Situational analysis of a Speech, Hearing and Language clinical school at a federal university in Bahia: a focus on problems

Abstract

Abstract This work describes a situational analysis of a Speech, Hearing and Language clinical school at a federal university in Bahia, examining how it functions and coordinates with the municipal health system in Salvador, Bahia. It is a descriptive case study, whose methodological strategy is based on Carlos Matus’ Situational Strategic Planning (Planejamento Estratégico Situacional: PES) with a Focus on Problems. Our methodological strategy employed document analysis, participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a focus group with institutional actors. The results indicate weaknesses in four of the five categories of analysis, which were: infrastructure, funding, organization, and management. These have led to failings in student training and in the institution’s integration with the municipal health system. Of the twenty identified problems, ten related to the institutional actors’ capacity for both governance and governability, in other words, problems that are amenable to intervention. We conclude that the clinical school must institutionalize the practice of situational strategic planning to combat improvisational practices and enable it to effectively fulfil its two important functions: teaching and healthcare.