ABOUT SCFiM
Who we are
The Swiss Center for Flourishing in Medicine (SCFiM) is a network of dedicated educators, researchers, and clinicians who understand that the wellbeing of physicians is inseparable from the quality of care they provide. Founded in 2025 and hosted within the Medical Education Unit at the University of Fribourg, SCFiM brings together Swiss and international partners to develop, train, and research the foundations for flourishing in medicine.
A QUESTION, BEFORE YOU READ ON
You were trained to treat illness. Were you ever trained to stay whole while doing it — and if not, what have you been relying on?
Why flourishing?
Flourishing goes beyond burnout prevention. It helps to name two things that "healthcare" quietly holds together:
Illcare
Treating what has gone wrong — burnout lives here, named by its damage.
Wellcare
Tending to what keeps us well — flourishing lives here: meaning, growth, and full attention.
Just as the WHO defines health not merely as the absence of illness but as a state of wellbeing, flourishing describes a physician's capacity to bring full presence, compassion, and meaning to clinical work, even in the face of increasing systemic pressures. We think of resilience not as endurance but as growth: the deepening of one's values, professional identity, and capacity for authentic connection with patients and colleagues.
Fair working conditions are non-negotiable and they do not relieve us of a second task. Just as firefighters are trained both to fight fires and to protect themselves, physicians need more than clinical skill. Medicine teaches the doing of the job, but rarely the being of a doctor. That, too, can be learned, not as a substitute for better structures, but as the part only we ourselves can cultivate.
Our story
Prof. Raphaël Bonvin, Full Professor of Medical Education and Director and Dean of Medical Studies at the University of Fribourg, observed for years the rise of psychological distress and loss of motivation among medical students and young physicians. He began offering early responses: self-hypnosis courses from 2004, Mind-Body Medicine for students from 2016, and the Mindful Practice in Medicine workshop for physicians from 2023. Over time, a network of like-minded professionals formed around this work. In 2025, this community became SCFiM, a formal center anchored at the University of Fribourg, with a Swiss-wide and international reach.
Our approach
SCFiM integrates four evidence-based competencies drawn from the Mindful Practice in Medicine program developed at the University of Rochester:
Attentive, non-judgmental observation
Critical curiosity and beginner's mind
Unconditional presence
Reflective practice
These are not personality traits some are simply born with. They are capacities that can be developed, integrated, and embodied in medical education and everyday clinical work.
Recognition
SCFiM was designated a Flourishing in Medicine Center of Excellence by the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, effective February 1, 2025 — recognition shared with centers in Calgary, Kansas City, Geelong, and Singapore.
Our training programs are recognized by the University of Fribourg Continuing Education unit, the Swiss Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education (ISFM), and INAMI (Belgium).
The people behind the Center
SCFiM is anchored by a core team at the University of Fribourg, within a Swiss-wide and international network.
Raphaël Bonvin
Initiator · Full Professor of Medical Education
Sofia Zambrano
Eccellenza Professor
Lia Antico
Senior Lecturer and Researcher
Marco Mancinetti
Privatdozent
BEFORE YOU GO ON
What if caring asked us not to do more,
but to be present differently?
Get involved
Be part of a more humane medicine
Whether you want to train, teach, research, or simply connect with people who care about this work, there is a place for you here.
