Monitoring metacognition and well-being in a medical pharmacology course: the role of information technologies

Abstract

<b>Abstract ID 13618</b> <b>Poster Board 191</b> <b>Introduction:</b> Metacognition is one of the most important thinking skills in any area of knowledge. This skill is particularly important in areas such as medicine or pharmacology, where health professionals must make complex decisions when providing care to patients or communities. There is little literature on how to promote, assess, and track metagnition in health sciences students. This self-reflection is especially important after the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed learning and teaching systems for several cohorts of students. Journaling is an effective strategy for self-assessing our actions, mapping out plans, prioritizing tasks, and managing stress and anxiety. Student response systems facilitate the capture of information on student behaviors and knowledge in and out of the classroom. The objective of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of student diaries and student response systems as a strategy to improve productivity, planning, study methods, and mental health of students in a medical pharmacology course. <b>Methods:</b> Over 2 years, since 2021, our medical pharmacology course has formally implemented weekly journaling as part of course activities. At the beginning of the semester students contribute to review and adapt a list of questions about physical and mental health care, meeting goals and commitments, study methods, perception of learning and teamwork. Each week students choose and thoughtfully respond to 4-5 questions from the list in a private forum on the institution9s LMS. At the end of the semester students answer a short survey that evaluates their perception of the usefulness of the journals. In addition, during the two semesters of 2022 we are testing the effectiveness of a Student Response System, as a tool to collect information on study strategies, well-being and mental health in medical students. <b>Results:</b> We have collected responses from 143 students, who reported that keeping a journal was helpful in improving their physical and mental health (63%), organizing their homework and assignments (75%), achieving their goals (89%), reflecting on their role as a person (83%) or student (90%). Of the available categories, the topic that students most liked to write about was "taking care of their physical and mental health" (64% of responses). Students felt that writing about their goals and commitments (92%), and about their study method and assignments (83%), helped them to better organize their time. Although 78% of students reported that they liked to reflect on teamwork, only 58% felt that the journals helped them improve the way they worked with colleagues. <b>Conclusions:</b> Students rated the journals positively as a planning tool in their academic tasks and for maintaining their mental health, giving an overall rating of 7.97/10. We are currently analyzing Data Science tools to curate data collected through Student Response Systems to generate a dashboard that facilitates tracking student progress and well-being during an academic semester, and throughout their programs. <b>Support/Funding Information:</b> FAPA grant to Ricardo Pena from the School of Medicine and the Vicepresidency for Research at Universidad de los Andes