Abstract
The mental status examination (MSE) is an important component of clinical assessment. Medical training programs must adjust their teaching methods to facilitate MSE learning. This study aimed to describe a set of playful and purposeful strategies developed in a public university in Brazil to teach about psychopathology and the MSE. The teaching strategies were developed in the form of word search, crosswords, and syllable puzzles to catch students’ attention and enhance their training process. They were designed to help improve visual perception, focused attention, processing speed and agility, vocabulary, and familiarity with specialized terminology. The results showed that the teaching strategies created a relaxed environment, providing instant feedback and allowing for productive failure. All students reported satisfaction with the learning experience. Games and creative activities, such as crosswords, word search, and syllable puzzles, can be effective teaching methods to be applied in medical schools or similar institutions where psychopathology and the MSE are taught.
Highlights
This study aimed to describe a set of playful and purposeful strategies developed in a public university in Brazil to teach about psychopathology and the mental status examination (MSE)
Games and creative activities, such as crosswords, word search, and syllable puzzles, can be effective teaching methods to be applied in medical schools or similar institutions where psychopathology and the MSE are taught
The aim of this study was to present some playful and purposeful activities designed to teach about psychopathology and the mental status examination from a phenomenological perspective, in line with the active approach to learning proposed by David Ausubel
Summary
These processes are assessed using the mental status examination, which is the most effective technique for assessing and interpreting mental phenomena and their variants. Psychopathology is viewed as both a science and a discipline that assesses and makes sense of abnormal and pathological human behaviors and subjectivity; it is at the heart of psychiatry In medical training, it should be included as a mandatory educational prerequisite in the curriculum for mental health professionals. It is a key element of the shared cognitive and intellectual identity of clinicians and researchers in this field (Stanghellini & Broome, 2014)
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