Humanistic training for nursing students through interprofessional education
Keywords:
interprofessional education; humanistic education; nursing students; narrative medicine; humanistic careAbstract
Introduction: The education of nursing professionals with a solid humanistic foundation constitutes a central topic for academic reflection. Interprofessional education emerges as a promising strategy to cultivate empathy and patient-centered care. However, a scientific contradiction persists: while international organizations recommend interprofessional education as a pathway to humanize care, empirical evidence does not clarify whether mere interaction among disciplines suffices to internalize humanistic values or whether explicit pedagogical mediations are required. The objective was to analyze the available evidence on interprofessional education as a pathway for humanistic education in undergraduate nursing students.
Method: A systematic review (march an august de 2026) adhering to the PRISMA 2020 statement was conducted. The search was executed in SciELO, Redalyc, DOAJ, Scopus, and Latindex. Of 87 articles assessed in full text, 75 were excluded (37 for not addressing the IPE-humanism intersection and 38 for not including undergraduate nursing students). The final sample comprised 12 studies. Methodological quality was assessed with RoB 2, CASP, AMSTAR 2, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
Results: Narrative and reflective interventions improved empathy, professionalism, and humanistic care. Interprofessional education strengthened mutual respect, communication, and role clarity. The main barrier was weak curricular institutionalization. The overall quality of evidence was considered moderate-high.
Discussion: Interprofessional education constitutes an enabling platform for humanism, but requires complementation with explicit methods such as narrative medicine, ethical reflection, and guided clinical mentorship.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mariela Hernandez Saínz, Estrella Rosa Viamontes Pelegrín, María Cristina Pérez Guerrero
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