Atendimento inicial ao queimado: proposta de um curso inovador para o aluno de medicina

Abstract

Burns are one of the most common injuries among emergency medical services, and their correct initial management is crucial in reducing morbidity and mortality among burned patients. Since 2013, Brazilian Burns Society (SBQ) promotes each year the National Course on Guidelines for Burns Assistance (CNNAQ), organized as modules, which trains doctors and other health professionals to perform the initial assistance to burned patients. However, the insertion of the burns theme during the medical graduation at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) is still insufficient, limited to one theoretical class during seventh semester (Discipline of Urgency and Emergency Medicine) and some practical activities during shifts within the Urgency Internship (12th semester). The author’s proposal is to develop an activity designed to teach the initial assistance to the burned patient, similar to CNNAQ, based on active methodologies, which is intended to be offered as a third moment of insertion of the theme during medical graduation. The activity, based on action-research methodology, and outlined as a one-day course, is divided in four modules focusing: 1) Initial evaluation and airway management, 2) Burn surface area measurement and fluid replacement, 3) Therapeutic planning and wound care, and 4) Referral criteria to burns treatment center. Only active methodologies of teaching and learning were adopted, as group solution of problem situations, roleplaying and elaboration of flow charts. Thirty-seven students from the Surgical Internship (10th semester) attended the modules and answered to questionnaires prior and after the activities, where the impact over the students’ perception related to the theme of burns was analyzed. The structure of the course and of its standardized modules is fully presented, and this allows for its reproduction and application at different scenarios. The author concludes that the proposal of curricular modification is feasible, with low costs and complexity, well evaluated by the students, and so proposes its adoption as a permanent activity during the Surgical Internship. Additionally, suggests offering the activity to other institutions, as a mini-course in the ways that are already done in the CNNAQ for graduated professionals, since it is a very reproducible methodology, which can also be adopted in a large range of disciplines.