Dr. Gary Hsin

Dr. Gary Hsin is the Chief of Palliative Medicine at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and a Clinical Professor of Medicine (affiliated) at Stanford University School of Medicine. He provides care for patients and their families who are facing life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses. Both in the US and internationally, Gary teaches communication skills for practitioners treating seriously ill patients, including delivery of difficult news and tough conversations. He witnesses first-hand the difficulties of delivering information in an emotionally charged atmosphere where retention and comprehension is challenged. These experiences led Gary to the world of compassion cultivation, which explores ways to hone our innate compassion to navigate life’s challenges, improve resilience, and feel more connection to others. His work with Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and the Compassion Institute led to an exploration of the intersection of contemporary psychology and scientific research on compassion with sound techniques of personal growth and professional development. As a certified teacher in the Compassion Cultivation Training program, he has been teaching compassion cultivation to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health care and public health organizations to help address burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic. This program applies mindfulness and compassion cultivation to counter stress and burnout and to deepen one’s commitment and resilience in work and life.