Active methodologies in bioethics teaching: an evaluation by medical students

Abstract

Objective: To verify how medical students evaluate the activities with active methodologies developed in the bioethics discipline. Methods: The participants of this research were undergraduate students from the 3rd to the 6th year of medical school at a public university in a northeastern state of Brazil. They had to answer an online questionnaire that evaluated the activities with active methodologies used in the discipline. It was a descriptive, exploratory, prospective study with a quantitative approach. Results: A total of 127 students answered the questionnaire, of which 51.2% were male, the average age was 25 years old and 5th year of graduation students predominated. The Spikes activity was the one that the students liked the most to participate, to watch, and that they felt the most pleasure making, although it was considered the one that required more effort and was the most difficult to perform. The activity "clinical bioethics case" generated the most ethical reflections and ethical development, according to the participants, while the seminar generated the most knowledge. Conclusion: Active methodologies as a learning strategy provided greater student participation, in addition to providing more knowledge about bioethics and raising ethical reflections during the process.