Presented By: Katherine Martínez Carmona, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Co-Authors: Belinda Carrión, Tecnológico de Monterrey

Purpose
The development of social responsibility and interdisciplinary collaboration is indispensable in the hidden curriculum of health students. Our goal is to evaluate the teachings biomedical students acquire unintentionally through exposure to marginalized communities and by sharing classrooms with students from other programs such as medicine, dentistry, nutrition, and psychology.

Methods 
For this descriptive study, we shared an anonymous and voluntary questionnaire with 1st, 3rd, and 5th-semester biomedical students through the university's social media.  Social responsibility was assessed by asking if activities in marginalized communities were perceived as their professional responsibility or as a course requirement. Involvement in extracurricular volunteering was also questioned. Concerning interdisciplinary collaboration, we inquired if sharing classes with other programs nourished the educational environment and their drive when choosing teammates. Question format was 3- and 5-point Likert scale, multiple-choice, and open-response.

Results 
86 (63.5%) responses were analyzed. Regarding social responsibility, 90% acknowledged it as their professional mission. 79% stated community visits promoted reflection on social, economic, and health discrepancies. 52% declared no involvement in extracurricular volunteering, 36% reported enrollment, and 12% did social service due to curricular demands. Concerning interdisciplinary collaboration, 78% agreed sharing classes provided diverse perspectives and when choosing teammates 68% did so regardless of their career. Medicine was chosen as the most nourishing career for sharing classes and dentistry the least. However, 21% agreed this created a bias from professors toward non-medical students (52% disagreed and 27% neutral).

Conclusion 
The students showed awareness of social discrepancies in unprivileged populations and took an interest in understanding their needs. We believe institutions should promote a socially responsible educational environment. Additionally, several students believed sharing classes with different programs could bias faculty. This invites us to question faculty's viewpoint on interdisciplinary courses and promote awareness of inclusion and non-discrimination regarding career choice.