ABSTRACT
Medical students’ views on health and illness in the early stages of their degree course depend on their knowledge and past experiences as well as the amount of contact with medical practice and the reality surrounding this issue. The aim of this study was to understand the view of health and illness in the minds of future doctors and to delineate the relationships established between the notion of health and illness, the school curriculum, personal experiences, and the social and professional students’ trajectory throughout the course. A qualitative study was conducted, with a psychosocial questionnaire and semi-structured interviews used on students in the first, third, and sixth year at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp-EPM) in 2008. The material was subjected to content analysis, identifying the experiences and personal characteristics of each participant, as well their curricular and extracurricular experiences, and determining how the hidden curriculum influences both their views on health and illness as well as their career choice. A certain coldness may be noted in the doctor-patient relationship, as well as a greater distrust of patients. Graduating students demonstrated a need to protect feelings aroused by their experiences of the medical course. It is clear that students are aware of a more global and human view of their patients, however, it seems that they know this merely cognitively and are emotionally unable to put it into practice. This issue may be linked to the fact that they experience difficulties dealing with the emotional aspects of the doctor-patient relationship.
Medical Psychology; Medical Students; Health; Illness; Medical Education; Doctor-Patient Relationships