Medical education and cultural diversity in Chile. A pending dialogue

Abstract

Medical education in Chile has a good research productivity. National educators are skilled in complex curricular design processes and in didactic innovation. However, the question of what it means to be doctor in a society that moves towards interculturality, has not been addressed thoroughly. Using the structure of a clinical record, we outline our critical view about the relationship between medical education and diversity. To describe the medical history, we refer to some variables of the training process such as the Hegemonic Model of Medicine, the epistemological beliefs of the students, the hidden curriculum and the educational environment. Then, the empirical evidence of the clinical picture, diagnosis and internationally recommended treatment is described, to end with a local therapeutic proposal.