Submission ID 77797
| Code | OB-3-4 |
|---|---|
| At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: | |
| Category | Medical Education |
| Type | Oral |
| Will the presenter be a: | Student |
| Title | The Role of Art-Making as A Mindfulness Tool for Medical Students |
| Background/Purpose | Already known to be a population that experiences high rates of depression and anxiety, the mental wellbeing of medical students faced a challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic. Meditative mindfulness and art therapy have separately been shown to have a positive impact on the mental health of medical students, however no studies have investigated the impact of integrating mindfulness practice and art-making in medical students. We asked whether current medical students are using art-making as a tool for mindfulness practice (either intentionally or unintentionally) and probed what impact this may have had on their mental health during the pandemic. |
| Methods | This study was conducted using qualitative methodology, a convenience sample of five medical students was recruited. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted, data was coded and grouped into themes in an iterative fashion. |
| Results | For our findings we identified eight themes which were split into the categories 'The benefits of art-making as a mindfulness tool' and 'Engaging in art-making in medical school'. The benefits category included: quieting the mind: art as a mindfulness tool, unintentional processing of emotion, increased observance and openness, and connectedness. Engaging in art making contained four themes: decreased frequency, purposeful, lifelong art-making, and changed art. |
| Discussion | In each participant art was deep-rooted and entangled in all aspects of their lives. This innovative study acted to identify themes for our future research. Given our promising results our aim is to next investigate the effects of incorporating a purposeful mindfulness practice into art-making compared to art-making alone in medical students. |
| Keyword 1 | Art-making |
| Keyword 2 | Mindfullness |
| Keyword 3 | Medical Student Wellbeing |
| Abstract content most relevant to: (check all that apply) | Undergraduate Medical Education |
| Abstract Track - First Choice | Physician & Medical Student Health and Well-being |
| Authors | Mia Kennedy Mia Kennedy Carol-Ann Courneya |
