How to Progress from Discourse to Practice? A New Agenda for Change in Medical Schools into the Next Decade

Abstract

In the context of medical school instruction, the segmented approach of a focus on specialties and excessive use of technology seem to hamper the development of the professional–patient relationship and an understanding of the ethics of this relationship. The real world presents complexities that require multiple approaches. Engagement in the community where health competence is developed allows extending the usefulness of what is learned. Health services are spaces where the relationship between theory and practice in health care are real and where the social role of the university can be revealed. Yet some competencies are still lacking and may require an explicit agenda to enact. Ten topics are presented for focus here: environmental awareness, involvement of students in medical school, social networks, interprofessional learning, new technologies for the management of care, virtual reality, working with errors, training in management for results, concept of leadership, and internationalization of schools. Potential barriers to this agenda are an underinvestment in ambulatory care infrastructure and community-based health care facilities, as well as in information technology offered at these facilities; an inflexible departmental culture; and an environment centered on a discipline-based medical curriculum

Aspects of the Inter Professional Learning Process of Medical Students Involved in a Family Health Unit

“…We need to think in curricula based on dialogue that are flexible and versatile, prone to adjustments and integration, and in line with the government policies (Machado, Machado, & Vieira, 2012). To recognize health as a right, and act to ensure comprehensive care for managers and health professionals as much as for instructors who structure the curriculum is a big task.…”