Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effect of the experience with clowning on the life of medical students and to identify what were the changes in their personal and academic life. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative study, carried out through individual semi-structured interviews with 13 medical students who participated in the extension project “Doutores Só Risos” at the José do Rosário Vellano University in Belo Horizonte. For data analysis, content analysis based on the categorization proposed by Bardin L (2016) was used. Results: The students showed interest in clowning, as they saw in this activity the opportunity to help people to face some situation of vulnerability, such as illness or social problem. It was observed that the clownery promoted changes in the students' lives, since it helped to improve communication, in addition to reducing shyness. The students also highlighted the improvement in the relationship with the patient, as they started to listen to them more, improved empathy and started to see the other in all their biopsychosocial aspect. Conclusion: It is concluded that clowning has the potential to promote changes in attitudes and behaviors in medical students, contributing to develop the necessary skills for greater humanization of medical care.