The experience of finitude for the (re)signification of death in medical education

Abstract

This experience report outlines the implementation of a curricular activity in the second year of the Medical course at a private university located in the countryside of São Paulo, Brazil, aimed at fostering student reflection on the meanings of death and dying. Grounded in socio-anthropological, philosophical, and bioethical approaches, the experience sought to break the taboo of death as failure by promoting an early and ethical engagement of students with real situations in palliative care and other contexts within a cancer treatment hospital complex. The methodology included theoretical preparation, observation in small groups across different hospital settings, and reflection sessions mediated by healthcare professionals and professors, enabling the processing of the complex subjective dimensions of finitude, illness narratives, and the caregiving experience. The experience highlighted the importance of overcoming the traditional biomedical perspective, humanizing medical education, and strengthening the understanding of death as an indispensable aspect of comprehensive clinical practice. It also pointed to the need for pedagogical spaces that systematically integrate theory and practice on terminality, including guiding questions for reflection, thereby fostering a rupture with emotional shielding and the illusion of omnipotence often cultivated in the medical environment. By being exposed to the radical vulnerability of others, students are invited to recognize their own fragility, thereby developing compassion.