This study regards the experience of implementing a professional internship intended to students of Occupational Therapy in Primary Health Care in a Federal University located in São Paulo State, Brazil. Occupational therapist profession in Brazil was inserted in this level of care to offer specialised support to teams, mainly concerning qualification of care to vulnerable and invisible populations (community, family and cultural aspects), health promotion, encouragement of team work, humanisation in health. Such curricular internship occurs since 2017 to students of the 4th and 5th years of undergraduate course, completing 240 hours. How is the practice programme in Primary Health Care organised in the pedagogic project? Which are the strengths and fragilities of this field, as far as education is concerned? Among the practice scenarios, there are Basic Health Unit, Family Health Strategy teams, Family Health Support Centre, Street Clinic and University Basic Health Unit, with tutors who establish the collaboration. The interns follow individual and group cases, take part in team meetings and actions for team qualification and are also supervised weekly by a professor. Among their strengths, we can list a diversified education, based on the most recent public policies for the level of care that represents the stepping stone to the health system. As well as the access to the occupational therapy professional in this first contact, if the team identifies such necessity. Regarding challenges, there is unawareness about professional practice, difficulty to access work instruments and resources, as well as physical space. We hope this experience can help other educational institutions to implement their practice programmes in and for the health system. Egresses report that enables learning to work in a team in different scenarios. Such strategy aims to form a generalist professional, with criticality regarding challenges and potentialities of Brazilian public health. Key messages This study reports the experience of a professional internship of Occupational Therapy in Primary Health Care, understanding the health system as a scenario for practice, teaching and learning. Educating occupational therapists to this level of care is necessary, in agreement with the attributes of Primary Care.
Family Health Support Centres (NASFs, in Portuguese) aim to develop interprofessional practices anchored in the assumptions of Primary Health Care, guided by the criteria of shared care specific professional interventions, management processes, interdisciplinarity, intersectoriality, Continuing Education in Health and health promotion. This health management methodology (Matrix Support) still represents a challenge to workers and managers, as it switches the logic of clinical thought from individual-centred, ambulatory and disciplinary care to collective, territory and interdisciplinary care. This study might illustrate and allow sharing of experiences about a work management format for multidisciplinary teams in Primary Health Care. A partnership between the University and the state health department was established in order to elaborate a collaborative, educational and supportive action. We formed a group of workers in the target area (24 municipalities and 18 teams) who had a focus on Continuing Education in Health using Institutional Analysis as theoretical reference. The main goal of the action was to provide spaces to share experiences and learning in the perspective of Continuing Education in Health. How does Continuing Education in Health support interprofessional practices in the field of Collective Health? Among the main results, we list: reflection about organisation practices of multiprofessional work, reflection about care practices and clinic management in the technical-assistance and pedagogic perspectives of Matrix Support; encouragement to improve the services offered in this level of care and their relationship with other points of the network. This experience showed us the importance of three main aspects: Continuing Education in Health, as a strategy of critical analysis about work and workers; the partnership and integration between teaching and service; and interprofessional formation processes (necessary to NASF and Collective Health). Key messages Continuing Education in Health is a strategy to deal with challenges and possibilities of interprofessional practices in the field of Collective Health. Enabling experiences and providing spaces for health professionals to share experience and learning.
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