Representación semántica del término ‘psicología médica’ en estudiantes de medicina: un estudio longitudinal

espanolIntroduccion. La psicologia medica constituye una parte esencial en la formacion integral del alumno de medicina. Poco se ha estudiado sobre la manera en que este la concibe. Objetivo. Analizar el proceso de estructuracion y reestructuracion que el estudiante de medicina realiza en torno al concepto de ‘psicologia medica’. Sujetos y metodos. La muestra de estudio estuvo integrada por un grupo de alumnos de la licenciatura de medico cirujano de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, perteneciente al Programa de Alta Exigencia Academica, y al que se dio seguimiento durante los cinco anos de sus estudios. Se llevo a cabo un estudio observacional, longitudinal y prospectivo con cortes transversales anuales, con un analisis cuantitativo y cualitativo de la informacion obtenida, utilizando el metodo de redes semanticas naturales. Resultados. A partir de las ocho palabras que los alumnos asociaron con el termino estudiado y que prevalecieron a lo largo de los cinco anos de la investigacion, se obtuvo la siguiente definicion: ‘La psicologia medica considera a la mente del paciente dentro de la relacion de ayuda por parte del medico, que comprende su personalidad en pro de la salud’. Conclusiones. El estudio sistematico de la asignatura ‘Psicologia Medica’ parece brindar al alumno recursos que favorecen la consolidacion de terminos que permanecen a lo largo de sus estudios y que se reflejaran en una futura practica profesional mas humanista. EnglishIntroduction. Medical psychology constitutes an important part of the formation of a medical student and little has been studied on the way these students conceive it. Aim. To analyze the structural and restructuring process in medical students of the term ‘medical psychology’. Subjects and methods. The sample was formed by a group of students from the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, who belonged to a Higher Academic Demands Course and was followed during their five years of studies. It was a prospective, observational, and longitudinal with annual cross-sections study, with quantitative and qualitative analysis of the information obtained through the implementation of the natural semantic network method. Results. From the eight words that were constant throughout the years, the next definition emerged: ‘medical psychology considers that the mind of the patient in relation to the help the doctor gives helps to understand his personality in favor of his health’. Conclusions. The systematic study the subject of ‘Medical Psychology’ seems to give the students resources to help consolidate terms that will be with him all along his studies and hopefully will permit him to develop a humanistic attitude that will remain with him during his professional life.