title: [Intensive care medicine on medical undergraduation: student's perspective].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are deficiencies on Intensive Medicine (IM) teaching in most of medical undergraduate schools. Those deficiencies may imply damages on their clinical competence. The objective of this study was to analyze current status of IM teaching and the medical undergraduate student interest in this speciality.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was performed in 2005. We applied a self-reported questionnaire to enrolled students between the sixth and the last semesters of two medical schools from Salvador-Bahia. The questionnaire contained questions about students' interest and knowledge on IM, and opinion on IM teaching in their schools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We studied 570 students. Most of them (57.5%) had never realized a clerkship in intensive care unit (ICU) despite classifying its usefulness as high (mean of 4.14 ± 1.05, in a scale from 1 to 5). IM interest was high or very high in 53.7% of sample. Almost all students (97%) thought that IM topics should be more explored at their curriculum. Only 42.1% reported to be able to assess a critical care patient and this assurance was higher among students with previous clerkship in ICU (p < 0.001). Shock, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and sepsis were the most interesting topics in ICU for students' opinion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study revealed a high interest in IM among medical undergraduate students. However, most had never practice a clerkship in ICU, demonstrating to be an important factor on undergraduate student performance faced to a critical care patient.
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Alessandro de Moura
authors.initials: Ade M
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Ligia Carvalho
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Almir Galvão Vieira
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bitencourt
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Carlos Eduardo Cerqueira
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rolim
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Tiana Mascarenhas
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Godinho
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Maurício Valverde
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Liberato
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Fernando Cezar Cabral
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Oliveira Filho
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Ana Bárbara Galvão de
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Ana Paula Soares da Silva
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Marcelo de Jesus
authors.initials: Mde J
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: João Paulo Maciel
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Paulo André
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Jesuíno
authors.affiliation: Liga Acadêmica de Medicina da Bahia.
authors.forename: Sydney Agareno de
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Souza Filho