Analysis of the teaching of death and dying in brazilian medical graduation

Abstract

In Brazil, conceptions about death have changed several times throughout history, including in what concerns the process of medical training. In the twentieth century, the institution of the biotechnic and hospital-centered medical model entailed a profound detachment from the category in relation to finitude, whose study is based on the phenomena of tanatology. The act of dying, which had previously been considered natural and had taken place in the home, has since taken place in hospital beds, and it is the duty of the physician to combat it at all costs. For the health professional, the quest for healing often outweighs that of caring, and when that first practice is no longer possible, the resulting frustration can lead to an intense physical and mental exhaustion known as Burnout syndrome. As for the patient, the consequences of this process may be even more onerous, especially as regards the prolongation of their pain and suffering. Based on these aspects, the objective of this research was to investigate the insertion of the study of death in the 50 best medical universities in the country, according to the ranking of Folha (RUF) published in 2017. It is, therefore, a study of a documental base of the qualitative-descriptive type, which made it possible to show a profound deficit regarding the students' qualification for the process of death and care for the dying patient.