Literature as a Teaching Resource in Humanist Education of Medical Students

Abstract

Objective: to demonstrate the benefits of including reading and reflection of Tolstoi’s Play Death of Ivan Ilich, in medical students who are starting their clinical activities. Material and methods: action participatory and qualitative research that was conducted between February and July 2010 in 50 students of the sixth semester of General Practitioner in the Faculty of Medicine of the São Camilo University Center in São Paulo, Brazil. Results: there were identified four main themes represented in personal phrases or texts which called the students attention: 1) The Need to combine technical and humanist expertise. 2) Parallels with real life. 3) Difficult situations clarification. 4) The Opportunity to reflect about pain, suffering and death. Conclusions: reflection about literary narratives teach us about compassion and empathy, essential qualities for a good medical practitioner and also to realize that sometimes patients do not require complex interventions, but simple actions taken by good will physicians.