Manifestations of Cognitive Overload in Medical Education Workplace Learners

• In Event: Toward a Greater Understanding of Well-Being and Burnout in Professions Education: Uncovering Contributing and Protective Factors

Abstract

Cognitive load theory holds that when working memory is overloaded, learning and performance suffer. Professional workplaces exert high levels of cognitive load on learners, but how cognitive overload manifests in such settings is unknown. We used template analysis to analyze transcripts from interviews with 42 experienced workplace teachers working and teaching in critical care and gastrointestinal endoscopy. Analysis revealed four primary ways they saw cognitive overload manifesting among learners: performance, physical manifestations, verbal utterances, and responsiveness. Participants’ narratives differed by setting; whereas intensive care teachers focused more on sociocultural manifestations, endoscopy teachers discussed more embodied examples. Professional workplace teachers should observe carefully for evidence of cognitive overload in their workplace learners so that it can be addressed to improve learning.

Authors

• Justin Louis Sewell, University of California - San Francisco

• Lekshmi Santhosh, University of California - San Francisco

• Patricia S. O'Sullivan, University of California - San Francisco