Contributions from Medical graduates for the course evaluation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: The course at Centro Universitario de Votuporanga (UNIFEV) was approved in 2012 with the first class graduating in 2018. The Course’s Pedagogical Project (PPC, Projeto Pedagógico do Curso), based on the National Curriculum Guidelines (DCN, Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais), uses active methodologies, and among them, problem-based learning. Objective: To analyze the professional profile, career trajectory, and adaptation to the job market of a doctor graduated from UNIFEV, the strengths and weaknesses of the PPC, based on the perceptions of the alumni. Material and Method: The cross-sectional, descriptive and quanti-qualitative study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee, involved a population of graduates (n=114). A semi-structured questionnaire was applied, to provide personal, professional, and academic information. Results: Eighty graduates, distributed in the state of São Paulo with greater female representation (71.2%), answered (70.2%) the questions. In the first year after graduation, 41.5% worked in Urgency/Emergency Care and 18.4% in Primary Care, considering 282 positions (2.6±1.2 positions per person). Sixty-seven (83.3%) graduates obtained student loans, unrelated to the current monthly salary range (10 or more minimum wages for 55.5%). Few alumni were enrolled in a residency program (n=27; 33.8%); many still intend to do it. Most of them (72.5%) attended a preparatory course for residency. The integration of areas, the ability to work as a team, the knowledge about the DCN and PPC and the occurrence of moments of emotional tension/stress were mentioned by most of the interviewees (88.0 to 100%). Conclusion: There was a significant rate of responses with contributions to a curriculum closer to the students’ needs, with emphasis on learning emergency and pediatric topics and on the necessary care for the students’ mental health. The course was highly rated by the respondents and student loans showed to be an important policy, considerable results for the young institution. The study represents the first step towards creating a stronger link between the institution and its graduates, helping to design the institutional culture of frequent monitoring of their trajectories and impacting the evaluation of the curriculum, insofar as it offers, to the course managers, a diagnosis to maintain the successes while being alert to possible adjustments.