Analysis of the Approach to Sleep Disorders in the First Year Medical Curriculum

Abstract

It is considered that there is a gap in the diagnosis of sleep disorders, which can lead to several cardiovascular, autonomic and metabolic complications, as well as a high number of traffic accidents. For these reasons, we conducted a literature review on the medical curricula C and D and the syllabi of Morphophysiology III and the Nervous, Endocrine and Reproductive Systems course in order to describe the approach to this topic and the possible existence of a hidden curriculum which prevents graduates from mastering the tools to provide proper care to patients suffering from sleep disorders. We aimed at describing health problems related to the nervous system included in the curricula C and D as well as the corresponding objectives and content in Morphophysiology III and Nervous, Endocrine and Reproductive Systems courses. We concluded that sleep disorders are not reflected in the curricula as health problems to be addressed by the family physician, which poses a risk for proper screening of these disorders and leads to their underreporting. Only a small number of hours are devoted to this topic in the program of Morphophysiology III and even less time in the curriculum D. This can compromise proper consolidation of content related to sleep disorders.

Keywords

• trastornos del sueño
• programas de estudio
• currículo