Profile of medical graduates from a higher education institution in Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of medical schools in Brazil and, concomitantly, the interest in improving the quality of teaching in medicine has increased. One question resulting from this change is whether this increase in medical schools will imply the training of professionals capable of meeting the demands of contemporary society. One way to answer this question is to know the profile of the institutions’ graduates. Objective: To evaluate the profile of medical graduates trained at a higher education institution in northeast Brazil. Method: A cross-sectional field research study with a quantitative approach was carried out. Graduates of the medical course of a higher education institution, graduated from 2012 to 2019, were evaluated through a questionnaire sent via e-mail, with multiple choice questions. The study was approved by the institution’s ethics committee. Results: A total of 127 questionnaires were analyzed, which corresponds to a response rate of 13.8%; females predominated, representing 67.7% of the sample. Knowledge about the National Curriculum Guidelines during undergraduate school was reported by 24.2% of the participants. Most graduates demonstrated satisfaction with the course taken and a feeling of being prepared for professional work as a generalist. Regarding medical residency, 90.5% of the graduates attended this type of specialization program. Professional performance of graduates in the Family Health Strategy and in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) was identified in 66.9% and 84.3%, respectively. A feeling of aptitude and ability to deal with health education, health management and health care for the population was identified in most graduates. Conclusion: We identified good satisfaction at the end of the course and a feeling of confidence for professional performance in most graduates. Improvement through medical residency is a frequent goal among graduates. The SUS is a field of work for most of these professionals. In addition, skills recommended by the National Curriculum Guidelines were perceived by them at the end of undergraduate school. Future studies with larger and multicenter samples are needed to assess the profile of graduates in Brazil.