Medical education in Brazil has received serious criticism over the need to diversify teaching and lear ning environments, in order to develop new curricula and protagonists, allowing them to participate in a reflective and dynamic pedagogical process. The aim of the current study was to analyze the per ceptions of professors at the Professional Practice Unit of the Marília School of Medicine concerning the role of primary healthcare in students' professional training. A qualitative study was performed using focus groups and discourse analysis. Three categories were identified: the role of primary care in building the Single Health System; the role of the Single Health System in training new professionals; and the role of faculty in the professional development of new professionals. Primary healthcare plays a critical role in health professionals' training (especially that of critical and reflective professionals), with particular emphasis on medical professors' transforming and emancipative role.
Teaching; Learning; Single Health System; Health Education; Primary Health Care