The construction and consolidation of the Unified Health System (SUS) in Brazil and the country's economic growth have sparked increasing discussion on changes in medical education. Initiatives to implement the National Curriculum Guidelines have expanded the range of strategies for changes in training for future physicians. In order to better understand these changes, we applied on-site questionnaires to 1,004 medical interns in 13 medical schools in six States of Brazil from 2004 to 2007, and conducted interviews with students, faculty, and health administrators. This article highlights what graduating medical students think of their training at the beginning of their professional careers. Approximately 19% of the graduates feel prepared to practice medicine immediately; 81% want to seek additional training; 63% wish to become "specialists"; and only 20% want to work in general practice like the Family Health Program (only 5% want to work in small towns). There are discrepancies between what the students want to do, how prepared they feel, and what they actually end up doing. This study provides data that can help improve medical education in Brazil according to the demands of the Unified Health System and integration between teaching, services, and the community.
Medical Education; Medical Work; Unified Health System; Students of Medicine; Medical Schools; Changes in Medical Education
