Integration of socioemotional competencies in medical training: a case study on the assessment of an educational intervention in a disciplinary course

Abstract

Background Medical education faces the challenge of integrating socioemotional competencies into its curriculum to train more complete and humane health professionals. This study evaluates the impact of an educational intervention aimed at medical students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, focusing on the development of these competencies through the hidden curriculum of a physiology course. Methods The intervention adopted an integrated curricular design that included collaborative projects, guided debates, reflective journals, and role exchanges. A total of 31 undergraduate students participated, assessed before and after the intervention with the Adult Emotional Competence Inventory (AECI) and standardized disciplinary knowledge tests. The analysis focused on five areas: emotional awareness, emotional regulation, emotional autonomy, social competence, and life and well-being competencies. Results Significant improvements were observed in emotional awareness, emotional regulation, and emotional autonomy after the intervention, with no notable changes in social competence and life and well-being skills. Standardized test scores showed an increase, but there was no significant correlation with the development of emotional competencies. Conclusions The intervention was effective in enhancing certain socioemotional competencies in medical students, although it was not directly reflected in academic performance. It highlights the need for specific strategies to address all emotional competencies and suggests the importance of future research to better understand these dynamics within the educational field. Emotional education emerges as an essential component in medical training, fostering more resilient and empathetic professionals.