Journal of Education & Social Policy

On Behalf of an Ethical Encounter: The Influence of Health Professionals’ Training on Clowning on the Quality of Health Communicational Processes
Morgana Masetti

Abstract
Medicine is, above all, a social science, a process that involves not only technical but also human relationships. It’s a place through which we can live experiences related to life, death, suffering, and loss. However, the current structure of medicine impedes the of “flowing” this process. Medical training gives major focus to procedures, symptoms and technical knowledge, and everything that cannot be named under this knowledge framework is not incorporated in health professionals’ education. In an attempt to reverse this situation, several groups of health students in Brazil include in their training - via university extension programs - preparatory courses to act as clowns in hospitals. Through this endeavor, the students are claiming for one important goal: go beyond the university’s learning experiences; thru immersive and grounding experiences on the physical senses (to look, hear, touch) as well as on the reflection about issues such as health, illness, and healing. In this communication, the author shares the training intervention that was developed (from 1998 to 2012) in Doutores da Alegria Training Center, Brazil. By the use of games, promptness, and music improvisation, these workshops aim to encourage the quality of health professionals’ communication processes. The research-action process developed around this formative experience will be the focus of reflection. Evidence collected over 14 years of intervention and research (based on systematic records of lessons and evaluations conducted during this period) show the need to create care experiences for health caregivers, and to generate channels of communication, joint reflection, and preparation for the use of these fundamental skills.

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