Institutional experience of an elective anesthesiology rotation for medical students at a Brazilian university: a descriptive report
Eduardo Maia Martins Pereira, Geraldo Raimundo Pereira, Emerson Seiberlich, Michelle dos Santos Severino Costa, Gustavo Rodrigues Costa Lages, Mirna Bastos Marques
Abstract
Despite the growing interest in anesthesiology among Brazilian medical students, national undergraduate exposure to the specialty remains limited, heterogeneous, and insufficiently addressed in the literature. We aim to describe the structure and institutional experience of an elective anesthesiology rotation for final-year medical students at a Brazilian public university. This report outlines a 12-week rotation divided into three phases: operating room, outpatient anesthesia, and pain medicine. The program integrates supervised clinical exposure, simulation-based training, structured lessons, and hands-on practice. Students were exposed to a wide range of anesthetic techniques, perioperative decision-making processes, and procedural skills. We discuss these results in light of current literature addressing anesthesiology education for medical students. This rotation represents a feasible educational model that addresses a recognized gap in Brazilian undergraduate medical education. Although initially descriptive in nature, its structured yet flexible design supports replicability across institutions and may contribute to improved procedural competence, career awareness, and standardization of anesthesiology teaching at the undergraduate level.
Keywords
References
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Submitted date:
09/15/2025
Accepted date:
07/03/2026
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