The action of leading

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Ana Carolina Magnavita Costa, a second year medical student from  Universidade Tiradentes, Aracaju-SE, Brazil. She is affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writers and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

All areas of today’s world must undergo rapid changes If they want to evolve. An example of this is our educational systems; which constantly look for significant improvements to their teaching. However, such progress does not occur if all its members are not engaged, especially the young students. Thus, cooperation between educators and students – in this case, medical students – is necessary so that the medical educational system is developed and, also, leadership among young future doctors is achieved.

Although some people are already born with leadership profiles, others need to be thought how  to develop it.  Thus, for leadership and youth engagement to take place, it is necessary for medical students to adopt an active and engaged posture in the construction of their teaching. No longer just receivers of information. Therefore, from the moment this behavioral changes takes effect, the individual tends to find it easier to assume leadership roles, which will help in their adaptation to society and their productive life.

A survey done by medical students from at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), between April and June 2008, was undertaken with the aim of understanding more about active participation among students engaged in a newly developed study environment. This research identified 36 students that assumed leadership roles within the Faculty Program, who were also questioned about their engagement. The motives behind those student’s involvement were: commitment to the quality of the institution, collaboration with good colleagues and teachers, learning new skills, and more.

Therefore, the medical students in such research, aiming for curriculum innovation, improvement of individual, and collective performance and learning, invested in taking on leadership roles. This reality must be expanded to other students in the aforementioned area; because despite the inexperience, youth leadership promises new and modern creations, in addition to creating new opportunities for the job market and for itself.

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Tortolero Portugal R, Figueroa González EG, Gómez Romero JGI, González Herrera MB, Tortolero Portugal R, Figueroa González EG, et al. Rasgos de liderazgo predominantes en estudiantes de la Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango. RIDE Revista Iberoamericana para la Investigación y el Desarrollo Educativo [Internet]. 2022 Dec 1 [cited 2023 Jan 27];13(25). Available from: https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2007-74672022000200014&lang=pt 

Bicket M, Misra S, Wright SM, Shochet R. Medical student engagement and leadership within a new learning community. BMC medical education [Internet]. 2010 Feb 26 [cited 2020 Jun 10];10:20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20187953 

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 Liderança jovem: o impacto e as vantagens de ter líderes das novas gerações • Penser Desenvolvimento Estratégico [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2023 Jan 27]. Available from: https://penser.com.br/lideranca-jovem-o-seu-impacto/ 

IFMSA Policy Document Meaningful Youth Engagement in Medical Education [Internet]. Available from: https://ifmsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Meaningful-Youth-Engagement-in-Medical-Education.pdf 

About the author

Ana Carolina Magnavita Costa is second year medical student from  Universidade Tiradentes, Aracaju-SE, Brazil. She is affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting.

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