The Power of Youth Medical Protagonism

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Caroline Gouveia Borba e Souza, 19 years old, 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.

During the 20th century, world phenomena transformed contemporary populations socially and culturally, facts that are reaffirmed in the 21st century with profound changes in the fields of work, science and technology. One of these changes reflects directly on the current view of the health concept, with the increased importance of studying the environment to better understand factors that determine the path that leads to illness, quality of life and health. In addition, for the new young generation, the results of these transformations are essential to allow them to live autonomously, as protagonists of their own stories. From this point of view, youth engagement and protagonism extends to the area of Medicine, in a way that causes changes in the health system that reflect on the entire community. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the role of medical students and the changes they can provide in the world of the 21st century.

In this sense, students act actively during graduation as mediators between academic knowledge and society, in order to disseminate information beyond the university environment. Also, this new generation recognizes their autonomy within the learning process and creates a favorable environment to the development of their capabilities, as can be seen in the Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodology adopted by some colleges, which values the active participation of the student in building their academic trajectory and encourages them to be socially active, critical and proactive. Another practical example of this scenario are the students who are affiliated to The International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), which are directly related to the development of projects that help in the medical skill acquisition and with representativeness in discussions about health that reflect in social intervention, dialoguing with other entities in search of defending the understandings established by their community and acting positively in the resolution of the guidelines.

Furthermore, the new generation of students recognizes their transforming role in medical education and as actors with autonomy and power to change the health care system. Besides, these future doctors fight for better health conditions, not just hospitals, but preventive ones, such as basic sanitation and immunizations, and defend more inclusive and humanized health systems that really see society as humans and not just patients in need of a possible cure, like was presented in the 20th century.

Hence, it is clear that, with student-centered medical education, there is the development of critical and investigative capacities, so that these future doctors will graduate knowing the reality, the functioning and the need of health services. Therefore, they will be more likely to become agents of change, being protagonists and leaders of phenomena that transform society.

References

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Jardim PC, Costa NG. The role of the graduation Medical student in the care of patients in long permanence ward of a medical hospital school. Revista Brasileira de Educação Médica [Internet]. 2008 [cited 2023 Jan 26]; DOI https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-55022008000100010. Available from: https://www.scielo.br/j/rbem/a/BVr6BsbFZQ59GnmbhBFbkmD/?lang=pt

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About the author

Ms. Caroline Gouveia Borba e Souza, 19 years old, is a second year medical student from Universidade Tiradentes, Aracaju-SE, Brazil. She has been affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) since 2022.