Abstract

GONZALEZ MENENDEZ, Ricardo. The cultural and spiritual aspects in medical training: appreciations of the 5th year medical students. Rev Cubana Med Gen Integr [online]. 2004, vol.20, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3038.

94.6 % of the 5th year medical students in their semestral studies of Psychiatry answered an anonimous self-applicable survey after taking part in a reflexion and debate activity on the topic of man as a bio-socio-cultural and spiritual unit. The survey had 6 questions to be anwered at a thermometer scale from 1 to 10, where 1 represented the minimum evaluation and 10 the maximum. It explored the criteria on the professional significance of the cultural and the spiritual aspects, as well as the level of development attained by doctors and students of the faculty as regards these aspects. Their considerations on the means that should be used to develop even more both educative objectives were also taken into account. The results evidenced a clear differential conceptualization between what is properly cultural and spiritual, and the consistent prioritization of the spiritual aspect over the cultural one, despite recognizing the overlapping and potentialization of both aspects in the health professional's integrality. The specific recommendations made to attain and improve these objectives agreed with the national programs implemented for the increasing development of the culture and spirituality of our population, and they also made emphasis on the transcendence of the exemplarity of professors.

Keywords : Cultural factors; spirituality; medical students.