Ricardo Peña MD PhD
Implementing information technologies to enhance educational outcomes in the healthcare sector
Ricardo Peña is a medical doctor, and pharmacologist with a passion for biomedical research and education. Since the age of 16 he has been actively involved in education, from secondary school to postgraduate education in the health sciences and engaged in biomedical research exploring the effects of aging and inflammation on cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease. He has worked in higher education administration, in the accreditation of academic programs, and managing research productivity programs.
Three personal observations orient his interest in education and research:
- All countries have talented people. Managing opportunities to exploit those talents is key to human and economic development.
- Developing countries have significant functional literacy problems that impact subjects' performance, regardless of their academic training level. The functional illiteracy in a segment of the population also makes them more susceptible to poor health outcomes.
- Critical and innovative thinking, fostered by education and research, is key to the growth of communities, institutions, and health systems. The accelerated changes brought about by information technologies and the industrial revolution 4.0 can shrink the productivity gap between developing and developed countries if properly managed and implemented.
Three Alternatives
In this session participants will apply, experiment, and review applications of gamification in medical education. You will explore how gamification can be used as a tool to promote ethical thinking and metacognition in medical students. Ricardo will also take you on a journey of the use of gamification in public or community health education.
