Empatia em Cena: O Teatro Como Prática Pedagógica Para a Construção de uma Medicina Mais Humanizada

Nádia Hellmeister Morali Barreira; Letícia Rodrigues Frutuoso

doi:10.21814/rlec.6535

Authors

Nádia Hellmeister Morali Barreira Departamento de Artes da Cena, Instituto de Artes, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2650-7817
Letícia Rodrigues Frutuoso Laboratório de Estudos sobre Arte, Corpo e Educação, Faculdade de Educação, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1433-2618

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21814/rlec.6535

Keywords:

theatre, empathy, humanised medicine, emotions in medical education, simulated medical consultations

Abstract

Research shows that, throughout medical school, students tend to experience a significant decline in empathy towards patients and peers. Faced with this challenge, we propose pedagogical strategies that use theatre as a means of exploring themes essential to professional training, creating a space for emotional learning and care. By employing reflection-in-action, the aim is to develop repertoires for dealing with situations that are difficult or far removed from ideals of care. After all, for health professionals to validate their patients’ emotions, they must first recognise and legitimise their own. In this experience report, we discuss the Medical Education Empowered by Theatre (MEET) methodology, which is grounded in Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Augusto Boal’s “theatre of the oppressed,” and is implemented through two approaches: simulated medical consultations and theatre classes. Theatre classes focusing on communication skills foster the “de-mechanisation” of the body — working not only on physical expression but also on habits, dogmas, and deeply rooted certainties (Boal, 1998/2014). This practice broadens the existential repertoire, strengthening otherness and empathy. Students’ testimonies highlight a gap in medical training: the lack of longitudinal humanist approaches, underscoring the urgency of curricular activities that sustain the learning environment as a creative, respectful, and vibrant space for reflection. In light of this, we advocate for the expansion of theatrical practices in medical education as a foundation for a more humanised medicine, committed ethically to the most vulnerable.

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Author Biographies

Nádia Hellmeister Morali Barreira, Departamento de Artes da Cena, Instituto de Artes, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

Nádia Hellmeister Morali Barreira is an actress, researcher, and theatre lecturer. She holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). She is a co-founder of the group Ó Positivo — Paciente Simulado (O Positive — Simulated Patient), in which she works as a simulated patient and theatre lecturer in Unicamp’s undergraduate medical programme, using the methodology Medical Education Empowered by Theatre (MEET). She also works at the Faculty of Speech Therapy at the University of São Paulo (USP). She has performed in several theatrical productions with Cia Bacante de Teatro and Minicia Teatro. She has participated in the production of educational videos for USP Bauru. She has taught theatre in schools, at the Department of Culture, in non-governmental organisations, and in a technical theatre course. Areas of interest: Performing Arts, Education, and Medical Education, with an emphasis on acting, interpretation, theatrical games, and improvisation.

Letícia Rodrigues Frutuoso, Laboratório de Estudos sobre Arte, Corpo e Educação, Faculdade de Educação, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

Letícia Rodrigues Frutuoso is a lecturer, actress, and simulated patient. She holds a doctorate and a master’s degree from the Faculty of Education at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). She graduated in Performing Arts from Unicamp. Her research encompasses transdisciplinary concepts in Performing Arts, Education, and Medicine, focusing on theatrical improvisation and techniques from the theatre of the oppressed. She works as an arts educator and simulated patient. She has experience in circus arts and has participated in several theatrical and public-space performances. She has acted in short films, worked as a casting coach, and been involved in educational video productions. She has taught in higher education at Anhanguera Educacional and given theatre classes for children and adolescents in both formal and informal education settings. Since 2015, she has taught theatre to medical students at Unicamp. She is one of the authors of the active learning methodology Medical Education Empowered by Theatre (MEET).

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