Taller de injusticias epistémicas: uso de métodos narrativos para el aprendizaje en bioética

Introduction

Addressing epistemic injustice in health from a bioethics education perspective can be complex, tedious, and eventually unsuccessful. Narrative practices in medical education can help clarify and reflect on complex, sometimes ambiguous concepts. This article presents an innovative educational experience in bioethics, which involves narrative practices, based on a practical-reflective workshop modality.

Methods

A practical-reflective workshop was implemented, which was mandatory, included in the course Professionalism and Practice of Medicine II, taught in the second year. The general topic to be explored was Epistemic injustices in health. 69 students participated. After brief reading material was provided, the topic was presented in a 20-minute session. Then, in small groups, they read a story selected to illustrate the content, developed some reflective proposals in groups, and finally, it was discussed in a plenary session. Afterwards, illustrative vignettes of the topic were distributed among the participants and simple, reflective questions were provided. The activity was evaluated by means of a feedback survey.

Results

Student participation was active and proactive, generating a rich discussion in small groups and then in plenary. In the surveys, they had a positive evaluation of the activity, highlighting the learning in small groups as very favorable, based on the reflection fostered in different narrative formats.

Conclusion

Narrative methodologies illustrate complex concepts such as epistemic injustice and facilitate understanding issues of bioethics and medical professionalism, motivating deep reflection in students in the first years of medicine.