Gender, sexuality and medical education: experiences in a federal school that uses active learning methodologies

Abstract: Introduction: Sexuality is characterized as a device of power and Medicine plays a key role as one of the main action institutions. Medical education tends to ratify the heteronormative discourse and diagnose deviant patterns as a pathology. It is based on the binary categorization of individuals as an implication of their sexuality. The assessed medical course assumes the methodological proposal of the constructivist spiral, which seeks to guarantee the protagonism of the students, as well as the dialogue with their previous knowledge, using the concept of Meaningful Learning. Objective: To analyze the students’ experiences in the development of the competence profile related to gender and sexuality during medical school. Method: It is a qualitative research using focus groups with students attending the sixth year of the medical course. Result: The study indicates the students’ perception of the importance of active methodologies, as well as the early inclusion in the fields of practice. However, the thematic of gender and sexuality needs to be proposed in the list of triggers for the use of the constructivist spiral. Conclusion: The active teaching-learning methodologies can constitute a counter-hegemonic strategy in the face of the device of sexuality in guaranteeing biopower, as there is a reorientation of these contents in the curriculum.