Medical students from the Multicampi School of Medical Sciences in Caicó and the Central Campus of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (EMCM/UFRN) participated in a simulation of care for people in situations of sexual violence as part of the professional experience offered by the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Research in Health (Anita) in Macaíba. The action, carried out this week, is part of the list of activities of the experience at the institution and is innovative because it discusses real situations experienced daily by the multidisciplinary team at Anita when welcoming patients.

The clinical simulation was led by the multidisciplinary preceptors of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), social worker Alexandra Lima and psychologist Carla Glenda. Together with the students, they discussed aspects of the care provided to patients who are victims of sexual violence. The example studied is real and proves that violent sexual acts against women are common. The students evaluated the case of a 28-year-old woman, five months pregnant, who had been sexually assaulted. One day after the incident, when a man approached her with a knife as she was walking toward her home, the woman went to the Alfredo Mesquita Filho Regional Hospital in Macaíba. 

At this unit, she received her first treatment and reported the incident superficially, as she was feeling embarrassed and afraid to tell her family. Two days later, she was referred to Anita, which is a referral unit, to receive care in the open-door service for victims of sexual violence. 

Based on this history, medical students from EMCM and UFRN Central Campus discussed the case in pairs and trios and presented the care flow that should be adopted for the patient. With this, they were encouraged to recognize the types of violence, define the dynamics of reception in the health unit, the assistance to be provided to the victim and identify the points in the health network that should be activated to provide continuity of care.