. My teaching also supports the MBChB Medicine curriculum through personal tutoring, lecturing on the science of mindfulness for the Unit 6 'Brain and Mind' module, and facilitating mindfulness workshops for years 1 and 2. My academic career includes previous roles as a Lecturer in Medical Education, Associate Lecturer in Psychology, and Mindfulness Teacher at Newcastle University, Teacher Educator in Post Compulsory Education and Training at the University of Sunderland, and A-level Philosophy and Critical Thinking Lecturer in Further Education.

At a national level, I serve as Co-Chair of The Association for the Study of Medical Education's (ASME’s) Mindfulness in Medical Education Special Interest Group (MiME). This leadership role involves the organisation and delivery of national conferences, chairing workshops for the ASME Annual Scientific Meeting, and facilitating ASME Megabite and Bitesize events. My work in this space extends to the assessment of MiME Awards, the publication of scholarly materials for ASME and the The Clinical Teacher journal, and facilitating workshops for the Junior Association for the Study of Medical Education (JASME).

With over 20 years of experience as a mindfulness practitioner, I have taught in diverse public and private contexts, including higher education, healthcare settings, and national events. As a mindfulness professional registered with the British Association for Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA), I continue to lead eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Compassionate Mindful Resilience (CMR) programs, alongside workshops, retreats, and private sessions. I have collaborated with prominent figures and clinicians in the wellbeing and healthcare fields, including Dr. Zoe Williams (ITV's Good Morning Britain), Prof. Ron Epstein (author of the book 'Attending'), and Dr Kathryn Mannix (TED speaker and author of 'With the End in Mind' and 'Listen'). My speaking experience includes the Pint of Science Festival, the BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership, and the Introduction to Clinical Leadership and Professional Development program (part of the MSc Clinical Science commissioned by HEENE). I also lead two mindfulness-based podcast shows.

In my scholarly work, I am a regular peer-reviewer for leading journals such as Mindfulness, Healthcare, Education Sciences, and Advances in Health Sciences Education. While my published research has historically focused on education and medical education, I am currently advancing several projects on topics such as essentially contested concepts, mindfulness and anatomical functioning, and professional identity formation. In February 2026, I published "Physician Care as a Moral Obligation in Health Care Practice" in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which currently sits in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric. I have also contributed to grant applications for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

My academic foundation includes a first degree in Philosophy, a PGCE in Post Compulsory Education and Training, and a Master in Education. I am also a Senior Fellow with Advance-HE (SFHEA).

I currently live in Durham with my family.