Evaluating the teaching of humanistic physician-patient relations approach, prior to and after curricular changes at the UFJF Medical School.

Abstract

Medical teaching prioritizes technical excellence coupled with an ethical and humanistic approach.  This study aimed to assess the differences in the humanistic approach to the doctor-patient relationship, as taught to undergraduates from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora Medical School, Brazil, before and after curricular change.  A cross-sectional study, consisting of a structured questionnaire applied to students of the ninth period, before and after curricular change, was undertaken. 136 (88%) students answered the questionnaire, 57 of whom of the ninth period before the curricular change. The humanistic approach was more frequent after the curricular change, a difference that was statistically significant (p=0.0000, Fisher`s test; RCP=17.1; 95% CI 4.8-61).  The humanistic approach was also implemented earlier, as 80.9% of such instances happened up to the third period, as opposed to 0% before the curricular change.  The subjects linked to the psycho-humanistic axis and collective health were more related to the humanistic approach.  The humanistic approach started being emphatically and precociously introduced after curricular change, mainly through the new subjects of the psycho-humanistic axis.

Key-words: medical education; humanism; curriculum; medical students.