Avaliação da competência de estudantes de medicina no tratamento farmacológico do Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Introduction: Medical education in Brazil is guided by the National Curriculum Guidelines (DCNs), which define the core competencies to be developed by future physicians. Among the priorities outlined in these guidelines is the management of chronic diseases with high morbidity and mortality, such as diabetes mellitus. Despite the broad range of available therapies for this condition, delays in optimizing pharmacological treatment are still observed. In light of this, it is essential to identify effective teaching and assessment strategies that can prepare medical students to prescribe safely and appropriately. Objective: To assess and enhance the therapeutic decision-making of medical students in the management of diabetes mellitus across different clinical scenarios through an educational intervention. Methods: This was a quasiexperimental, pre-post intervention study conducted with medical students from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in 2024. The intervention was structured in three phases: (1) Assessment of clinical and therapeutic knowledge on diabetes mellitus among second-year students using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), and among sixth-year students through a prescription simulation; (2) Delivery of a dialogued, lecture-based training session on the topic; and (3) Reapplication of the assessment tools to measure students’ learning progression. Results: The average scores of second-year medical students before and after the intervention were 8.0 and 13.67, respectively (p = 0.012). For sixth-year students, the average scores were 5.56 and 7.34, respectively (p = 0.0000004). In addition to the educational intervention, this study also produced a free e-book on the treatment of diabetes mellitus, intended for medical students and physicians. Conclusion: The use of active learning methodologies in medical education proved to be an effective strategy for enhancing the teaching and learning process, contributing to the development of more confident and competent professionals in the pharmacological management of diabetes mellitus.