Composition 3: Metacognition

Metacognition is thinking about thinking, or essentially, another way to describe it is: learning about learning.

You can learn material from a piece of paper or lecture for a test or some assignment, but that does not necessarily mean you understand the material. Undoubtedly, we all want that as. One, if you understand the content clearly, you do not have to put in as much time into studying later. Two, it’s nice if information you thought you had doesn't suddenly disappear.

Metacognition is that next process that kind of implants things in your head. It’s an extra step to the initial process of learning. And there can be several variables to metacognition. I would say learning is like a direct line. You follow it from point a to point b through a flat plane. Metacognition, however, is a much more complex collection of geometry. There are a multitude of angles you can add to the process to change the "shape" of those lines. You begin to analyze and look at things that make sense out of postulates and reconstruct in your mind more solidified theorems. You say, "okay, so X is this, BUT, how does X relate to something I've learned in the past?" "How does X connect to Y?" "How is knowing about X useful for applying new information?" "What other ways can I define X?" "Why does X even mean this?" Its just multi-faceted.

That is where we are taking pharmacology and clinical knowledge for future pharmacists. We do not want students to just know a medication’s side effect or what indication the disease state refers to. We want them to take three steps before moving when they get a call from a clinician. We want them to extrapolate the course of action prior to the P&T committee. We want them to modify the regimens that will manage the ten integrated medications a patient is taking while juggling the considerations of pharmacogenomics in their head. We want them to pick up the hidden cues of a lab order within an H&P summary that would resolve the visit prior to five different specialists speculating.

Metacognition reflects the future of pharmacy. It’s making a serious attempt at making more connections, and really, that's how you learn. Start integrating concepts with a new methodology- your limbic system will thank you.

Where have you effectively employed metacognition?

How can we revitalize the profession or academia to meet the feat?