Historically, as an art and science, medicine was associated with humanist values. After distancing it self from such values in the 19th century, medicine is currently tending to reclaim its origins. Medical schools bear the responsibility for training professionals committed to dealing with all the determinants of the health-disease process. This study features a qualitative analysis of data from observations performed in collective scenarios within a teaching and patient care setting in amedical school in southern Brazil. The objects of the study were the physical settings and their possibilities and limitations, and the actions and attitudes of users, faculty, employees, and especially students involved in practical activities in the department, describing communications aspects among the groups, instruments for empowerment, and differences in the structuring of outpatient clinics in fivemedical specialties. Forty hours of observation revealed daily experiences that were still far fromthe ideals of humanization, displaying superficial relations, rare attitudes of care andrespect for others, aloofness in patient care, and inopportune behaviors among colleagues. The article aims to contribute to a revaluation of the human dimension in the teaching and learning processes in medical school, in the sense of preparing graduates to know, understand, and act in a committed, affective, and effective way in accordance with the health sector's new trends and demands.
Medical Education; Humanism; Sleep; Health Sciences