Presented By: Kenneth Onyedibe, Mercer University School of Medicine
Co-Authors: Jaehwa Choi, Mercer University School of Medicine
James Drummond, Mercer University School of Medicine
Angabin Matin, Mercer University School of Medicine
Manish Mishra, Mercer University School of Medicine
Iuliia Zhuravlova, Mercer University School of Medicine

Purpose
Epidemiology has become essential for medical professionals. In the Microbiology course of our Master of Science in Preclinical Sciences (MSPCS) program we conducted an interactive introduction to Epidemiology (Epi-Day) where students learn how to track and study an outbreak.

Methods
Epi-Day is a two-week infectious disease outbreak simulation culminating in a day of data discussion and a quiz. Two randomly selected students were "infected" as index cases. Students received instructions outlining an "infected" student's actions (spreading and reporting the infection). Deidentified, collated data on the outbreak are then provided to students for analysis and discussion, in teams, following basic epidemiology lectures (Cohort vs. Case-Control study designs). Afterwards, students were asked to provide feedback in the course evaluation. Two independent evaluators rated responses as beneficial, neutral, or non-beneficial, and a third evaluator was invited if there was disagreement in assignment.

Results
Students provided diverse reflections on how they perceived the simulation. Of the 16 responses from two different academic sessions (2021 and 2022), 10 (62.5%) indicated it was beneficial, 4 (25%) non- beneficial, and 2 (12.5%) were neutral. Comments in "beneficial" group include: "They helped you think like an epidemiologist ...", "I think epidemiology day was beneficial because it gave us the chance to learn about cohort and case-control studies". Conversely, comments such as "Epi-day is not fun, its pure chaos and anxiety-inducing" were rated as non-beneficial.

Conclusion
Our implementation of Epi-Day in the 2-years prior served as a useful introduction for MSPCS students to basic methodologies utilized in epidemiology. Most students thought Epi-day was beneficial and the team-based learning design allowed students an immersive learning experience to understand epidemiological concepts. We are refining the design of future Epi-Day programs to address students' concerns and make this simulation more beneficial. Student reviews of year three Epi-Day simulation await the end of the semester.