Medical education in Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to describe and analyze medical education in Brazil, a history of over 200 years. As in most European countries and influenced by the Flexner Report, an undergraduate medical course in Brazil takes 6 years. Recently, medical education research has been advocating a shift from a teacher-centered and hospital-based approach to student-centered and community-based education. Nevertheless, a huge variation exists among Brazilian medical schools. The physicians’ supply program known as “More Physicians” has strongly impacted the number of medical schools in Brazil, which is growing rapidly. Professors of medicine from several institutions and other stakeholders have alerted authorities to the risks of operating so many schools without adequate time to prepare teachers, clinician-educators, curricula, and sufficient pedagogical structure to ensure quality medical education. The possibility of an imminent catastrophe in medical education has united stakeholders in pursuit of a guarantee of quality maintenance. This effort has resulted in the creation of an independent accreditation system approved by the World Federation of Medical Education. The study of the unbalanced relationship between stakeholders in medical education in Brazil until now has provided valuable information concerning the importance of having their roles and limits clear. It is possible that these findings might be replicable around the world.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

Funding by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [Grant ID: 6103-14-6].

Notes on contributors

Renato Antunes dos Santos

Renato Antunes dos Santos, M.D., Ph.D. Psychiatrist and Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.

Maria do Patrocinio Tenorio Nunes

Maria do Patrocinio Tenorio Nunes, M.D., Ph.D. Full and Associate Professor, Discipline of General Practice and Propaedeutic, Department of Internal Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil.