Introduction:

Medical students experience frequent and often severe mental illness and difficulties in mental health. These experiences were accentuated during the covid 19 pandemic. In this context, training in mindfulness and emotional balance can represent a useful tool for promoting mental health in this student group.

Experience Report:

In order to make this training available to medical students at a university in Minas Gerais, a course on Mindfulness and Emotional Balance was offered between September and December 2020 with 13 synchronous remote weekly classes, lasting two hours. After the course, the 16 participant students were invited to answer an online questionnaire with three sections: sociodemographic information, evaluation of the course based on the Satisfaction with Academic Experience Scale (ESEA); and assessment of impacts on subjective well-being based on the General Health Questionnaire 12 (General Health Questionnaire 12 - GHQ-12). Thirteen students answered the survey questionnaire. The discipline was considered satisfactory in all evaluated items. Within the 12 aspects of mental health surveyed, agreement with the impacts of the discipline ranged between 8 and 12 respondents.

Discussion:

In line with systematic reviews on the topic, the course of mindfulness and emotional balance seems to have positively impacted the students’ mental health, sociability and self-image. All pedagogical aspects evaluated were considered satisfactory by more than 80% of the participants, with the exception of those who specifically evaluated the remote format. The optional nature of the course may have significantly contributed to this result.

Conclusion:

Considering the particular circumstances of the pandemic, it was possible to provide an original proposal for a discipline on mindfulness and emotional balance that was positively evaluated by students. Further research is needed to confirm the association between participation in the discipline and the promotion of mental well-being.

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