Resumo

VAL, Alexandre Costa et al. “I’ve Never Been Told about That!”: the Teaching of Sexualities from the Perspective of Undergraduates at a Federal Medical School. Rev. Bras. Educ. Med. [online]. 2019, vol.43, n.1, suppl.1, pp.108-118. ISSN 1981-5271.  https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-5271v43suplemento1-20190140.

Health undergraduates and professionals feel embarrassment when facing issues concerning the sexuality of their patients. As a result, it is not uncommon to see the establishment of a superficial relationship, errors in diagnoses and the impossibility of giving treatment. Studies show that this difficulty is due to inadequate education of these professionals, especially regarding vulnerable groups whose experiences lie beyond the hegemonic heteronormativity which delimits the sexual field. In Brazil, there is limited research which aims to comprehend how this subject has been tackled in medical school. This investigation examined this issue and its main objective was to understand, from the perspectives of undergraduates at a federal medical school, how aspects regarding sexuality and gender are approached in the course. This is a qualitative research involving semi-structured interviews conducted with fifteen students in their final year of the course. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and examined based on content analysis. The subjects of the formal curriculum were also been analyzed, separating the titles of the classes which involved exclusively biological aspects from those which involved psychosocial aspects. Each one of these groups has been considered in relation to the total of content of the curriculum in order to assist us with the analysis of the interviews. The dialogue between the empirical categories and the bibliography shows the difficulty undergraduates feel in dealing with a theme that cannot be completely apprehended by technical and operational knowledge. The idea that the theme is not discussed in medical school contributes to hiding the fact that such a topic is, in reality, widely discussed. However, the approach used is organicist, contributing to the maintenance of binary, naturalized, essentialist categories which reinforce the norms that regulate the field of sexuality. Advocating the pivotal role that all individuals involved in medical education play, we finally discuss the need for qualitative changes in the curriculum which would enable us to build new forms of knowledge and performance. By valuing experiences, expertise and diverse pedagogical practices, these new forms can rupture the hegemonic dichotomies and hierarchies in order to positively transform social reality.

Palavras-chave : Medical Education; Sexuality; Medical Students; Curriculum.

        · resumo em Português     · texto em Português     · Português ( pdf )