Humanistic training in Medicine through dancing in the hospital: students’ perceptions

Abstract

Introduction: The humanization of assistance is associated to empathy, embracing, and effective communication, being part of the medical training. According to its nature, humanization requires methods that involve affections and stimulates critical thinking. Objective: Extensive literature shows the benefits of the arts in medical education; however, there are still few studies on dancing, the subject of this study, which was carried out by medical students and whose aim was to investigate hospital dancing in the teaching of humanization, from the perspective of medical students. Method: A qualitative action research study was designed, in which medical students performed choreographies for patients, companions and employees in three different wards of the teaching hospital. The action consisted of continuous cycles in the planning of interventions, performance, observing, reflection, and re-planning of subsequent actions, in a systematic manner and controlled by the researchers. Data production took place by direct observation, narratives and focal group. The data were analyzed using the content and thematic analysis methods. Results: For three months, 17 female and 7 male students between 18 and 24 years of age performed the action, producing data that was subsequently classified into 3 thematic categories: 1. Dimension of affection: contents of the student’s emotional character; 2. Care dimension: contents about caring for the patient; 3. Dance dimension: contents on dance in the humanistic training in Medicine. In the triangulation of the techniques, it was observed that joy, anxiety, and the perception of dance as an instrument of bonding were significant. The experience of changing socially-marked places for the student and the patient made the student face and overcome different feelings. The dance allowed the refinement of the look and the capacity to understand the other, taking into account perspectives that converge to or diverge from their own convictions. On the other hand, the students experienced the anxiety and joy of an encounter with themselves, perceiving dance as a pleasurable and humanizing activity. Conclusion: The dance in the hospital lead to experiences and reflections that stimulated the students’ self-knowledge, favored the student-patient relationship, and brought elements to understand the use of dancing in medicine, mainly for the teaching of empathy and humanized care.