Abstract:

Traditional teaching in health sciences has been strongly focused on the scientific basis of disease: pathophysiology, diagnosis and symptomatic manifestations, clinical outcomes and management, as well as therapeutic approaches, are usually complemented by classical basic training in cell biology, anatomy, molecular and biochemical processes, and the physiological regulation of organs and systems. The need to cover these complex and extensive branches of knowledge unfortunately leaves little room for the development of other competencies and skills that are increasingly considered critical for the training of healthcare professionals. These include communication skills, empathy with patients and their family and social circumstances or needs, among others. This humanistic view of health sciences education is gaining momentum and, given the already complex curricula, complementary activities and materials have emerged as powerful tools. In particular, the use of personal narratives related to disease and its consequences has previously demonstrated a clear potential to enhance empathy and awareness among health sciences students.

Our research group has developed, in recent years, a series of activities based on the use of graphic narrative works belonging to the Graphic Medicine movement, through comic book reading clubs in which students read and discuss specific works related to the subject in which they are enrolled. Our first results, obtained after several reading clubs and debates conducted in an elective subject on Nutrition and Dietetics (Medicine degree), showed that reading autobiographical comic books authored by patients suffering from eating disorders had a positive impact on students’ motivation and their awareness of the social determinants and consequences of the disease. Building on these preliminary efforts, in the present work we apply this activity to another elective subject of the same degree, Rare Diseases, which focuses on the clinical difficulties intrinsic to these complex and severe pathologies that impose a strong burden on patients, their relatives, and caregivers. The book selected was Una posibilidad, an autobiographical work by Cristina Durán and Miguel Ángel Giner, in which they recount the story of their daughter Laia, born with a rare genetic defect that caused neuronal damage severely threatening her life and resulting in significant dependency and specific medical needs. The activity included pre‑ and post‑reading questionnaires to assess students’ perceptions of the use of comic books as a teaching tool, as well as a specific set of questions aimed at evaluating the adequacy of the book’s content in relation to the academic material of the course. Finally, students were asked to answer a series of concluding questions intended to relate the insights gained from reading the comic to the theoretical content of the subject.

Our preliminary results show that these activities continue to enhance student motivation and can provide a complementary, more humanistic approach to the training of future healthcare professionals. Moreover, they can be easily transferred across subjects within health sciences degrees and across different academic years.

Keywords:

Medicine, deep learning, disease awareness, comics, reading club.